Thursday night thoughts...

Yes, that is the sort of title I come up with when I really have nothing to say but feel like writing anyway. Had such a great sleep last night after the massage and amazingly didn't have any pain this morning - Sue was sure I would feel it after her deep tissue work. Shoulders are much better though I am convinced I'll never again have a day where I feel no pain in them! Didn't bother to get up for yoga this morning I think the extra hour in bed was a much better option. Crazy day in work I don't think I sat down for more than 5 minutes. One of those days where you eat your breakfast at lunch time and your lunch at... mmm... did I eat my lunch? But after thinking I'd be there really late we got an issue sorted at 6:30 pm so I called Tanya to see if she was still up for biking. We met at LTF in Maple Grove and got a good 1:10 ride in. It's sooo nice getting outside on the bike...
Oh my gosh - I am sat here watching the Colbert Report (one of my fav shows!) - and Hillary Clinton is after walking on set - he's doing the show from Philly ahead of next week's primary. Ha - she only stayed a few minutes but she was funny. Nice one. Not that it matters since I can't vote. Which is good since it means I'm allowed to be on the fence! But I do enjoy watching the debates. Though I almost feel bad for them with some of the questions. Like seriously - is it really that important that Obama doesn't wear a flag pin? Is that really worthy of debate on national TV when the country is (1) at war, (2) in recession, and (3) incredibly divided. Ok, that enough. It's a dangerous road to start talking politics when I have such little history in the country. Anyway, another 20 minutes sucessfully wasted and I still have work to do. Better plan on an early night tomorrow night or the 4 loops won't feel so good Saturday... Oh - now John Edwards is on the show doing "Tonight's Word" - he's good - ok so it's totally scripted but he's pulling it off. Still, I don't think his endorsement (if he ever gets around to deciding - how's that for holding out 'til someone ask you to be VP) is really going to make a huge difference. Ok. gotto go. Oh wait - to finish off Barak Obama has just come on via videolink. Good segment. Funny. I like him but I always get the feeling he's speaking like he's on the podium no matter what the setting is. Not in the sense that everything is scripted but I think that he's such a good orator that it's easy for him to always be in speech mode so that I feel like he's talking at you not to you. Anyway. Am signing off this time!

To run or not to run...

I'm lying on Sue's massage table this evening, hearing - not to mention feeling - the gunk in my shoulders cruching as she rolls over it - and I decide I won't run Trail Mix. Next she's working on my legs and they feel pretty good. A solid rock at the top of my plantarius (sp?) but apart from that they are fine! I decide I will run the 25k. Driving home I talk to Kami on the phone and she's feeling much better after a few days of rest and was heading out for her first run. And she's for sure doing the 50k. I decide I will run the 50k. Peer pressure - it never fails!
end of post.

Recovery?

I don't know what's going on with my body but I ain't complaining. I have never felt this good so soon after an ultra. I was really expecting to be in bits on Sunday given how sore I was immediately after the race and then sitting into the car for a 2hr drive home. But for whatever reason I woke up Sunday morning (after a glorious 10hr sleep) and hopped out of bed amazed to have no quad or hamstring pain. Like none. I did the touch-toe test no problem and then I tried the stair-test down to my basement - terribly scientific I know - and again no problem!Did an easy swim Sunday afternoon and a nice walk around Lake Harriet. Then Monday was like most other Mondays... yoga in the morning and swim in the evening. Worked really late so I slept in this morning (ah how I love calling 6:30am a sleep in...) and this evening had a fun bike ride with the gals out around Corcoran and Medina. We did close to 2hrs in some serious wind. It was great fun heading north - sailing along at 27mph and my heart rate at 133! But the journey back was a little tougher. Treated myself to a new HRM on Sunday - I'd been eyeing up the Sunto watches in REI for some time now so I figured after Saturday's effort I deserved it! Went the whole hog and bought the foot pod aswell. I suppose this means I'll have to step on a treadmill one last time this Spring in order to calibrate it...

Tomorrow morning I'll be up early for a run with Bronywn. I am thinking I'll be able for the 7-8 miles but better not get too cocky... I have a massage tomorrow evening and knowing Sue she will unearth more that a few troublesome areas. My shoulders did take a lot of the stress on Saturday and are a reminder of the long day out there. I have a bad habit of tensing them while running and I know all that awkward shuffling on the trail made it worse than usual. I'm not sure if it worked but I will recommend it anyway - IB-relief - it's a topical ibuprofen cream that I believe recently got approved in the US. It's kinda spendy and I generally don't advocate dosing up on meds but the fact that you don't actually ingest the stuff makes it seem almost harmless!

Still on the fence about Saturday. I know I will end up starting the 50k and mostly likely finishing it but I want to reserve the right to drop out if I start to feel any pain! I just recently added a return trip to the Promise Land 50k in Virginia the following weekend and I want have a good run down there. I need to go to DC for work the following week and as I was looking at flights out there it hit me that it was the weekend Kami and I had flown out there for the race last year. I checked the website and sure enough the race was Saturday and registration was still open. David Horton puts on an excellent series of races around Lynchburg and after an awesome experience at both this race the Mountain Masochist in November I am excited to be heading back down there. A lot of the same names have signed up again and I am looking forward to seeing a few people I ran with on one or other or both of the races last year. And I figure it will be good training for the Jemez Mountains 50M in mid-May. Yeah, that's the other one that just got added to the race list! I have been planning it for a while but have kept it to myself as it's a bit of a mad idea given the course profile - which I could pull up and post here but I am not quite ready to study it again. Hopefully the altitude in the Blue Ridge Mountains will produce a few red blood cells just in time for the trip to Los Alamos...

Chippewa Moraine 50k (part 2 - the long part...)

It’s been months since I wrote up a ‘proper’ race report. Not for lack of races. I just seem to have lacked my writing inspiration and have taken the easy option with a quick blog. But this one was an epic journey and so deserves the real deal…

It’s always fun to take part in something new so when I saw the posting for the inaugural Chippewa Moraine 50k I didn’t hesitate to sign up. I hadn’t much on the calendar for spring (a misnomer for April in the Midwest if ever there was one…) but knew I wanted a few early 50k’s so that I could get up to 50 milers in the summer in preparation for the big one – Sawtooth 100 in September. It’s been on my ‘to do’ list since my first adventure up on the Superior Hiking Trail back in 2005 and needless to say Kami was easily roped in. Fingers crossed we will be ready for it...

According to Wikipedia - "Most mammoths died out at the end of the last Ice Age" - I guess this one survived and hung around the Northwoods for a few more years until Wynn was out hunting one day..."

Whatever it is about Kami and I driving to a race (recall snowstorm on I-70 enroute to Moab last year) we can’t do it without a little drama and Saturday morning was no different. Given that it was about a 2hr drive we decided to just drive out that morning rather than stay overnight. Even when the weather took a turn for the worst it still seemed like a good idea. It wasn’t so bad for me but Kami living an hour west of the Twin Cities had to leave her place at 3am. I had the luxury of setting my alarm for 4am, hopping out of bed seconds before the doorbell rang. We were on the road by 4:30am, hot tea in hand. I-94 was fine but once we headed north towards Chippewa Falls it was a different story. It didn’t help that I couldn’t follow the Mapquest directions but luckily I had a road map in the car and we found our way after a few moments of indecision. As we made our way onto the smaller roads close to the race start it was a little hairy not knowing how slippery the roads were but it got easier with the sun coming up. Got to test the road conditions at a junction close to the park entrance - hopefully I didn’t frighten the other driver when my brakes struggled to stop me just in time to avoid going through the stop sign – I know my heart rate got higher than it would be for the rest of the day!

It was about 6:35am when we parked the car with race start at 7am. So we quickly got our things together, filled water bottles, stuffed a few gu’s in the pockets, all the while I’m chowing down my bowl of cereal. We warmed-up by jogging up the hill to check-in, picked up a very nice technical t-shirt and dropped it back to the car. Close to 180 people had registered for the race but only 120 had checked in ahead of us. I guess some thought better of it upon reading the race directors blog the previous day describing the trail conditions and weather forecast. A few minutes later we were back at race start to listen to Wynn’s race briefing before lining up at the race start – essentially a few flags lining the course in a field of snow! A hint of what was to come…

We started off by heading back down the hill on the road and then crossed over onto the trail. It became immediately apparent that the guys at the front had their work cut out for them. It must have been like doing the high-knee drill… for 15 miles rather than across a football field. And while it was definitely a little easier for us followers it was impossible to find a steady running pattern. I would try to follow the person in front of me but inevitably they would have a shorter or longer stride than me. I tried keeping my legs close together so that my feet would stop sliding off to the side – but then I’d end up kicking my ankles. All trail races require more focus that road running where you can sometimes lose yourself and still maintain a steady pace. But this was something else. But damn it was beautiful. The snow that had fallen steadily all day Friday and through the night was that wet and fluffy kind that sticks to everything. The trees looked picture perfect as we meandered our way by the first of many lakes. Almost all the trail was single track so we arrived at the first aid station in a long line of runners. We were wearing gaiters for the first time and of course we’d put them on the wrong way but thankfully they did the job. Kami adjusted hers while I grabbed a handful of gummi bears. Ok, two handfuls of gummi bears. The mile marker sheet read ‘2’ but it was half covered so I figured it was 3.2 as it seemed like that first section had taken forever. But upon closer inspection it was simply 2! A little rounding perhaps – but I was glad to know for the way back how long it would take to the finish line from that last aid station. It was a straight out and back course.

The next few miles passed quickly enough and we got to the mile 5 aid station in the middle of much the same bunch of runners. Another handful of gummis and a few M&Ms and I was good to go. I’d started the run well-hydrated but knew that I should be drinking more. I was carrying a 24oz water bottle so I told myself it would be empty by the next aid station. Along the next section of trail I passed maybe ten or twelve runners – stepping off the beaten track into the knee-deep snow – a little taste of what the leaders were going through! The trail itself was not particularly difficult in that the hills were mostly runnable and the footing would likely be pretty good under decent weather conditions. But there was nothing decent about the slushy snow that provided no resistance so that each time my foot went slightly to the left or right it just kept going… it would have been easy to get frustrated but it was a little too early for that and anyway we knew what we were getting ourselves into here and we still came. I recalled “No whining” being top of the list of race rules on the website!

I got some water at the aid station at mile 8 though I hadn’t drank much more than half of my bottle. Didn’t eat anything here. That’s probably the worst thing about running in colder conditions, you don’t feel much like eating or drinking. Most unusual for me. Especially given the selection of goodies available at trail race aid stations. We soon came to a section of road which felt like heaven (I know, a blasphemous thing to say about a trail race) but the solid footing provided a much needed reprieve. If only for a few minutes. The next aid station came quickly at mile 10 so I didn’t stop here. Which as it turned out wasn’t a great idea as the next one wasn’t until the turnaround. The course description and aid station details that I had printed out were somewhere in my car but of course I hadn’t actually gotten around to reading them. I guess I’ll know for next year…

The next five miles were tough. No question about it. Although, I was one of the lucky ones that didn’t take a wrong turn at around mile 12. The lead pack had done so and traveled up a ‘trail’ about a quarter mile or more until standing in waste deep snow they came to agreement that bad and all as the course was this couldn’t be it. Another group in front of me had done the same thing and were just back at the junction when I got there. I felt bad for them. We were about 2.5 hours out there at this stage and no one was in the mood for bonus miles but in fairness they were all pretty jolly about it! I was hoping to see the race leaders on their return any moment now. It would be bit hairy stepping off course to let them by but I figured the sooner I saw them the closer I was to the turnaround. Sure enough along came Adam, with a big hello for me. He looked in flying form. I knew from reading his blog that he’d logged plenty of miles and it certainly seemed to be paying off. A few more runners passed me and then John who I’d had the pleasure of running with the previous week at Zumbro Bottoms. I was having fun again now, and I got the sense that I was doing pretty well out here which of course helped me push harder. It’s all in the mind! The pack had spread out a lot by this stage but I could always see a few in front of me and knew there were runners not far behind. I’d passed a few ladies earlier on and a few more in the last few miles but I figured there were still a few ahead of me. Not so, I arrived at the turnaround aid station to be told by Wynn that I was the first female – nice one. Downed a few cups of coke, some pretzels and yet another stash of gummi bears (I tell myself I could be addicted to worse things). Heading down the hill from the aid station I met a bunch of people including two of the ladies that I had passed. Under pressure now! I was guessing the return course would be a little easier given that the snow would be more packed. But of course some sections would be worse where the snow had melted and the mud had taken over. Still, my legs felt good and I felt like I had plenty of energy to get through it. Strangely enough my back and shoulders had been giving me the most problems. I think the hot yoga class on Friday might not have been a great idea. It has been a while since I’d taken that class and there are a lot of back bends. But I knew it wasn’t something that would really slow me down. Unbeknown to me Kami was having a pretty rough time out there. She was suffering from a severe lack of sleep (work and school) and was probably coming down with something. But fair play to her she gave me one of her huge smiles when I met her. Meeting people on the way back was really motivating – almost everyone had a smile on their face and it was just amazing to see so many people pushing through these kinds of conditions knowing how worthwhile it would be at the finish line.

The first few miles on the way back passed really quickly. I had definitely picked up the pace – helped by a guy from Michigan who was doing his first 50k. What a way to start your ultra career! We ran together for a few miles. Then I ran for a bit with Steve who I’d run with the weekend before also. His feet weren’t doing so well. I’d managed to keep mine reasonably dry until about mile 10. The first time my foot landed squarely in the puddle of mud and water was a nasty shock but after a few more it didn’t seem so bad and eventually I forgot what it was like to have dry feet. I only felt pain in one of my toes for short while around mile 20 and thankfully they went a little numb after that. I’d stopped counting the number of falls long ago. Most of the time it was just down on one knee as my foot went too far in one direction. Though there was a particularly graceful one just after the turnaround when I met Todd and I’d half turned to exchange a few words. Down I went, face first.

By the time I reached the aid station at mile 21 the effort was catching up with me. I filled up on water and had another cup of coke but didn’t feel much like eating. But after this aid station was the section of road so it was nice to get a break again. I’d been exchanging positions with a guy in a neon yellow vest which served as a great visual aid to focus on when I started to fall behind. I eventually finished a few paces behind him and had to thank him as he really kept me going in those last few miles. And another huge thanks must go to the volunteers – I can imagine it got pretty cold for them at times standing around waiting for us all but they all had a smile and words of encouragement for us. Every time I say I’ll pass on entering the next race and volunteer instead. Someday I’ll actually follow through on that. Before long I was at the mile 23 aid station and took another gu knowing I still had well over an hour to go. Most of the next section was considerably better on the return journey but there were a lot of muddy sections and sure enough as I was navigating through one my leg got caught in a branch and down I went right into it. I put my hands down first so I made a nice mess of my gloves – and my water bottle. Of course I was more worried about anyone seeing me fall yet again so I hopped up and tried to clean myself up grabbing handfuls of snow as I went along. I was able clean the bottle well enough to keep drinking and when I got to the next aid station with about 5 miles to go I dumped the gloves. I thought I was so smart to have put a spare pair in my jacket pocket – until I pulled them out and they were soaked. So much for my super technical water proof windbreaker – clearly not road tested by multiple rolls in the snow! I kept the neon yellow vest in my sights well enough for the next few miles and was running just behind when we came to the last aid station. I felt like I was keeping a good pace but I will admit to having looked behind me several times by this stage – not that I could see more than 20 meters back on the winding trail – and not that I was at all sure I’d be able do anything about it if the next lady came along behind me! But no sign of anyone. We’d passed one or two guys along this section but mostly it had been a quiet old time for the last several miles. Decided I may as well take my third gu after we left the aid station. It might say 2 miles to go but I knew it would be a good 25 minutes to the finish. My legs were still feeling pretty good - no ill effects from running with the two Eric’s on Wednesday night after all. I was giving them a hard time for making me run fast but maybe it loosened out my hamstrings which have been giving me trouble.

There was nothing typical about how I felt on this race. The conditions meant that every core stabilizing muscle was being called upon and I was building up lots of tension in my shoulders but my legs felt good most of the run and while I wasn’t wearing a heart rate monitor – or a watch for that matter – I knew that apart from a few of the hills on the way back when the footing was really bad I hadn’t felt really winded too often. But the last mile and a half I was trying to pick it up a little. It was a race I will remember with pride but at that stage I just wanted to be done! And there was always that risk one of the ladies would come whizzing by… Seeing the cars parked along the road high above the path I knew it was less than a mile to go, around the edge of the lake, winding up and up until eventually seeing the clearing. Though I had remembered it differently from the start as I thought we immediately came out onto the road but there was still about a quarter mile of trail along the edge of the woods and then onto the road and back up that hill, crossing back to the trail and onto the last stretch of snow I plan to run on for several months… And across that finish line… first female… sweeeet!

It was a surprise to win this race. Ok maybe not a big surprise by the time I crossed the finish line. But standing at the start line that morning I didn’t have much aspirations. I had run a decent 50k out in Orcas Island in February but have really been taking my time getting in shape this year. And I’m not very comfortable with winning races. It’s not false modesty. I know I’m a good runner. It’s just that I never expected to be a good runner. I’m strong, I have endurance, I’m determined and I have my head in the right place (most of the time). But I’m not naturally athletic and it wasn’t that long ago that the idea of winning a race was absurd. I’ve always been into outdoor activities but I was pretty unfit as a teenager and that continued through college. When I moved to Japan I started making it to the gym pretty regularly and eventually worked my way up to running 5km in 30min on the treadmill (so you can imagine how good the recent 20:12 PR felt!). But after tearing my meniscus while skiing and then moving back home a few months later I easily fell into my old habits and it took me a few years to find the gym again. I drew a lot of inspiration from a friend training for her first marathon and after a few short road races during the summer of 2003 I just sort of stuck with it. Starting to run outdoors helped a lot. I’d always run on the treadmill at the gym. But soon heading out for an hour long run was just something I did. And the amazing this was that I was no longer running to get fit, or to lose weight. I was simply running to run. And to compete of course – against myself mostly. Though beating the skinny bean with the matching Nike gear felt good too.

Anyway, that’s enough sharing for one day. All this blogging has made me a bit soft in the head…

Special word of thanks to Wynn for the awesome award. I look forward to finding an appropriate place to hang it and having to explain it many many times! And for the lovely ‘finishers print’ from a scene along the trail that each runner received after crossing the finish line – what a neat tradition to start. The post-race grub was excellent too. I was driving so had to pass on the beer but it doesn’t get much better than vegetarian chilli followed by hot chocolate and blueberry pie!

Looking forward to next year already. Delighted to hear it is a little later in April. I am glad to have experienced Saturday’s conditions but I’m excited to go back and have a completely different trail race. Though the same outcome would be nice...

Auntie Helen

Béibhin Lucy Scott (7lb 9oz, 50 cm) arrived Monday morning (Perth time).

It’s an Irish name pronounced ‘bay-ven’.

Mother & baby doing well – I haven’t spoken to my sister Fiona yet but we exchanged a few text messages. My niece Ella who is 4 was speechless when she saw the baby which is most unusual for her. But later managed to say “It’s a girl – I was right”!! Indeed – she would have been terribly upset if a boy had come along as he might not like her plans to dress the baby in pink. And only pink.

Tuesday update: chatted to my sister last night for a few minutes - they are all doing well. And got a photo today - how cute is she??!!

end of post.

Chippewa Morraine 50k (part 1)

EVERY part of my body hurts right now. But in a good way! I am delighted that I won today but man that one tough run... snow, snow and more snow. And muddy snow. And then just mud...

More to come tomorrow. Now I sleep for 12 hours...

Thanks Wynn for a really great event!

End of post

Trails, trails, trails...

Caught the bug big time yesterday - those few hours on a new trail in Zumbro really got me motivated. So off I went to Afton at 7am this morning... and was done before the rain started! It was beautiful as always out there. Not as much snow as yesterday but plenty of mud. I wore my Montrails and had a few issues with my right foot so I'm not sure which shoes I'll wear next weekend. Picked up a pair of gaiters at REI on my way home but won't have a chance to try them out before Saturday so I hope they work out ok. If not, I guess I'll just have extra wet/muddy shoes...

My leg still looks a mess but thankfully it's just skin deep. I thought my shin would be sore this morning but I actually felt great all over. I think the last few days of ramping up the training is doing me more good than harm! 60 min bike ride Friday and 90 min yesterday afternoon (in the sunshine!) - along with the two runs - and somehow my hamstrings feel better than they have in the past 3 weeks... long may it last. I have a massage with Sue tomorrow so I'm going to have her work on that mostly as my usual neck and shoulder issues are not too bad this month. Whatever I did in yoga 2 weeks ago when I pinched a nerve in my shoulder - while extremely painful at the time - actually seemed to help in the long run. In the end I guess our bodies just work some things out...

Now - I gotta check out the results of the Connemara Marathon - the one I should have been doing back home today! I signed up for it the day after I ran it last year as I had such a blast. If you are ever thinking of a marathon in Ireland please check it out - you won't be sorry. Given various work and travel schedules I ended up deferring to next year. Looking forward to it already!

The end

Zumbro Bottoms Fat Ass

Last minute decision to hit the trails for the first time since Orcas. I've been getting the miles in on the road but there's a small matter of a 50k next weekend (Chippewa which by all accounts is a very popular inaugural race) so when I heard about Larry putting on this run on the UMTR website I was immediately tempted. But it was a 2hr drive each way for approx 2hrs on the trails so I figured I'd just wait until next weekend. Until late last night when I got an email with updated details of the run and I just knew I had to go! Pam and I had been planning to run with Kami from her house while others were doing their long run tomorrow morning. I figured I'd just head down there myself. Given it would be another hour for Kami to get to this side of town I knew it wouldn't work for her but Pam was up for it. So we set off at 6am this morning and found our way to Tielman...

Yes, there is a good story behind this...

Caribou - serving good coffee and ice-packs!

Of course once we got to Tielman we were a little lost not having a clue where the trail started. But sure enough we spotted a few people in a car wearing what we decided was technical fabric - we'd make great detectives - and followed them... indeed Nancy, her husband and friend were headed in the right direction.

After a few minutes chatting with Larry (confirming he did receive my Sawtooth entry - no backing out now!) and others we set off towards the river. We ran with John (2008 Arrowhead winner - WOW - 'nuff said!) and Steve - nice flat run along the river, across the bridge, up and down a few big ones and after an hour or so we left the guys at the river as they were going quite a bit longer than us. In any case I think it was only fair to let them off as we are just a tad slower! So we headed back along the south/east side of the river, back across the bridge and back to the picnic area.

Oh - you want to know about the leg - well, ok... so I'm hammering down that last hill on icy snow knowing it was just a matter of time until I wiped out. The packed snow wasn't so bad but every few yards there were patches of ice - I thought maybe my feet were going fast enough that they weren't actually touching the ice for long enough to slip... not so! Around a corner, no chance to navigate around the icy patch and down I went, slid along the ice and snow into a tree. THUMP!

Oh how I wish that was what actually happened! The truth - Pam and I are running back to the picnic area after a very enjoyable 2hr run - and I decide, in my infinite wisdom - sure, I can hurdle the HEAVY GAGE ROPE (which as Pam told me later is there to stop cars!) - OW OW OW - most emabarassing of all - there were witnesses.

Oh well. I'll know better next time... and at least I can tell my running into the fence story to people - when I'm ready to be laughed at that is. Pam on the other hand had a similar experience with a fence that you might not hear until after a few cocktails...

Biking outdoors at last...

What a great way to end a month that at times seemed like it would go on forever... snow, snow and more snow... and actually I think the last day of the month will bring more snow but TODAY we had the chance to bike outdoors for the first time since last November! With the right gear (thanks to a quick trip to the new North Face store), it was a beautiful afternoon out on the roads around Lake Independence. Isn't there something kinda breathtaking about riding past frozen lakes? The best thing was feeling 100 times better than the first outdoor road last spring - which wasn't actually until May if I recall correctly. So, despite the pain I have to say somewhat regular attendance at Johnny J's spin class is worth it!

Of course, having a brand new bike and loving it more each time I sit on it helps :)

(the end)

An unexpected 5k PR!

About a month ago Pam told us about a 5k event in honor of St. Paul police officer Joe Plant who died suddenly last year. Pam's former colleague is married to Joe's sister and she'd heard about the event being held to raise money for a memorial fund and to put a bench in his memory at Lake Phalen in St. Paul where Joe spent many hours training for his running events... By all accounts Joe was the sort of person you would not forget if you were lucky enough to spend time in his company and certainly he was taken far too soon. So myself, Pam, Karen & Tanya headed over there for the 8:30am start and were delighted to see a huge turnout. Having run our 20 miler yesterday we were all feeling a little tight and certainly I had no intention of taking off like a bat out of hell. But Pam had other ideas... and yes, I just felt like I had to keep her company! In her words 'you teach me to run distance and I'll teach you to run a fast 5k'. And she meant it - 20 minutes later Pam crossed the finish line and I was about 15 seconds after her - not bad for tired legs! To cap off a fun morning with friends we had brunch at the Egg & I off University... I don't think I need to eat for about a week...

Helen Lavin 30F 20:12 6:31

The Longest Run...

With a 50k only 2 weeks away we needed to get a long run in this morning. It all seemed like a good idea until my friends announced their engagement earlier this week and had a few of us over for dinner last night. Let me just say that running 20 miles after a bottle of red wine feels exactly as it should. Miserable. Still, it was probably the best thing for me. And really I couldn't complain as it was totally self-inflicted over-indulgence whereas Kami was struggling through on a few hours sleep due to her class assignments on top of a busy work week.

Chippewa Falls will definitely be an early season warm-up and not a race for me - but just to be safe I'll pass on the wine the night before.

end of post

Orbea Ora

What a beautiful piece of machinery... made in Spain and put together by the very helpful staff at Grand Performance in St. Paul...

Yes, I even got it in my native Sligo colours...

I'd been thinking about a new bike since the start of the year and was pleasantly surprised to hear that the Ora was within my budget. Jeff helped me put together the custom order a few weeks ago and then Dan fitted me on Friday. A few adjustments later (including a few shims in my right shoe due to my leg being a good centimeter shorter!) and it was ready to be picked up yesterday... So for once I am actually looking forward to spin class on Tuesday! And even better will be getting out on the roads in a few short weeks... not that you would think it looking out the window today at the 4-5 inches of snow that have fallen since Thursday night. The ironman bike ride is the end of April so I figure a few practice sessions on the road in the lead up to that and a good 62 miler that day. What a great start to the season considering last year I didn't get on my bike until the middle of May!
end of post

Brunch

News of the week is that I can actually cook after all - well, sort of. Omelets turned out quite tasty even if I do say so myself. I had a few of the girls over for brunch yesterday and we feasted on omelets, waffles, fruit and of course chocolate being the end of Lent and all - not that there was a lot of fasting done on my part...

Yes, the empty plate at the end would be mine!

After we got done eating, the girls kindly cleaned up in the kitchen...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For the first time in my 3 years here I actually partook in the celebrations! It continues to amaze me how into it the locals are but I suppose any excuse to party a little... or a lot... certainly the folks in Chicago were making the most of it this weekend. Myself, Karen and Tanya headed down there for the weekend. Karen's email a few days prior to the trip was titled: "Chicago weekend: bring your running gear and drinking shoes!" As it turned out we spent about equal time running and drinking - but don't worry, we didn't mix the two...

I flew into Midway so I met the girls in town and we headed out to Karen's friend's place in Lincoln Park who had kindly given us her fabulous condo for the weekend. Found a local grocery store and did the usual stocking up of food - it's always the same when I travel for weekends these days - I get such a buzz out of food shopping in new places and finding things the local co-op doesn't have - and always seem to buy enough food for a week... still, an hour in a grocery shop generally does a lot less damage to my wallet than an hour in a clothes shop so it's probably not a bad thing! Back home, we relaxed and chatted for the rest of the night.

Up early Saturday morning to run the lakefront, we got in about 14m in pretty good conditions - a little windy here and there but so much nicer than the previous weekend when we ran from Gear West and basically froze! Got to see lots of the sights along the run including an array of wonderful architecture and sculptures - one of which would be better suited to Seattle (a coffee bean) - but it is very cool all the same! After the run, we got cleaned up and headed back into town in the hope of catching the second half of the Ireland vs England Six Nations rugby match at Fado irish bar... should have known better - there was a line into the place since 9:30 that morning! I caught the score anyway at 16-10 to England so I decided I was better off not watching it. Grabbed a much needed coffee and headed over to another bar nearby - Celtic Crossing - where we met Karen's friend Tom. Funny guy. Lots of interesting stories from Karen's sordid past... 15 years in Chicago equals a lot of history! Six beers later I was well ready for food. It was either that or spend the rest of the day in the pub. And I am glad we chose the food. It had gotten cold outside - the beer induced heat not quite enough to insulate against the windy city - so we found the nearest place (Hard Rock Cafe) and sobered up with a good hearty meal and gallons of water!

After that we were ready for the real action - a visit to the shops on Michigan Ave! We made it through quite a few of them, mostly just googling at the jaw-dropping price tags (Burberry etc) until we found our way to the altogether more reasonable North Face. $200 for a technical jacket I don't need - no worries! Tanya still had her $500 voucher from the race in December so I helped her make light work of that... she even managed to go over and had to pay a few dollars towards her large bag of goodies! Despite our great intentions earlier in the day, by the time we left the NF store at 8pm we'd all decided against re-joining the party and instead headed home to eat our picnic dinner and relax with a glass of wine. How sensible indeed.

Sunday morning Karen's friend Fiona picked us up and brought us to the swanky club where Karen used to work out - and which is frequented by Oprah and Obama no less! We didn't spot either but there was no shortage of people watching to be done. The facilities are top notch but at $160 a month I figure you'd want to be guaranteed at least one celebrity-spotting a visit. There was still some sight-seeing to be done so we headed outside for a run along the river and south along the lake to Soldier Field (home of the Bears). Back to the Bean then for a quick photoshoot. Karen's knee was not cooperating so we grabbed a coffee and a taxi back to the gym.

Next up a fabulous brunch at the House of Blues - very neat venue. And such a selection of food. The omelet was very tasty but I think top honours must go to the waffles. Yum yum yum. And the music was fun too! Fiona kindly dropped up downtown afterwards - right to the door of Tiffany's - where again we had a few deep breath moments as we asked prices on the sparklers that the recently engaged Karen is eyeing up. Honestly Tim, we didn't encourage her. Well, not too much.

And then back to the airport. Whereupon my flight was delayed for 2 hours zzzzz didn't get home until 11pm. Still, it was well worth it after the fun weekend we had!

Spring is here!

Ok - I am calling it. Fingers crossed the weatherman is correct and we are finally over the worst of it. Not only did our clocks change so that we now have an extra hour of light in the evenings (yeah!) - there will be multiple days over 40F this week - the first time since mid-November! As much as I love having 4 seasons in the year (as opposed to Irish weather of 4 seasons in any one day) I am so ready for warmer weather. It has seemed like the longest winter despite spending 3 weeks of it in New Zealand and another week back in Ireland. I guess next year I need to plan even more trips...

New month, new me...

So I am kicking off my New Year a little late, like 2 months late, but better late than never. And with that comes a return to spin class. Ugg, pain! Yes, on Tuesday night I returned to 2hr spin class (mercifully shortened by 10 mins to allow time for stretching). So I am hoping to keep it up twice a week until end of April when we hopefully can get back outdoors - hoping to do the Ironman bike ride in Minneapolis which I think is April 27 or thereabouts. The good news is that it may get a lot better once I get my new bike - yes, I have decided it's time to buy my way to a more comfortable and thereby faster ride... or at least that's what I am banking on. I have my eye on an Orbea Ora so fingers crossed I can get what I want within my budget. If not, I guess the basement repairs will just have to wait... who says money can't buy you happiness?!

New Zealand

I'll just say it once - this is a country you MUST visit! My friend Deirdre and I spent 3 glorious weeks traveling around both the south and north islands and it was hard to find a spot we didn't like. Our adventure began with a 24hr journey for me (preceeded by 22 straight hours in work and no sleep for a night) and an even longer haul from Deirdre who flew from Shannon to London to LA - where we met - and then to Auckland, crossing the International Date Line (+1 day) before a short hop south to Queenstown... where my little sister Caz met us at the airport. Caz is traveling in Australia for 2 years and had been in NZ for a few weeks. She was headed back to Sydney to spend Christmas with our brother and their friends but first I got to catch up with her for a few days. It had been 15 months since we'd seen each other but it seemed like yesterday... text messages and phone calls have made the oceans between us seem like narrow rivers!

We launched right into adventure with a gondola spin up to a lookout over the town and the beautiful surroundings - think small urban Lord of the Rings. The early evening light was shimmering off the lake (which we later discovered is absolutely too cold for swimming) over which skydiver after skydiver floated - before landing safely in a nearby park. While my sister raved about canonswings, bungy jumping, waterfall climbs and just about anything that could be considered an adventure activity I was just looking forward to a relaxing few weeks (ok - with a half ironman included - one of the reasons we were down under). But looking at the skydivers glide though the air I did think this was something I could incorporate into "relaxing" - assuming I'd actually make it out of the plane...

With Deirdre looking out over Queenstown

To cap of a great first day, I went for a run on some trails and found myself heading up towards the lookout - this time on 2 feet as opposed to sat in a gondola - slightly more effort required! I didn't it to the top but instead turned onto a different track and found myself barrelling down a narrow winding trail for ten minutes of heart-thumping, ankle twisting fun! Live to run. Run to live.

Day 2 found us on the road to Milford Sound where we hoped to kayak the next day. It started out well - except for Caroline seemed determined to overturn our 2-man - but there were high winds and eventually the guides had to turn us back. We were disappointed not to make it out further into the famous fjord but we weren't going to argue with nature, not in these unforgiving surroundings. Enroute back to Q'town the next day we stopped in Te Anua for my first lake swim since ironman (Sept)... having been in the pool maybe twice since... wetsuits on and in we went - and you know, it wasn't so bad. The water was pretty cold but I was just happy to be getting some practice in - 10 days before the 2km swim awaiting us in the Port of Tauranga! To Caroline's distress on the shore we managed to hold up a ferry - the skipper luckily having spotted us crossing his path... oooups!

Kayaking with Caroline in Milford Sound as the storm rolled in...

Back in Q'town that night we hit a yoga class as Unity Yoga - a very neat spot run by an American guy who was familiar with Core Power Yoga (my second home) and who gave us a wonderful 2hrs of vinyasa. There was just Deirdre, myself and one other guy. Caroline left for Christchurch (and Sydney) the next day - Christmas Eve - and we headed to Wanaka - a really nice spot an hour north of Q'town. While we'd enjoyed the adventure capital of the south, we found it a bit too full of travelers (like, who did we think we were??). Wanaka on the other hand was somewhere that real NZ people actually lived! We hired mountain bikes for a few hours and found a fabulous trail overlooking the lake. Then later, after another yummy home (hostel)-cooked dinner, we went down the road to midnight mass which was hosted by a very nice priest who made us all feel right at home and not 10,000 miles from our families! Next day, I got up early and had a glorious run on the same trail by the lake (during which I tried to devise ways in which I could run trails full time... like maybe live in a trailer in northern California, run in the morning, work in a coffee shop in the afternoon, yoga in the evening... so I'd have to forgo any more LV handbags but surely I could manage that? Well, ok, maybe not). And then later on the road to Franz Josef - a little town where we spent most of Christmas Day cooped up by the fire avoiding the rain hammering down outside - not quite the turkey on a barbie experience one might have expected in the middle of summer in NZ... but that was a cool thing about the country - it's like a collection of micro-climates. It could be pouring rain one place and twenty minutes down the road the sun is splitting the rocks. Next day we set off early for our hike on the glacier - a great experience - the vast glacier set amongst tree covered mountains, onlly a short hop from the sea, is truly a phenomena. After a few nights in Franz Josef we headed further north and across the mountains headed towards Christchurch. To break the journey, we stopped off overnight in Arthur's Pass - where again I found a lovely hilly trail to run on. And a nice relaxing evening playing Trival Pursuit! Once in Christchurch we hit the shops bigtime, and then sampled the nightlife. Next morning I had a lovely long run along the Avon river - the whole setting reminded me of small town England. Then we found a hot yoga class before hitting the road south.

Ready for a night on the town in Christchurch

It's weird - at thsi stage we had covered a lot of ground in just a few days but I think the combination of relaxing for a few hours every evening and getting to do our regular activities like running and yoga made it seem way less rushed that it probably sounds. Mt. Cook was our next stop - we had a bit of fun along the way as we discovered we had no cash and there were no ATMs along the way. We ended up going 30 mins past the turn-off for Mt. Cook to the next town - only to discover the ATM was out of order! Luckily the hostel took visa and I had some US dollars so I changed them at the swanky hotel with a lookout to the famous peak (at a ridiculous exchange rate) so that we had a bit of cash for snacks etc. After a walk aorund and a relaxing evening in the village, I got up early the next morning to run the trail out towards Mt. Cook - and boy was I rewarded with a spectacular view. It was really beautiful in the early morning sun. I was just sorry I didn't have my camera as by the time we drove over that way in the afternoon the summit was clouded over. By this stage of the trip I had decided against doing a skydive but Dee was up for it so we checked into it at Mt. Cook airport on our way out that afternoon. Unfortunately the wind was picking up so she'd have to wait a few hours. So we opted to continue on the road back to Queenstown and maybe check into it back there. And there was always the north island... it was Dec 30th and we had New Year's Eve booked in Queenstown so we wanted to check out somewhere else on our only other night on the south island. But where to... Dunedin and other interesting places along the east coast were too far of a drive. We'd already been to Wanaka... so we hit on Glenorchy - with a cute name like that it would have to be fun. And it's the start (or finish) of the Routeburn track - one of the more famous in NZ - so we figured there'd be something to do. We wanted to get a swim in also and this town was along a lake. However, it turned out to be the coldest lake I've ever stepped foot in so that was the end of that! The hostel in wee Glenorchy left quite a lot to be desired - not least because of the cats everywhere. Ugghhh - there is no animal I like less that cats!! Deirdre on the other hand is quite a fan and took no small pleasure in calling the cat over to join us... On our way back to Q'town on New Years eve we did find another smaller lake around which lots of people were setting up camp for the night - and had a fabulous swim followed by a picnic lunch and then a walk along the trail overlooking the lake. It was a perfect day - warm and sunny but not too hot. Later than night we enjoyed a yummy Thai meal, a few glasses of wine and then watched the fireworks over the lake in Queenstown. A great way to end a wonderful year.

New Year, New Island...

We took a lunchtime flight up to Auckland, picked up my bike from airport storage and packed up the car. We'd gotten a really good deal on an estate car that worked out brilliant. It was even less powerful than the smaller one we'd had on the south island but it was cheap and fitted everything in so we were quite happy despite being slower than a few of the cyclists on the hills (did I mention the number of bikers on the roads - lots and lots, expecially on the north island)!

First stop was a small town called Thames at the start of the Coromandel Peninsula. After we got settled in the hostel, we took a drive up the coast and sampled the sea swimming... yuk - salty!!! I was very relieved to hear from the hostel landlady later that evening that the water in the area was particularly salty. Phew - I would not be able for 2km of that! Next day we drove further up north around the peninsula and across to the eastern coast where we found a lovely beach to have a proper swim. It was much nicer than the previous day. But wearing a wetsuit in the sea is quite different to the lake - there is so much more natural bouyancy that it's sort of hard to stay level in the water.

Sea-swimming - is that excitement or fear in my eyes??

And then it was on to Tauranga where we would be participating in the 19th annual Port of Tauranga Half Ironman in 2 days time!! Dee dreamed up this idea about a year ago with the intention of meeting her sister who would be travelling down under. As it turned out her plans changed but in the meantime Dee had found this race, convinced me to do it (ok, it didn't take much arm-twisting) and then in the end it was my little sis who was travelling there at the time!!

It had all seemed such a good idea last July when I signed up for the half - it was the middle of the summer, I was full of energy and training for IM Wisconsin. However, by November, with the long season over, capped off by a brilliant experience at my first 50 mile race, I was ready for a good long rest. And that's exactly what I did... I rode my bike once between September 10 and January 4 and swam maybe twice! I'd kept up the running of course but even that had slowed down with the December snow. So it was that I showed up in transition at 5:30am on January 5, 2008!! In a weird twist of fate I was racked next to a girl who had a towel from the 2006 Lifetime Fitness triathlon - and I was wearing my tri top from the same race (the only reason I did that race was for the gear!)... turns out she is from Germany, living in NZ, and was on a business trip to Minneapolis at the time of the triathlon and decided to sign up. Then there's me, from Ireland, living in Minneapolis and on holiday in New Zealand doing a triathlon. How's that for coincidence. Anyways, the race... well, it was a lot of fun and I ended up doing better than I expected - and feeling better than I expected which was the main thing - the swim was ok. The bike was long and windy. But the run, the run was beautiful - part of the course was 2 loops around "The Mount" - a dirt trail with fantastic views of the coast line. It was really quite hard to keep your eyes on the path! Dee had a great race for her first half IM - her run finish was such a blast - she sprinted down the home straight with every single person turned to watch her as she dashed for the line to make it under the 6 hour mark - which she did!!

Celebrating a good day's work

We'd splashed out on a nice hotel for the few days in Tauranga on account of our race and enjoyed a few glasses of wine that night. Not that it was my first tasting of NZ wine since landing - in fact, I sort of forgot that aspect of training along with everything else... BUT with the race over there was no need at all to feel guilty and so when we landed in Napier a few days later, in the center of the Hawkes Bay wine region, our first task was to book ourselves on a wine tour. We'd contemplated a bike tour but that just seemed too much like hard work, not to mention potentially lethal, so we settled for a nice comfy air-conditioned mini-bus tour. Which turned out to be a great idea... 5 winerys later, more than enough samples, some good cheese and a few purchased bottles that I would have to find room for in the luggage, and we returned to our accomodation slightly sloshed. But not quite done for the night... off we went to find a little action in downtown Napier. Let's just say it wasn't the most happening spot... in fact, it was one of those towns where you weren't quite sure if anyone lived there at all. The lights were on alright. But was anybody home?

After a few days in wine country we headed back inland to what was my favourite town in New Zealand - Taupo. Home of the NZ Ironman. Considering it's held in early March it's unlikely I will make it there if training here in MN but you never know... it is definitely a place I'd like to return to. And we did swim in the beautiful Lake Taupo so I have that part of it down :) And I got a great view of the area while jumping out of a place... yes, I gave in and decided to join Dee on a skydiving adventure. And I am so glad I did. Costs a ball of money but sure it's one of those things you just gotta do... it was a tandem one of course so really I had no reason to be scared. But I still thought I'd be terrifed as we left the plane. And I was quite worried about the ride up there to 12,000ft in a wee plane. But as it turned out it was just such a beautiful view all I could do was gaze out the window in awe! And when my turn came to roll out the door it all happened so quickly that I really didn't have time to think about it. The freefall was about 45 seconds but fel like 10. Then once the parachute opened it was pure bliss. It was the most peaceful experience I've ever had. I was grinning from ear to ear as we glided through the air - amazing views of the lake, the town and the countryside. It was a fabulous sunny day and we could see for miles. I was sorry to have to land!

To cap off a great holiday we spent out last 2 nights in a spanking new hotel-like hostel in National Park village from where we did the Tongariro Crossing - a 17km hike across part of Tongariro NP. What a way to end the trip! Again we were blessed with wonderful weather and the views were spectacular. Being the competitive people that we are we couldn't just stroll up and down the hills - oh no, we had up to 8 hours to get to our destination where the bus would pick us up and we got there in 5!! A good workout indeed. The views across the volcanic mountains and lunar valleys was very cool. Not to mention the Emerald Lakes about half way along the hike. The picturesque scene more than made up for the nasty sulpher smell!

Lunar landscape along the Tongariro Crossing

Next morning with a few aches and pains, we loaded up the car one last time and hit the road for Auckland. Enroute we collected sheepskin rugs and a few other gifts - as much as we could squish into the bike boxes. And that night we boarded the flight for LA. And home. What a trip. Make it there someday. You won't regret it!

2008

It's the end of January and I have already failed miserable to stick with one of my New Years resolutions... which was to post regular blogs! I have a few excuses, mostly being on vacation until January 11th (see next post), returning to freezing Minnesota and a few burst pipes in my basement... followed by a very busy few weeks at work! But I have finally logged on - and there's a lot to catch up on...

Sorry to disappoint you - I intended to list my New Years Resolutions here but I just haven't gotten around to it yet!

Josh Ritter... king of cool!

A few of us went to see Josh perform at the Cedar Cultural Center last night. WOW - it was my first time seeing him live having been a fan for a number of years now (thanks to my big sis Marie!) - and he was just phenomenal!!

So full of energy, very funny - with his quirky stories - and he just looked so totally chuffed to be on stage! He performed a good mix of old and new - about 5 songs from his new album which I am still getting used to... I know I will be hooked before long but some of the more country-ish songs take a while to grow on me.

He's back in ireland in late November/early December - which unfortunately is a week later than I am hoping to be home!

Glacial Trail 50K

A quick recap/brag...

Tanya & I ran this on Sunday last. Great event - excellent organization and a beautiful trail. It was a bit of a drive to get there on Saturday but well worth it. The trail was fairly technical but nowhere near as hilly as my previous two 50k races. I was meant to just use it as a training run for the 50 miler in November... BUT...

I was doing pretty well and feeling great at halfway so I kept up the pace - and won! And I thought I'd finished about 12th overall but just checked the results online and see that I was no.8!! Top ten - now that is a first... and it's my first ever win on a trail (my one other win was the Champlin 10M back in June 2005). So what started out as a training run ended up as a very memorable day!

Place Name State Sex/Age Time
=============================================
1 Chris Toepfer IL M 44 3:53:00
2 Matt Zak MN M 34 3:56:29
3 Joel Lammers WI M 45 4:19:47
4 Rob Yamry WI M 26 4:21:45
5 Mark Dziedzic WI M 31 4:39:59
6 Ron Bero WI M 46 4:45:06
7 Joseph Sackett IL M 41 4:45:50
8 Helen Lavin MN F 30 4:45:53
9 Joel Dziedzic WI M 29 4:46:55
10 Jason Krezinski WI M 34 4:52:44