11/11/06
Short: 5:05:26, first woman, 7th overall.
Long:
After running my 50mile/marathon double last weekend, my legs were spent. These last few weeks of racing seemed to be catching up with me. I was not recovering as well as I had earlier in the year. I was not able to run on Monday or Tuesday. I ran on my treadmill on Wednesday and Thursday, two miles each and at a 9-minute pace. I was sweating profusely and working harder than I thought I should have that late in the week.
By Thursday, there had been talk that Ron Herzog/Tanks A Lot 50K was not going to happen due to all of the recent rain and flooding. Tony Covarrubias and I were discussing putting together a last minute option. I had spoken to Roger Michel, the race director Thursday night about checking out the Redmond Watershed trail as a possible location He mentioned that there had been some work on the pipeline and parts of the trails were closed off earlier in the year. Not wanting to hold a race where trails could be closed, I needed to check it out on Friday. Roger was planning on marking the Ron Herzog trail on Friday also and letting everyone know if the race was to happen by the afternoon.
I worked half a day Friday and picked up Mary Hanna, who was good enough to accompany me to the watershed trail. I never like running alone, especially in the woods. We arrived at the watershed a little after three and started our run. The trails were mostly in good condition. There were a lot of leaves down, making the possibility of slipping on a wet, covered rock very likely. There were puddles, some spanning the trail, but all of them could be run around. None of the trails that we ran in were closed off. We got soaking wet running a large loop of 5.5 miles and small loop of 0.7 miles. In all, it took us 54 minutes to run about a 6.2 mile course or 10K. Multiply that by 5 and you have a 50K. So now I had a course, but I really didn’t look forward to putting on a race with only two days notice. I still needed to buy some survey tape, make copies of the trail to put in zip-lock bags to hand out, and mark the trail early in the morning. Then I would also have to sweep it after the race.
Mary and I changed into dry clothes to head home. It took us 2 ½ hours to drive from Redmond to Maple Valley. We sat on 520 most of the time. We were stuck in Friday night traffic in the city! I called my husband to check my e-mail. He told me the Ron Herzog race was on. What a relief! Now all I needed to do was to get home so that I could pack for the race.
I met Tony C, King Arthur, and Shawn Lawson at a park and ride for our trip to Granite Falls. We arrived an hour before the start and saw the early starters take off. Our race started at 8AM. There were a total of 35 runners including the early starters. It was a good mixture of runners, from fast guys to first ultras. Fortunately, it was not raining when we started. I was dressed to stay warm since it had snowed at the higher elevations yesterday. Plus, we knew we were going to get wet even if it didn’t rain.
We started on forest service roads, which went on for about 11 miles. The first 1.5 miles was mostly flat with a few ups and downs. Then there were some steep ups to about 7 miles. I walked those hills and ran the flats and downs. I could feel the fatigue in my legs. They just did not have that “get up and go” feeling. Ellen, a young and fast looking girl flew by me. Wendy, a strong running buddy of mine, said that she was going to take it easy and run with another guy. But Wendy is strong on the hills, and I could not keep up with them. Finally, the road descended for about 2-3 miles and I was able to pick up my pace. It took that first 7 miles for me to loosen up. It also started to rain by then. Actually, it was raining and snowing because I got white flakes stuck to my black shirt and gloves. I put my fleece hat back on and zipped up my Patagonia shirt (the one I won at Baker Lake). It was nice because it covered my neck. I was getting cold! I caught up with Wendy and 4 other guys and ran ahead. I actually wanted to get to the tank traps before they did so that I would not get caught behind a train of people.
I was partway into the traps when Wendy called out to me that the trail markers went another way. I yelled back and said I was looking right at a flag. I knew I was on the correct trail since I was familiar with the surroundings. I stayed in front of them, but a couple of times when the trail dipped down into a trench, they would be there. The traps were the best I had seen them in the four years that I have run this race. There was a lot of standing water on the ground, but it was not as overgrown. Tony C and the past race directors agreed. I didn’t run it as fast as I have in the past because last year I nearly got my eye poked out. I think that if I had some kind of safety glasses on, I would have plowed through there despite branches jabbing you in the neck, chest, ribs, arms, and legs. I couldn’t tell if it was raining, but I was soaked through to the skin anyway. I had collected all of the moisture off of the surrounding brush. My hands got so cold that I felt that they were going through the freeze-thaw cycle several times. My feet got so wet and cold that my Superfeet inserts actually froze! It felt like I was running on wood planks. There was one knee deep stream crossing. The rest were ankle deep in melted snow.
We finally emerged from the tank traps after running through it for about 2-3 miles. Then, there was about a 2-3 mile stretch back on the one lane road that was covered in slush. Some parts were slightly uphill. I had passed several people at this point, some of them early starters. I picked up the pace hoping to see the first girl or Tony. I arrived at the one and only aid station for the course at the halfway point. I didn’t want to stop very long at all, knowing that I would get too cold if I stood around. So I reached into my drop bag and exchanged my soaking fleece hat and gloves for dry ones. Then, I took off. As I was leaving the aid station, I saw that Ellen was still there. I looked back and Wendy and her group were just coming into the aid station. I thought I had lost them in that last stretch, but they were sticking close by.
I hammered that first part of the second half, hoping to distance myself from Ellen and Wendy. The road descended for about 2-3 miles. I caught up with Tony about 5 minutes after leaving the aid station. He was standing there adjusting his gloves. He said his hands were frozen. I was glad I had some dry ones on. I had learned a lot in my previous races here of what to wear. I don’t carry hand-helds at this race because you’re hands get too frozen and cannot hold onto the bottles. Dry hat and gloves are essential, but changing into a dry shirt or socks is not necessary. The time it takes to do that kind of stuff only allows your body temp to drop. Any changes in clothing have to be short and quick. But an addition of a shell would probably help and is quick. I had a shell jacket strapped to my hydration pack, but I didn’t think I needed it as long as I was moving. I was cruising along feeling pretty good until I reached the section that I always forget about. Actually, this was only the second time I have run the Ron Herzog. The other times I ran the out and back through the tanks in the Tanks A Lot version. At this point in the Ron Herzog, the road ascends gradually over the next 4, maybe five miles. It’s not steep enough to walk, but it definitely slows you down and wears you out. Still, I did not walk any of the second half, worried that if I did, Wendy would catch me with her strong uphill running.
I ran the second half all by myself. I did not see another soul after I passed Tony. The trail finally started to descend with about 4 miles to go on the forest service road. It descended steeply with some switchbacks. A car was coming down, and I was tempted to ask the driver where the next girl was. But I didn’t and continued my pace. I talked to him later. He was checking on his wife who was running her first 50K. She finished in 6:59:59! He said I looked like I was screaming down the hill. He could have also told me that the next girl was way back. With about three miles to go, the dirt road turned into asphalt. It traveled through the woods still with two gradual but descent ups that I could have totally seen myself walking, but I dug deep and ran them. As soon as I hit the asphalt, my left knee gave out like it had at Autumn Leaves. It’s amazing how that happened but it only did it once. Finally, with two miles to go, you emerge onto Mountain Loop Highway, the road that we drove in on. I knew that there was a steep downhill at the very end that you could see from the start/finish area. But I didn’t know how far away that was. I kept looking for the yellow road sign that shows a picture of a truck going down a steep grade. I looked at my watch and thought that maybe I could break 5 hours. I started sprinting and saw that sign. But 5 hours had come and gone and that hill was longer than I thought. Even at the bottom of the hill, there is a ¼ mile stretch of flat. Still, I was happy with my time, especially since it was 20 minutes faster than my Ron Herzog time last year that I struggled in and after all the racing that I have done this year. Maybe I am getting faster after all.
Tony finished 5 minutes after me, Wendy 11 minutes, and Ellen 19 minutes. I immediately changed into dry clothes and hung around eating soup with all the other finishers. It was great visiting with them. Shawn and Arthur finished within seconds of each other, both having run an extra mile looking for each other and thinking the other one was lost in the tank traps. What good people we have in the trail running community! Our drive home was uneventful as the Everett traffic was the best I had seen in a long time. We joked and laughed on the ride home, already looking forward to the next time we would meet again. I picked up some pad thai, planted myself down in front of the TV, and waited for my husband to come home. He told me about his climbing day and I told him about my run. What a great day it was! I feel great today (Sunday), and probably could have run a better marathon today than the one I had run last weekend. That just shows how much my legs like trails more. But at least now I can feel better knowing that my body is back to recovering like it had earlier in the year.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
AUTUMN LEAVES AND UNITED WE RUN
11/4/06 and 11/5/06
Short: Autumn Leaves 50 Mile 7:19:34, First woman, 3rd overall. United We Run Marathon 4:14:47.
Long:
I somewhat had been dreading this particular weekend because the majority of the race surface would be on roads, and I have become more aware of my sensitivity towards it. But after having passed my boards with high marks (I got a score of 710 when 379 was needed to pass and the 99th percentile was 700), going into this weekend carried less mental stress. That was until Tony Covarrubias and Olga Varlomova got involved. I had planned on just running the 50K at Autumn Leaves because two years ago I did the 50 mile race and swore I would never do that distance again there. It just hurt too much. But Tony mentioned be me that the 50 milers would get a belt buckle, and I collect those kinds of things, so I reluctantly signed up for the 50 miler knowing that suffering was in store. More on Olga’s contribution later.
I left for Portland after work Friday at about 3:30pm. I had been exchanging e-mails earlier in the week with Olga, Eric Barnes, and Steve Stoyles. Olga was letting all 3 of us crash at her house in Tigard, just south of Portland and only a 25 minute drive to the start. I wished I had ridden down with Eric and Steve, who only arrived minutes before, but I was not sure what time I would be able to leave work. They had already ordered pizza from Round Table and Eric and Steve graciously declined any contributions from me. While waiting for the pizza, we sat around the dining room table and talked about what else? Running. Eric planned on running the 50 miler with the early start to finish around the same time that Steve would complete the 50K, which started 3 hours after Eric’s start.
Olga had urged me to apply for the Montrail running team earlier in the year, but I was reluctant since I thought people were usually recruited. But I had e-mailed the person now in charge of finding people, Paul Curran, who took over that duty when Krissy Moehl left Montrail when Montrail moved to Portland. Anyway, I was accepted into the Regional Team at the end of October. I hesitated to tell anyone since it’s not exactly “official” yet, but I figured I needed to tell Olga since she was the reason I applied in the first place. I also figured that after I told Olga, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore. Olga’s always trying to bring out the best in me, so she suggested that I try to run a sub-7hr race at Autumn Leaves. Now, I had planned on running a sub-8hr or come close to my time of 7:41 two years ago. However, she piqued my interest and I sat down to calculate what it would take to run 7hr flat. I needed to run an average of 42 minute per 5 mile loop. That seemed like a big stretch for me since I had such a horrible race at Tri-Cities.
We retired some time after 9PM. I had brought my cot and sleeping bag and set it up in her dining room. Sleep was intermittent, which is always the case for me in new places. There were normal house noises I was not used to. Olga and Eric needed to leave early for his start and Olga’s volunteer work. I got up not long after them at 4:45 and got ready myself. Eric’s start was at 6AM and mine was at 7AM. Just like Tri-Cities, I was not sure of what I needed to where for the weather.
I arrived at Champoeg (pronounced shampoo-eee) State Park and saw the early starters out on the trail with their flashlights. I had a thin long sleeve shirt on, shorts, and no hat or gloves. I felt pretty warm and asked Olga, long sleeve or short sleeve? She said short. She was right; I was totally warm in the first loop. Each loop was 5 miles. The first 1.5 miles was flat and paved to the one aid station out on the course. Then, you did a 1 mile out then back to the aid station, still on a paved bike path. Then there was a short jaunt over a short bridge to the trail part of the loop, which was about 1.3 miles. This trail portion was mostly flat with very slight rolling. The trail part stopped about 200 yards to the slightly uphill finish of each loop. After 4 loops, I was totally hot in this overcastted and breezy day. I stripped off my shirt and ran only in my sports bra and shorts. Still, my face was hot when the wind was not blowing.
I carried a hand-held and had my asthma inhaler, e-caps, and one gel in my back pocket of my shorts for each loop. I didn’t want a waist pack, because those give me back pain on long road races. And I didn’t need a hydration pack. But I didn’t want to carry my hand-held the entire run. So, I dropped off my bottle at the aid station before the one mile out and back for each loop, limiting my need to carry it to only 3 miles per loop. The aid station workers were great! They would see me coming to take the bottle from me and ask if I wanted anything in it, which was usually “no” so that I would have less to carry. Then they would see me coming back from my out and back and hold their arm straight out so that I could grab it without breaking stride. About that time I would have an e-cap before I hit the trail. Just before the loop would end, I took in a gel and deposited my trash as I was coming in to the start/finish of the loop. I did this on every loop and it worked like a charm. I needed to take in a few extra e-caps after the third loop because I thought I was cramping in my calves. But I think that when I took off my shirt, I was not sweating as much and must have helped me lose less salt.
Since there was that out and back, I saw all the runners at one point in their race or another. They were all very encouraging. I’m afraid I was so focused on my goal to finish in 7 hours that I don’t think I smiled much. In fact, I think I had on a grimace most of the time. But they all said that I looked very strong out there, even though I felt like crap. I hate racing my races! There is an element of pressure there that can make the run unpleasant. The only reward usually is a good finishing time and placement. But I was moving along at a pretty good clip. I even lapped people, some of them twice! My loop splits were: (1) 41:02, (2) 39:58, (3) 39:59, (4) 40:55, (5) 42:03, (6) 42:46, (7) 45:50, (8) 48:28, (9) 50:20, (10) 48:10. So my slowest loop was not so bad. Ten minute miles are still considered respectable, right?
After my first loop, I said to Olga, who as manning the Start/Finish aid station, that I didn’t want to work this hard, because I thought it was a struggle to pump out a sub-42 minute loop. In true Olga fashion, she said, “Oh stop complaining and get out there and run!” I just love her! I must have warmed up enough in the first loop because my second and third loops felt better and my times were a little faster. But the winds started to make an appearance in by the 4th loop. They were not by tri-Cities standard, but I knew that they were enough of a deterrent to keep me from a 7-hour finish since they did make me expend more energy or caused me to slow my pace to avoid expending that energy. It didn’t blow hard the entire loop, just the areas that were more open, about 1-1.5 miles of it. The rain threatened a few times with sprinkles, but my sweating made me wetter than the rain. I finished before the downpours came. There were people still out on the course when I left, so they were not so lucky. My problems came in the second half. I had run a strong 1st half, and I don’t think I “went out too fast.” My marathon time was 3:34.
I completed the 6th loop still with a good time of 42:46, but I started to have problems in my left knee with a sharp pain and a sensation of it giving out on me. It really didn’t give out; it just felt like it was going to. I think it was a result of quad fatigue, and I have noticed in the last 4-5 races that I have done that my left quad has become fatigued faster. My 50K time was 4:15:45, which may be my fasted 50K time ever! Anyway, the giving out sensation happened 4 times in the 6th loop and continued through the 7-9th loop. I wouldn’t stop and walk, because past experience had shown me that walking allows it to stiffen up more and thus take longer to loosen up if I rested it. So I continued running and every once in a while, I would have to hop on my right leg to stop the sensation, then I would continue on. In fact, I didn’t walk the entire race except for when I left an aid station. Thus, this problem with my left knee slowed my loop times enough that I lost the 6 minute cushion I had developed in the first half for a 7-hour finish by loop 9.
Knowing that I was not going to be able to do that, I decided to just try to enjoy the last two loops. I had found early on that I was not racing against other women, just the clock. There were some strong women runners out there though. My 9th loop was the slowest due to the knee problem, wind, and the loss of urgency for a 7-hour finish. But I decided to run as fast as I could in the last loop, since it appeared that I could finish under 7:30. Interestingly, the faster I ran, the less my knee hurt. I ran the last loop without a bottle and stopped at the aid station out on the course. However, as I was nearing the end of my final loop, I realized that I could break 7:20. So I booked that last trail section and sprinted the last 200 yards, finishing in my adjusted goal of sub 7:20 in 7:19:34, a 12 minute PR for me in the 50 mile distance!
I finished first woman and 3rd overall. The RD said that my time was not a course record but will rank up there in one of the fastest all time list. I just sat there at the finish aching. But I didn’t want to go in the lake even if I knew it would help me recover for UWR. There’s a big difference soaking after each marathon in sunny Lake Tahoe at the Triple compared to a cold, rainy, and windy fall day in the Pacific Northwest. If there had been a massage therapist there, I would have paid good money for a short session. I hung around a while, delaying the time that I would get in my car to drive home with a stick shift and 4 hours in the rain. I had a little bite of the sub sandwich and chips available to the finishers, but what I really craved was a big, greasy hamburger. The tomato soup was warming. I talked to Sean Meissner a little. He did the 50K and missed his mark of a sub-3:40 finish by mere seconds. I was watching his race with great interest because in the last 2 loops, there was another guy in front of him. I was just about to finish one of my loops and saw Sean and this guy come in. The other guy kept looking back at Sean, who was only a few strides behind him. Then I saw that at the very end, Sean broke out in front of him to finish first. Turns out that it was his pacer. It was too bad that he did not meet his goal either, but came a lot closer than I did. I also mentioned to him that we would be teammates, since he runs for Montrail. He said that he knew because Olga told him. See, I told you it was not a secret anymore!
I got my belt buckle, hit the road, and got my big, greasy hamburger. It was raining so hard that just opening my window to place my order at the drive-thru left me soaking wet! The drive home was another white knuckle drive. It was even worse than the drive down. There was so much standing water and the visibility was terrible. I really can’t stand the semi-truck drivers. I think that because they sit higher up, their visibility is better than us down lower. So they continue to drive their regular speed, which is 65-70 even when their speed limit is 60. So I planted myself a good distance behind a truck traveling about 65. Even then, I would get passed by passenger cars going 70 that would splash the standing water on my windshield causing me to lose complete site of the road temporarily for 2-3 seconds even with my wipers going full blast. No, I couldn’t even fall asleep even if I wanted to. I had a few times where my feet would cramp up on me and would need to stomp them on the floor of the car. I arrived home at 7:30, had dinner, told Ken about my day, and had another restless night.
Sunday came with an overwhelming sense of fatigue. But alas, I needed to meet King Arthur at Alki to carpool to Kent. This race is a point to point course that runs from Kent to Alki. Another maniac was with Arthur, Shawn Lawson, who had a great run. There were a lot of maniacs at this race as there had been at Autumn Leaves. This race also included a relay. This is a low key, no cost race, but the t-shirts are always great for a small fee. The course was mostly marked, but due to the monsoon in this area the day before, a small portion was not freshly marked. There were remnants of the markings from the year before that were still visible. There were several aid stations on the course, but you still had to plan on being self-sufficient. It’s always a fun group, and the reward in the end is Fish and Chips at the famous Spud’s right there at the finish. (Paid by you, of course.)
I knew in the first mile that I would be okay. I was stiff, but nothing really hurt that much. I did have a swollen toe from Autumn Leaves. It was angry looking when I went to bed the night before. It was less swollen when I woke up but was still tender to the touch, especially the toenail, which was still attached. So I tape it up good, and it didn’t bother me until after the finish. I knew my time would be slow, but that was okay with me. I had an excuse. The theme of the day seemed to be, “Don’t let Van beat you.” I guess people were worried that I could outrun them even after running hard the day before. They had nothing to worry about. Two consecutive road races in two days are much different than a road-trail or trail-road combination. I definitely could not have run harder and still enjoy myself. However, I ran most of the race alone. We lucked out on the weather. We were in between storm systems. One had blown through on Saturday, and another one was expected to come Sunday night. In fact, I think the rain started after everyone had finished. I ran a steady pace the first 24 miles. But when I knew that I only had two miles left, I decided to sprint in. Mary Hanna was driving by and honked at me. I waved back. She had a cross-country race earlier in the morning (and took first Masters in her age category) and had said earlier in the week that she would run out from the finish, meet me, and run me in. Well, I thought that she would not get to run with me much because I knew she had to find a parking space and I was booking it. I think I may have run 8 minute miles those last 2 miles. She ran out to me, and I had only ½ a mile to go. She said, “Wow, you’re running pretty fast after running 50 miles yesterday.” I told her that I just wanted to get it over with. I really had enough of running for the weekend. Usually I don’t say that, but that’s the roads talking. I was hobbling a lot more after this race than my 50 miler. I think I’ll rest some before the trail 50K next weekend!
Short: Autumn Leaves 50 Mile 7:19:34, First woman, 3rd overall. United We Run Marathon 4:14:47.
Long:
I somewhat had been dreading this particular weekend because the majority of the race surface would be on roads, and I have become more aware of my sensitivity towards it. But after having passed my boards with high marks (I got a score of 710 when 379 was needed to pass and the 99th percentile was 700), going into this weekend carried less mental stress. That was until Tony Covarrubias and Olga Varlomova got involved. I had planned on just running the 50K at Autumn Leaves because two years ago I did the 50 mile race and swore I would never do that distance again there. It just hurt too much. But Tony mentioned be me that the 50 milers would get a belt buckle, and I collect those kinds of things, so I reluctantly signed up for the 50 miler knowing that suffering was in store. More on Olga’s contribution later.
I left for Portland after work Friday at about 3:30pm. I had been exchanging e-mails earlier in the week with Olga, Eric Barnes, and Steve Stoyles. Olga was letting all 3 of us crash at her house in Tigard, just south of Portland and only a 25 minute drive to the start. I wished I had ridden down with Eric and Steve, who only arrived minutes before, but I was not sure what time I would be able to leave work. They had already ordered pizza from Round Table and Eric and Steve graciously declined any contributions from me. While waiting for the pizza, we sat around the dining room table and talked about what else? Running. Eric planned on running the 50 miler with the early start to finish around the same time that Steve would complete the 50K, which started 3 hours after Eric’s start.
Olga had urged me to apply for the Montrail running team earlier in the year, but I was reluctant since I thought people were usually recruited. But I had e-mailed the person now in charge of finding people, Paul Curran, who took over that duty when Krissy Moehl left Montrail when Montrail moved to Portland. Anyway, I was accepted into the Regional Team at the end of October. I hesitated to tell anyone since it’s not exactly “official” yet, but I figured I needed to tell Olga since she was the reason I applied in the first place. I also figured that after I told Olga, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore. Olga’s always trying to bring out the best in me, so she suggested that I try to run a sub-7hr race at Autumn Leaves. Now, I had planned on running a sub-8hr or come close to my time of 7:41 two years ago. However, she piqued my interest and I sat down to calculate what it would take to run 7hr flat. I needed to run an average of 42 minute per 5 mile loop. That seemed like a big stretch for me since I had such a horrible race at Tri-Cities.
We retired some time after 9PM. I had brought my cot and sleeping bag and set it up in her dining room. Sleep was intermittent, which is always the case for me in new places. There were normal house noises I was not used to. Olga and Eric needed to leave early for his start and Olga’s volunteer work. I got up not long after them at 4:45 and got ready myself. Eric’s start was at 6AM and mine was at 7AM. Just like Tri-Cities, I was not sure of what I needed to where for the weather.
I arrived at Champoeg (pronounced shampoo-eee) State Park and saw the early starters out on the trail with their flashlights. I had a thin long sleeve shirt on, shorts, and no hat or gloves. I felt pretty warm and asked Olga, long sleeve or short sleeve? She said short. She was right; I was totally warm in the first loop. Each loop was 5 miles. The first 1.5 miles was flat and paved to the one aid station out on the course. Then, you did a 1 mile out then back to the aid station, still on a paved bike path. Then there was a short jaunt over a short bridge to the trail part of the loop, which was about 1.3 miles. This trail portion was mostly flat with very slight rolling. The trail part stopped about 200 yards to the slightly uphill finish of each loop. After 4 loops, I was totally hot in this overcastted and breezy day. I stripped off my shirt and ran only in my sports bra and shorts. Still, my face was hot when the wind was not blowing.
I carried a hand-held and had my asthma inhaler, e-caps, and one gel in my back pocket of my shorts for each loop. I didn’t want a waist pack, because those give me back pain on long road races. And I didn’t need a hydration pack. But I didn’t want to carry my hand-held the entire run. So, I dropped off my bottle at the aid station before the one mile out and back for each loop, limiting my need to carry it to only 3 miles per loop. The aid station workers were great! They would see me coming to take the bottle from me and ask if I wanted anything in it, which was usually “no” so that I would have less to carry. Then they would see me coming back from my out and back and hold their arm straight out so that I could grab it without breaking stride. About that time I would have an e-cap before I hit the trail. Just before the loop would end, I took in a gel and deposited my trash as I was coming in to the start/finish of the loop. I did this on every loop and it worked like a charm. I needed to take in a few extra e-caps after the third loop because I thought I was cramping in my calves. But I think that when I took off my shirt, I was not sweating as much and must have helped me lose less salt.
Since there was that out and back, I saw all the runners at one point in their race or another. They were all very encouraging. I’m afraid I was so focused on my goal to finish in 7 hours that I don’t think I smiled much. In fact, I think I had on a grimace most of the time. But they all said that I looked very strong out there, even though I felt like crap. I hate racing my races! There is an element of pressure there that can make the run unpleasant. The only reward usually is a good finishing time and placement. But I was moving along at a pretty good clip. I even lapped people, some of them twice! My loop splits were: (1) 41:02, (2) 39:58, (3) 39:59, (4) 40:55, (5) 42:03, (6) 42:46, (7) 45:50, (8) 48:28, (9) 50:20, (10) 48:10. So my slowest loop was not so bad. Ten minute miles are still considered respectable, right?
After my first loop, I said to Olga, who as manning the Start/Finish aid station, that I didn’t want to work this hard, because I thought it was a struggle to pump out a sub-42 minute loop. In true Olga fashion, she said, “Oh stop complaining and get out there and run!” I just love her! I must have warmed up enough in the first loop because my second and third loops felt better and my times were a little faster. But the winds started to make an appearance in by the 4th loop. They were not by tri-Cities standard, but I knew that they were enough of a deterrent to keep me from a 7-hour finish since they did make me expend more energy or caused me to slow my pace to avoid expending that energy. It didn’t blow hard the entire loop, just the areas that were more open, about 1-1.5 miles of it. The rain threatened a few times with sprinkles, but my sweating made me wetter than the rain. I finished before the downpours came. There were people still out on the course when I left, so they were not so lucky. My problems came in the second half. I had run a strong 1st half, and I don’t think I “went out too fast.” My marathon time was 3:34.
I completed the 6th loop still with a good time of 42:46, but I started to have problems in my left knee with a sharp pain and a sensation of it giving out on me. It really didn’t give out; it just felt like it was going to. I think it was a result of quad fatigue, and I have noticed in the last 4-5 races that I have done that my left quad has become fatigued faster. My 50K time was 4:15:45, which may be my fasted 50K time ever! Anyway, the giving out sensation happened 4 times in the 6th loop and continued through the 7-9th loop. I wouldn’t stop and walk, because past experience had shown me that walking allows it to stiffen up more and thus take longer to loosen up if I rested it. So I continued running and every once in a while, I would have to hop on my right leg to stop the sensation, then I would continue on. In fact, I didn’t walk the entire race except for when I left an aid station. Thus, this problem with my left knee slowed my loop times enough that I lost the 6 minute cushion I had developed in the first half for a 7-hour finish by loop 9.
Knowing that I was not going to be able to do that, I decided to just try to enjoy the last two loops. I had found early on that I was not racing against other women, just the clock. There were some strong women runners out there though. My 9th loop was the slowest due to the knee problem, wind, and the loss of urgency for a 7-hour finish. But I decided to run as fast as I could in the last loop, since it appeared that I could finish under 7:30. Interestingly, the faster I ran, the less my knee hurt. I ran the last loop without a bottle and stopped at the aid station out on the course. However, as I was nearing the end of my final loop, I realized that I could break 7:20. So I booked that last trail section and sprinted the last 200 yards, finishing in my adjusted goal of sub 7:20 in 7:19:34, a 12 minute PR for me in the 50 mile distance!
I finished first woman and 3rd overall. The RD said that my time was not a course record but will rank up there in one of the fastest all time list. I just sat there at the finish aching. But I didn’t want to go in the lake even if I knew it would help me recover for UWR. There’s a big difference soaking after each marathon in sunny Lake Tahoe at the Triple compared to a cold, rainy, and windy fall day in the Pacific Northwest. If there had been a massage therapist there, I would have paid good money for a short session. I hung around a while, delaying the time that I would get in my car to drive home with a stick shift and 4 hours in the rain. I had a little bite of the sub sandwich and chips available to the finishers, but what I really craved was a big, greasy hamburger. The tomato soup was warming. I talked to Sean Meissner a little. He did the 50K and missed his mark of a sub-3:40 finish by mere seconds. I was watching his race with great interest because in the last 2 loops, there was another guy in front of him. I was just about to finish one of my loops and saw Sean and this guy come in. The other guy kept looking back at Sean, who was only a few strides behind him. Then I saw that at the very end, Sean broke out in front of him to finish first. Turns out that it was his pacer. It was too bad that he did not meet his goal either, but came a lot closer than I did. I also mentioned to him that we would be teammates, since he runs for Montrail. He said that he knew because Olga told him. See, I told you it was not a secret anymore!
I got my belt buckle, hit the road, and got my big, greasy hamburger. It was raining so hard that just opening my window to place my order at the drive-thru left me soaking wet! The drive home was another white knuckle drive. It was even worse than the drive down. There was so much standing water and the visibility was terrible. I really can’t stand the semi-truck drivers. I think that because they sit higher up, their visibility is better than us down lower. So they continue to drive their regular speed, which is 65-70 even when their speed limit is 60. So I planted myself a good distance behind a truck traveling about 65. Even then, I would get passed by passenger cars going 70 that would splash the standing water on my windshield causing me to lose complete site of the road temporarily for 2-3 seconds even with my wipers going full blast. No, I couldn’t even fall asleep even if I wanted to. I had a few times where my feet would cramp up on me and would need to stomp them on the floor of the car. I arrived home at 7:30, had dinner, told Ken about my day, and had another restless night.
Sunday came with an overwhelming sense of fatigue. But alas, I needed to meet King Arthur at Alki to carpool to Kent. This race is a point to point course that runs from Kent to Alki. Another maniac was with Arthur, Shawn Lawson, who had a great run. There were a lot of maniacs at this race as there had been at Autumn Leaves. This race also included a relay. This is a low key, no cost race, but the t-shirts are always great for a small fee. The course was mostly marked, but due to the monsoon in this area the day before, a small portion was not freshly marked. There were remnants of the markings from the year before that were still visible. There were several aid stations on the course, but you still had to plan on being self-sufficient. It’s always a fun group, and the reward in the end is Fish and Chips at the famous Spud’s right there at the finish. (Paid by you, of course.)
I knew in the first mile that I would be okay. I was stiff, but nothing really hurt that much. I did have a swollen toe from Autumn Leaves. It was angry looking when I went to bed the night before. It was less swollen when I woke up but was still tender to the touch, especially the toenail, which was still attached. So I tape it up good, and it didn’t bother me until after the finish. I knew my time would be slow, but that was okay with me. I had an excuse. The theme of the day seemed to be, “Don’t let Van beat you.” I guess people were worried that I could outrun them even after running hard the day before. They had nothing to worry about. Two consecutive road races in two days are much different than a road-trail or trail-road combination. I definitely could not have run harder and still enjoy myself. However, I ran most of the race alone. We lucked out on the weather. We were in between storm systems. One had blown through on Saturday, and another one was expected to come Sunday night. In fact, I think the rain started after everyone had finished. I ran a steady pace the first 24 miles. But when I knew that I only had two miles left, I decided to sprint in. Mary Hanna was driving by and honked at me. I waved back. She had a cross-country race earlier in the morning (and took first Masters in her age category) and had said earlier in the week that she would run out from the finish, meet me, and run me in. Well, I thought that she would not get to run with me much because I knew she had to find a parking space and I was booking it. I think I may have run 8 minute miles those last 2 miles. She ran out to me, and I had only ½ a mile to go. She said, “Wow, you’re running pretty fast after running 50 miles yesterday.” I told her that I just wanted to get it over with. I really had enough of running for the weekend. Usually I don’t say that, but that’s the roads talking. I was hobbling a lot more after this race than my 50 miler. I think I’ll rest some before the trail 50K next weekend!
Thursday, November 2, 2006
TRI-CITIES MARATHON
10/29/06
Short: 3:54:37, 100th lifetime marathon/ultra, WINDY!
Long:
No doubt that you have already heard the big story about this race was the wind. I guess it made for a memorable 100th marathon for me.
I had almost recovered from the Halloween marathon from the week before, where I finished 3:38:33, good for 2nd woman. Younghae Shaffer finished before me with at least a 1:30 margin. The results do not reflect that she was led down the wrong road by a guy she was running with in the last ½ mile! It also does not list her as female. I had a lot of problems with my feet at that race. It was a double out and back on a different route than what we were all used to in the Bob Green marathons. The route led us back towards I-5. But each time I started a loop, my feet were killing me. The first time, it felt like I was not even wearing a shoe on my right foot. I could feel every bone strike the ground. Somehow, it got better after 2 miles. Then on the second out, I had a cramping tendon or something in my left foot, causing me to limp along for a mile. I was not able to close the gap that had developed between me and Younghae. It was also windy on that day, but after Tri-Cities, it was child’s play.
I had e-mailed the race director requesting the bib number 100 for Tri-Cities. He sent me back a message stating, “We’ll take care of you, just come and have fun!” I rode over the day before with Karen Wiggins and her friend Sonya Hambleton. Sonya’s husband had won the Halloween marathon in 2:59:25. It was her turn to run a marathon. She looked fast in her tall and skinny frame. She is an avid cyclist and this was to be her first marathon since having her daughter. The weather on Saturday was perfect for a race. Too bad we had to wait until Sunday. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant with a group of Homecoming couples, except there was an imbalance of 3 girls and 4 guys. I hope one of the guys didn’t get stood up!
We changed our clocks and woke to the sound of howling winds. I looked outside and saw the tree below our window get thrashed around. Great. My 100th marathon and it was going to be a challenge. I had a difficult time deciding what to wear because of the wind. I made the wrong choice and ended up wearing too much. I overheated in the beginning and probably sweated more than I realized because I started to have calf cramps by mile 13. (Actually, I have been taking something for my asthma that may be the root of my muscle cramps. Hopefully eliminating it will mean that my runs will feel normal again.) The wind was mostly coming from the side or blasted you directly on. There were some areas where it was at your back, but not enough to make up for the time lost to the headwind. I don’t know if it was better being small or big. Being small meant that you had less resistance but it also meant that the wind could pick you up and push you backwards. I was blown off trail several times just as others have reported. One time I was blown so hard that I had to get up on the little trail islands that occurred in several spots. The wind pushed my feet into the other leg frequently, leaving tread marks on my calves. My pigtails only added to the drag and were often above my head or straight out to the side. Sometimes the wind caught me with my mouth opened and inflated my cheeks. One word. CRAZY! Because of my cramps, I had to stop and walk frequently. This was the first marathon in a long time where I was passed by people. A lot of people! And a lot of them maniacs. I was very embarrassed, especially with it being my 100th. I wanted to perform well, but it was not to be on this day. King Arthur had a 6-minute PR on this very hard day. That means that he probably had like a 15 minute PR. I need to start watching my back. (Don’t get too comfortable, Arthur.) Hopefully, this day was an anomaly. I was passed by a girl in my age group in the last 2 miles that took me out of the age group awards. But no matter. Ron, the race director did such a special thing for me. He had a plaque made commemorating my 100th. I’ll take that over an age group award any day. It was wonderful! Cliff took first place by barely squeaking out a sub 3 hr marathon (2:59:52). Sonya had a great run with a 3:29:56, good for 2nd woman. Mel Preedy got an age group award as usual. Arthur was 3rd in his age group 35-39.
I rode home with Cliff, Arthur, and Mel instead of with Karen and Sonya since they did not want to stick around for the awards. I’m glad I was there to receive my commemorative plaque. But our celebration was short-lived as we came to a complete standstill in Easton on our way home. There was a hail storm at Snoqualmie pass that left the roads a sheet of ice. Several cars were involved in accidents we heard on the radio and the pass was to be closed for several hours. Karen had tried to call and warn me but did not have my cell number. To make a long story short, we drove over an hour back to Yakima to take White or Chinook pass. We decided to take Chinook since it would spit us out closer to our home in Maple Valley. Well Chinook is at higher elevation than White Pass, and by the time we got there, the road was covered in ice as well. We had to stop twice, each over an hour and did not get home until well after midnight.
I got 6 hours of sleep and woke the next morning to run 13 miles with my friend and running partner Mary Hanna. Then I biked the course for the Cedar River Flat Ass to determine mileage and the best places to drop off water and have an aid station. In all, I rode 21 miles since I needed to recalibrate my odometer. I was spent by the time I finished. Hopefully I will be recovered for my double this weekend. Fifty miles on Saturday at Autumn Leaves in Oregon and the UWR marathon on Sunday from Kent to Alki. Hope to see some of you there.
That’s all for now. Did you all see my article and picture in Northwest Magazine? Cool, huh?
Short: 3:54:37, 100th lifetime marathon/ultra, WINDY!
Long:
No doubt that you have already heard the big story about this race was the wind. I guess it made for a memorable 100th marathon for me.
I had almost recovered from the Halloween marathon from the week before, where I finished 3:38:33, good for 2nd woman. Younghae Shaffer finished before me with at least a 1:30 margin. The results do not reflect that she was led down the wrong road by a guy she was running with in the last ½ mile! It also does not list her as female. I had a lot of problems with my feet at that race. It was a double out and back on a different route than what we were all used to in the Bob Green marathons. The route led us back towards I-5. But each time I started a loop, my feet were killing me. The first time, it felt like I was not even wearing a shoe on my right foot. I could feel every bone strike the ground. Somehow, it got better after 2 miles. Then on the second out, I had a cramping tendon or something in my left foot, causing me to limp along for a mile. I was not able to close the gap that had developed between me and Younghae. It was also windy on that day, but after Tri-Cities, it was child’s play.
I had e-mailed the race director requesting the bib number 100 for Tri-Cities. He sent me back a message stating, “We’ll take care of you, just come and have fun!” I rode over the day before with Karen Wiggins and her friend Sonya Hambleton. Sonya’s husband had won the Halloween marathon in 2:59:25. It was her turn to run a marathon. She looked fast in her tall and skinny frame. She is an avid cyclist and this was to be her first marathon since having her daughter. The weather on Saturday was perfect for a race. Too bad we had to wait until Sunday. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant with a group of Homecoming couples, except there was an imbalance of 3 girls and 4 guys. I hope one of the guys didn’t get stood up!
We changed our clocks and woke to the sound of howling winds. I looked outside and saw the tree below our window get thrashed around. Great. My 100th marathon and it was going to be a challenge. I had a difficult time deciding what to wear because of the wind. I made the wrong choice and ended up wearing too much. I overheated in the beginning and probably sweated more than I realized because I started to have calf cramps by mile 13. (Actually, I have been taking something for my asthma that may be the root of my muscle cramps. Hopefully eliminating it will mean that my runs will feel normal again.) The wind was mostly coming from the side or blasted you directly on. There were some areas where it was at your back, but not enough to make up for the time lost to the headwind. I don’t know if it was better being small or big. Being small meant that you had less resistance but it also meant that the wind could pick you up and push you backwards. I was blown off trail several times just as others have reported. One time I was blown so hard that I had to get up on the little trail islands that occurred in several spots. The wind pushed my feet into the other leg frequently, leaving tread marks on my calves. My pigtails only added to the drag and were often above my head or straight out to the side. Sometimes the wind caught me with my mouth opened and inflated my cheeks. One word. CRAZY! Because of my cramps, I had to stop and walk frequently. This was the first marathon in a long time where I was passed by people. A lot of people! And a lot of them maniacs. I was very embarrassed, especially with it being my 100th. I wanted to perform well, but it was not to be on this day. King Arthur had a 6-minute PR on this very hard day. That means that he probably had like a 15 minute PR. I need to start watching my back. (Don’t get too comfortable, Arthur.) Hopefully, this day was an anomaly. I was passed by a girl in my age group in the last 2 miles that took me out of the age group awards. But no matter. Ron, the race director did such a special thing for me. He had a plaque made commemorating my 100th. I’ll take that over an age group award any day. It was wonderful! Cliff took first place by barely squeaking out a sub 3 hr marathon (2:59:52). Sonya had a great run with a 3:29:56, good for 2nd woman. Mel Preedy got an age group award as usual. Arthur was 3rd in his age group 35-39.
I rode home with Cliff, Arthur, and Mel instead of with Karen and Sonya since they did not want to stick around for the awards. I’m glad I was there to receive my commemorative plaque. But our celebration was short-lived as we came to a complete standstill in Easton on our way home. There was a hail storm at Snoqualmie pass that left the roads a sheet of ice. Several cars were involved in accidents we heard on the radio and the pass was to be closed for several hours. Karen had tried to call and warn me but did not have my cell number. To make a long story short, we drove over an hour back to Yakima to take White or Chinook pass. We decided to take Chinook since it would spit us out closer to our home in Maple Valley. Well Chinook is at higher elevation than White Pass, and by the time we got there, the road was covered in ice as well. We had to stop twice, each over an hour and did not get home until well after midnight.
I got 6 hours of sleep and woke the next morning to run 13 miles with my friend and running partner Mary Hanna. Then I biked the course for the Cedar River Flat Ass to determine mileage and the best places to drop off water and have an aid station. In all, I rode 21 miles since I needed to recalibrate my odometer. I was spent by the time I finished. Hopefully I will be recovered for my double this weekend. Fifty miles on Saturday at Autumn Leaves in Oregon and the UWR marathon on Sunday from Kent to Alki. Hope to see some of you there.
That’s all for now. Did you all see my article and picture in Northwest Magazine? Cool, huh?
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