Miwok 100K, May 2010

A little behind in my posting here given that I've another race report to write from yesterday! But first here's my account of a (mostly) wonderful running experience on May Day 2010.

It’s pretty common a few days after a race for me to think about how much I’d like to do it again the next year. But I have to say that long before the finish line of Miwok 100K I was already mentally adding the calendar reminder for the lottery entry. Yes, it really is that cool of a race. The beach start, the scenery throughout the entire course, the people, the trails, the climbs, the downhill finish... everything about this race makes me want to run it again. Not to mention the areas for improvement.

Best laid plans

On the day, I was certainly happy with my finish. But it wasn’t what I had hoped for when I got my spot last December. I’d put in good miles but not enough hill work. Definitely not enough core work. And in the past few weeks too much travel, too much junk food and not enough sleep. I had spent two weeks in Ireland immediately prior to the race. I’d had hopes of getting in some good training that first few days back home but that got rudely interrupted by a volcano in Iceland which had me traveling for an additional 30 hours and pretty wrecked for the first few days of my trip. Though still well able to enjoy a wonderful weekend with family and friends. That was followed by a pretty busy week of work in Galway and catching a cold along the way. I’d run a 10 mile trail run and my right foot had bothered me almost the entire way. I’ve been dealing with numbness under the ball of the foot for a few months now but every so often the whole foot goes numb, and then my ankle and leg start to feel like they are full of fluid. It doesn’t actually look swollen but just feels that way. Anyway, enough whining. Things I could have controlled such as eating rubbish every day were just as much to blame for my lack of enthusiasm leading up to the race. Thankfully, the second weekend at home, a week before the race, I had gotten out for a fabulous mostly off-road 10 mile run. Sun shining, peace and quiet, just the ragged looking mountain sheeps for company... I knew with every step of that run I was absolutely getting on the plane for San Francisco. First I had to get on the plane back to the US and that all went a little smoother on the return journey. A few days in MN and then off to California Friday morning. I had time to check out the start/finish area and enjoy some of the amazing scenery I'd be running through the next day...










The Oscars

Miwok 100K: This huge race is of course going on in California today and I had to laugh when I read the live update: "Tony Krupicka just arrived at the start with Jen Shelton." What is this, the Oscars? I was hoping for an update on who Helen Lavin arrived with, but no such luck.

SLG posted this on her blog and it made me laugh too as the Oscars was exactly what I was thinking lining up on the beach among this star-studded cast many of whom I recognized from the pages of UltraRunning magazine. On the early out and back sections it was fun to see all of front runners settling into position and then later past the halfway point seeing who was still up here in the mix.

It never always doesn’t get better

Things started out just fine. Still a little dark with the 5:40AM start, we trotted up the trail from the beach at Rodeo Lagoon in a long line of 300+ runners and out onto the road after a few minutes. Up a paved road for a mile or more to a turnaround and back down, enjoying the first of the many amazing views of the day with the Golden Gate Bridge off to the right and the sleeping city beyond it. The bridge looked unbelievably beautiful in the dawn hour. Soon we were off road again and onto the Costal Trail before another short road section and then back on the trail and uphill to the second turnaround. This was a nice climb that I ran most of. Just as on the road out and back we got to see the top runners coming against us. A sight almost as glorious as the famous bridge.

Back down and we were already at the first AS at Bunker Road (6.2M) – no need to stop here as I had plenty of water. Heading north now and onto the grassy Rodeo Valley Trail and then the first of the real climbing started with some walking as we headed up the Bobcat Trail. At the top we could see across towards Sausalito and north along Highway 101. And then as we turned again towards the coast, the first of the steep descents... down, down, down the Miwok Trail which is mostly a dirt/gravel road surface. I guess they are called fire roads but I associate that term with grassier trails from the races I’ve done in Virginia whereas out here it was mostly dusty, slightly rocky terrain. Onto Old Springs Trail for yet more downhill, dropping almost 800ft in total by the time we arrived at Tennessee Valley AS (11.9M). I was feeling good all along here but it was still so early in the race. My foot felt a little numb coming down Miwok but it wasn’t bothering me. I’d taken a gel before hitting this AS and then refilled with water and nuun. Onto a road section for a half mile or so and then we were climbing once more as we met up with the Costal Trail again. There is an amazing myriad of trails here! Not a huge climb, maybe 400ft, on a packed dirt surface. Spectacular views from the top and soon we were descending again. It was difficult to keep my eyes off the ocean but the trail was narrow in places and while not technical it still requires concentration. The field had pretty much spread out around me at this point. I knew from the early out and back sections I was in about 20th place among the females. Going into the race I had abandoned my January goal of top 10 but I was still been hoping to get closer to that. Still, I didn’t want to get too wrapped up in those thoughts so early in the race. I’d been feeling good and wanted to enjoy just being out there on these beautiful trails. Well, within about five minutes of thinking that, things started to go wrong. My foot was still a little numb and my toes were a painful on and off but more than that I just felt so tired. The trail was winding in and out along the bluffs with some climbing but not much. But even those little climbs seemed to be taking a lot out of me. My lungs felt great, stomach ok but my legs just felt done. I couldn’t believe it after not even 15 miles... I wasn’t even thinking about the distance still to go. It was mostly wondering how could I feel this awful after only a few hours out here. I wasn’t wearing a watch and didn’t want to know the time until at least the turnaround but I was beginning to think it might be a very, very long day. I kept wanting to just stop and lie down in the grass looking out towards the ocean. What a lovely day it would be for that! I tried to think of Susan’s text message... enjoy, happy, lucky... except I didn’t feel happy, I wasn’t enjoying myself. I felt tried and slow and fat. I was walking any chance I got. And then I fell. I was on a narrow trail through a meadow high above the ocean and completely not concentrating. It was the best thing that could have happened. I’d been half wanting my foot to get worse so I could have an excuse to drop out but the fall, which almost sent me rolling down the hill, woke me up. I had a little talk with myself – good thing nobody was close behind – and got moving. Like, actually running, quite fast. I decided I hadn’t come all this way to feel sorry for myself just because the race wasn’t going as I would have liked. I was here. I was lucky to be here. I love running long distances. It would get better. It always gets better.

Soon the trail started to descend towards the Muir Beach AS (16.0M) where I took another gel and refilled water. Helped myself to some fruit and a few pretzels and walked out of the AS trying to tell myself I wasn’t really feeling that bad. Scott Jurek was cheering on runners here which was pretty cool. And having read his interview in Runner’s World recently I was actually kind of motivated by seeing him. There was a small group of us leaving the AS together so I kept with them as we meandered through the mostly flat few miles on the Redwood Creek Trail. I have to say this was my least favourite section of the course. I was getting my head back into the running but it wasn’t very interesting along here long grass on either side of the narrow trail was a little annoying. We crossed a road and headed up Deer Park Fire Road... and I immediately regretted not enjoying the flat terrain. Up, up and up... merging with Costal Fire Road and more uphill! For much of this section we were on a trail parallel to the Dipsea trail. I can see why that race is so appealing. A total gain of ~1500ft over a few miles. Fun indeed. Finally, it leveled off somewhat as we continued along the rolling Old Mine Trail towards the Pan Toll AS (21.7M). Boy, was I glad to get here. I’d started to walk more than I needed to again and was very happy to hear that the next section was much nicer with little climbing. I remembered from the altitude profile that after the first really significant climb there was a few miles of flat before the major descent to the turnaround. I needed to enjoy this section!

We entered the woods and back onto the Costal Trail. This section was beautiful – probably the closest to local trails here in MN – winding through the woods on hard packed dirt trails. Some technical sections but mostly very runnable. Ken from Toronto passed my along here and we would see a lot of each other over the next few hours. Life was looking better with each step. The sun was filtering in through the trees and before long we were out on the ridge as the narrow trail meandered through meadow, in and out and up and down, for the next few miles. I was feeling so much stronger along here and the views of the ocean were majestic. After a short road section we were back on the costal trail and descending towards another short wooded section. This section was the longest so far at close to 7 miles but it felt shorter than the previous two!

I arrived at Bolinas Ridge AS (28.4M) a lot happier than I had imagined a few hours earlier. I had passed a girl a while back and maybe a guy but I was mostly running by myself. No music on this run, I didn’t feel like any distractions today. I was getting curious about my time but decided I’d wait until the next AS to ask. We’d started at 5:40AM and I figured the turnaround which was at around 35 miles could be considered halfway in terms of time. Knowing I’d lost some time in my late morning stupor I was hoping to get there in around 6 hours with a goal of 12 hours and possibly 11:30 if things continued to go well. After a water refill at Bolinas I was off again along the wide dirt trail. Some rocky sections and rolling ups and downs. I figured I’d be meeting the front runners before long. Before that I met Gary Robbins who had dropped and was heading back towards the AS. His race report is a good account of how tough it is to make that decision. Soon enough along came Anton, followed a few minutes later by Hal Koerner. The next few guys I didn’t recognize but looking at the results they mostly maintained these positions through the finish. Kami Semick looked super strong leading the women’s race and next Devon Crosby-Helms and others followed. They were all so friendly, particularly Jenn Shelton who’s smile probably betrayed how she was feeling as she dropped from third to eight place over the remaining miles. The fire road had entered the woods by now and the softer terrain continued to roll along with mostly runnable hills. About 5 miles in we took a left onto Randall Trail and down we went along this old, rutted fire road, switchbacks all the way, 1.7 miles to the aid station at the bottom. I hit the turnaround at Randall AS (35.6M) just behind another girl figuring from the female count that I was in 16th place. Not so bad. After refilling and a few cups of coke I asked the time before starting the ~1000ft climb out of here. 11:50AM. Cool – 6:10 on the clock. A little behind what I hoped but that was okay. Nothing much I could do on this uphill other than stay focused and try to maintain good form. I didn’t attempt to run any of this. A few passed by but I was sort of enjoying the break and looking forward to running once we hit Bolinas Ridge Fire Road again. And run I did – feeling strong on the rolling terrain and swapping places with Ken and another guy many times along here. A lady with an English accent passed me – I ran behind her and her friend for about a mile but knew their pace was just a touch too fast for me at that point. I was very impressed to see she finished 9 minutes ahead of me.

Got back through Bolinas Ridge AS (42.8M) – refilled water and took off through the nice wooded section and before long back out on the high meadows. Ocean views off to the right now. It was pretty hot in the afternoon sun now but there was a light breeze every time the trail turned out towards the sea. I had pulled down my arm-warmers by now and would leave them in my drop-bag at the next aid station. By the time we ran the short road section and the volunteer said it was a little under 3 miles to Pan Toll, I was feeling it in my legs again. But I knew it was under a half marathon from there and we would be cutting out some of the early hills to get back to the finish line a different way. Of course, I would find out later those hills would be replaced with bigger hills. But for right now I was keeping positive about how fast I could finish! I was running by myself all along here though every so often as the trail turned I could see a few guys up ahead. But no women. Darn. There were lots of hikers along this section also and for the most part they were very friendly and stepped off the trail for the runners. It was such a narrow trail in places, and cut into a steep slope that often the hikers could only turn to the side to let us by. I was feeling pretty bad for these folk who had come out here for a beautiful hike in the sunshine only to have it rudely interrupted every few minutes. That was until I came up behind this group of four hikers and while three of them stepped to the side this one guy stood in the middle of the trail with his back to me, telling me to go by in a not very friendly tone, knowing full well I couldn’t get around him. Eventually he half moved and I got by biting my tongue to say nothing more than a thank you. Didn’t have the energy to waste it being annoyed and since we were the ones messing up their day I left it behind. Happily this section seemed a little kinder than the outward journey and I was hoping to reach Pan Toll with about 8:40 on the clock thinking that possibly I could still try to finish in 11 hours. That was a bit ambitious given how slow the hike out of Randall had been. I got there just behind a few of the guys and as I was grabbing a few things from my drop bag I asked the time – 2:30PM. Closer to 8:50 then depending on how close to 5:40AM we’d started – I was hoping of course that we might have started a little late...

Retracing our steps for a few more miles, we had some gentle downhill along Old Mine Trail and onto Coastal Fire Road before the huge drop down Deer Park Fire Road. I caught up with Ken again here but once we started climbing on the next section he was gone. We crossed the paved road and were back on the Redwood Creek Trail that I wasn’t so keen on earlier. I’d been trying to figure out when the course would change knowing that we didn’t return to Muir Beach. Soon enough we came to a left turn. As it happens there were a few hikers sitting on a rock here and told us ‘our gang’ weren’t far ahead. They were sending us straight saying that some people had just gone by that way but the pink markers were turning left. After a moment of indecision we turned left. Very odd especially to hear later that it’s that junction where most people do miss the left turn and here we had people innocently trying to send us the wrong way. We were back on the Miwok Trail now and it soon climbed up and out onto a ridge. I passed a lady and her pacer here and soon a few guys also with pacers. There was another girl just ahead and I passed her but then almost straight away got a sharp pain in my middle back and had to stop for a bit to stretch it out. I continued along a few hundred yards behind the girl as the trail rolled up and down for the next mile. It was hard packed dirt road again now and we were reaching the top with vistas out over the Mill Valley area. I knew we must be getting close to the next aid station now and was in need of a coke boost. I’d been taking gels every 40-50 minutes, nuun tabs in my water bottle and a few salt pills every so often, coke and pretzels at the aid stations. My stomach had been good for most of the day but every so often I felt a little nauseous. I was drinking more now though especially with the warmer temps and the climbing. Got to the Hwy 1 AS (54.7M) and checked the time. 3:30PM. I was pretty happy to have covered a little over 5 miles in the hour especially as my back was really tight on any downhills. I had no clue what was causing it as I’d never had a pain there while running. I suppose a combination of the hilly terrain and my lack of core strengthening. Someday I’ll be disciplined enough to do it. I left the aid station just behind the other girl, walked for a bit up the hill and then got back into a decent rhythm for the next section of dirt road as we approached the steepest downhill of the course along Fox Trail. We’d climbed up from Tennessee Valley earlier that morning on a parallel trail which was a good thing as bad and all going down this hill was I could not have imagined coming up. I passed the girl on the downhill but even at that it was too steep to really make up any time so I knew it was going to be close to 11:30 than 11 hours at this stage. Down onto the paved road and up the half mile to Tennessee Valley AS (58.4M) once again. 4:12PM meaning I had about an hour to cover the final 3.8 miles and finish in 11:30. Sounds very doable right? Until I remembered the downhill to get to this aid station that morning. Though it wasn’t actually too bad and I was able to run some of it. But I knew the course had to turn south at the top rather than where we had come from that morning, in order to head back to Rodeo Beach. I optimistically thought maybe there’d be a trail that cut right through the hills... and then half way up I looked over to the right across the valley and saw runners high above on the trail making their way around the headland back to Rodeo Beach. Before long I was turning right onto Miwok once again and then right onto the steeper than hell Wolf Ridge Trail. Or at least that’s what it felt like at mile 60. Checking the watch regularly and looking over the shoulder more than once. Finally the top and the paved bike trail down the other side. The finish line was visible now, and the beach where we had started, and more fabulous views of the Pacific Ocean. It really was glorious running down that trail. And then a slight uphill with a serious headwind before a final section of the Costal Trail – the rocky stairs probably the most technical section of the day. Down around what seemed like too many turns and finally the finish line. 11:20:14, 13th Female, 63rd overall.

It was a glorious day to wander along the trails in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Mt. Tamalpais State Park. The race was superbly well organized, the course well marked and the volunteers very helpful. The views really are breathtaking and enough to carry you through the roughest patches. I would highly recommend this race to anyone, especially if you haven’t run in this area before.

Kurt posted a great video clip of the lead guys mid-way through the race on his blog.

And here's me at the finish, the altitute profile, one of the many goodie bag items, and a few pics from the race website...

Chippewa Moraine 50K, April 2010

I started this the day after the race (3 weeks ago) but didn’t get very far. And given that I now have another race report to write I will keep this short... for a change!

Like many people I was disappointed when the race was cancelled. Wynn had put together a really great event for the past two years – with the first snowy frolic sure to remain in our memories for a long time and last year’s race being just a perfect day to enjoy the trail and the 50+ lakes along the course. But then I got into the Miwok 100K lottery and decided I should find a 50 miler for early April. I’d just been down to Virginia for Hellgate and heard about the Bull Run 50M in northern VA. Since there was nothing within driving distance from home I figured returning to VA where I’ve enjoyed quite a few races would be a good option. So I signed up. I was delighted that Jeff resurrected Chippewa but, figuring I needed the distance, I was still planning on the trip to Virginia… right up until the week before. With a lot of travel in the previous weeks and more to come a few days after the race I made a last minute decision to pull out of the race and stay close to home for the weekend. I even got almost the full entry fee back which is pretty rare these days.

Training had been going pretty well and even though I hadn’t tapered much I was feeling good about the race. The previous weekend a few of us had driven up north to run the Duluth section of the SHT with Lisa as local tour guide. It was a great day out. And the day before the race I’d spent a few hours down at Zumbro 100 cheering on the hardy souls out there on a tough 5 loop course. With a fabulous early spring in Minnesota the training and racing season was shaping up well.

It was fun catching up with everyone in and around the visitor centre on race morning. It was a little chilly out but the day promised to be perfect for a long run in the woods. Shorts, arm warmers and my new TCRC "race team" shirt (Thanks Kurt!) and I was ready for off. I was wearing the Montrail Masochist which continues to treat me well though I’ve having a few aches and pains from the old bunions these days. The men’s field was definitely less stacked than last year. Many of the Hyland training gang in particular was down in KS running the Olathe marathon (major congrats to Brian Peterson for running an awesome 2:36 for the win!!).

The first few miles rolled by easy enough. A few guys up ahead and Valeria among them. I love the first section of the course in the woods. At least on the way out. On the way back it is torture as the trail winds around in a seemingly endless series of twists and turns and ups and downs. I chatted with the guys behind and we were all hoping for something around 4:40-4:45. I had run 4:41 last year and said I just wanted to beat that. Though if I’m being honest I actually thought I could run something closer to 4:35. It baffles me that this trail is as tough as it is. I guess I just keep comparing it to Afton and think it should be a faster course. I know it is earlier in the season but you figure the running conditions are much kinder. I guess the cancel each other out. As do the endless rolling hills vs the longer, steep climbs at Afton.

I remember last year how totally done in I felt towards the end. Especially when Nic came tearing by me! I had nothing left in the tank. So I thought I would try to go out a bit slower and have some strength left. It seemed like a good plan. I felt great for the first several miles. Running totally within myself. Enjoying the day. Thinking of the runners at Zumbro getting closer to their goal. Shelly was there to greet us at the first aid station and then a few miles later there was a water station. I liked that idea of a water only station in between the others – it makes sense on a 50K where you really don’t need a lot of aid but allows you to carry just one bottle. The lakes were pretty as always. It really is amazing how much water you go by on this course. Met up with Val just past the second supported aid station at around mile 10 and we ran along the road together. Then back into the woods and a lovely short technical section by another lake. Once I’d crossed the fence I figured it couldn’t be too long until the turnaround… remind me to read this race report before next year’s event – it is still a few miles to go!! I think it was along here where I met race leader Jim, or it could have been back farther. He looked very smooth. I kept seeing what seemed like the hill up to the turnaround off to the left – but it was never the actual hill. Until finally, it was. 2:20. Last year I was there in 2:18. So right on plan then? We would find out.

The return journey is always fun for the first few miles – meeting many familiar faces along the way. It was great to see everyone enjoying the lovely day. I was feeling pretty good and able to run all of the hills unlike last year. But still I wasn’t exactly making stellar progress. I was keeping an eye on my watch but trying not to get too caught up in the calculations. Though once I hit the mile markers I couldn’t help it! Jeff had put on a 10K also and so there were mile markers out for the first 5 miles. It was funny on the way out seeing the mile markers and trying to figure out how exactly the runners were going to get back to the visitor center in 1.2 miles!! Of course the trails wind around so much it’s hard to tell how far you are away from the start/finish area. We gave Jeff a hard time about it at the finish but I am sure the runners enjoyed the inaugural Chippewa Moraine 7+ mile race :)

Upon seeing the 5 mile marker I was at around 3:56 on the clock – could I do 9 minutes miles all the way home? I had come out in about that so I thought it was possible. Not thinking about TFH finish. But as I passed mile 4 and then mile 3 and was running more like 9:15-9:30 I wasn’t so sure. Soon enough I came to the section that goes close to the visitor center – about 2 miles to go. That next mile is the longest. It takes forever to get out of the woods! And then onto the prairie and the finish area visible... wouldn’t it be nice to just run straight up the road. I mean, it’s still a decent hill! But no, and not even straight across the meadow like last year… we had to go the long way around!! Yeah – it is surely 50.2K! It was cool to hear to cheers from the finish area as I rounded the edge of the field, looking at the watch every 10 seconds… and then the HILL. And there’s Jeff snapping photos and I’m cursing him under my breath. And then not so much under my breath. Finally at the top and the lovely slope down the grass to the finish line... 4:41:00! I am not sure if I had rounded up or down last year’s time until later when I check my blog and see that it was 4:41:20... but I didn’t care too much at that point. I was just very happy to be done. And of course to be awarded the prize t-shirt...


Though to be fair, this piece of original artwork by Wynn is perhaps a bit more special!


It was a glorious afternoon hanging out in the sunshine with all the runners and supporters. Great to catch up with Karen and Angela and the other WI and northern MN runners I usually only meet at the races.

I hope to be back again next year and see if I can’t figure out how to get that sub-4:40. Or maybe even sooner for some training… perhaps that’s the difference with Afton where I train on a regular basis. Ah, the strategy of it all!

Thanks to Jeff, Patrice, Randy and all the volunteers and supporters for what was another wonderful experience on the Ice Age Trail.

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A few more photos from the trail - (Thanks Vicky!)

Miwok - brief post race update

I did surprise myself - but not in a good way... I wanted to lie down on the trail and sleep at mile 20!! I felt so done. Zero energy. I was walking even the smallest of hills. Thankfully I recovered over the next several miles and the second half actually felt better than the first. Mind you, it's all relative. This is one tough course. And it did all the kicking butt today.

11:20, 13th F

Happy enough. I know, I know, I should be thrilled all things considered. It was such a beautiful course and I am incredibly lucky to be able to spend the day running along trails with views that are all worthy of screensavers. But man it hurt like hell!

Kami Semick won (again) in 9:10 and Tony (God) Krupicka in 8:02. Zach Gingerich (the only other mid-westerner) was among the early leaders but must have dropped in the first 20 miles.

In other racing news - Congrats to Pam for taking 5th in her AG (another podium finish) at IM St. George, Utah... likely the toughest ironman course out there!

Miwok - ready or not.

Here is what I wrote back at the start of the year when laying out my goals for the year of racing...

Miwok 100K (CA) - 11:00 10:30 (Olga is keeping me honest...)
And a top 10 finish while I'm at it. I don't ask for much. Kami Semick won this race the past 2 years. 2008 was the muddy year and I can't recall what her time was but last year she was just over 9 hours. Incredible. But then she is in a different class. Representing the US on the 100K team and running some amazing times at 42 years of age no less.

Well, I might, er, be revising that slightly... I'll be happy with 11:30 and really don't even want to suggest where I will place.

It's been a rough few weeks of travel, work, bad eating and little exercise. I was feeling pretty miserable with my (lack of) race prep and was on the fence about the race - not even booking hotel accomodation until yesterday. But then last Sunday I went for a run from my Mum's house up around Carrowkeel on some of the same trails I'd run when home in March. Man, it was beautiful. I took a different trail, following the hill walking signs, running along in the blissful silence, bog on either side, Lough Gara far off to the right and Lough Arrow to the left, beyond the Curlew Mountains (hills really...). Sheeps and baby lambs for company. I knew there and then I was absolutely getting on the plane to SF tomorrow morning. Assuming, that is, I get packed sometime in the next 6 hours...

Whatever the outcome, it promises to be a beautiful day out. I'm lucky to have gotten a lottery spot and am looking forward to running in the California spring weather, meeting new people, and discovering new trail... all the while being perfectly at home :)

Home

One of the movies that stays with me the most from the past several years is "Kings", adapted from Jimmy Murphy's critically-acclaimed play The Kings Of The Kilburn High Road. It's a fairly true to life account of many an Irish ex-pat living in north London in the 70's and 80's. And the acting, particularly by Colm Meaney, hits the mark.

There's a lot of relevance in this movie to my own background, not just family history (my parents having emigrated to London in the 60's, returning to Ireland in '79 with my 4 older siblings and myself, a soon-to-be 1yr old, in tow), but in the broader sense of my experience growing up. Still, the words that I am oft reminded of are not specific to the Irish-English connection...

Wondering if he'd be better off returning to the country of his birth, one of the main characters sums up his lack of a sense of belonging:

We're never at home, neither here nor there.

It's funny the effect those words have on me. For the most part, I consider myself lucky to have many places I call home. My house in Minneapolis, my family home, the area where I grew up, and a number of other places that for whatever reason have always made me feel "at home". But still, there is something unsettling about hearing those words spoken as if they were spoken just for me.

As always, I've enjoyed this trip home (I am still here - extended a few more days due to work). And as always, I am more happy than sad to be returning to home in MN.

In many ways, I never want to have just one home. But why then can I not let go of those words?

In brief...

- Chippewa race report will be late, very late

- The chapter for SLG's book will also take a little longer than planned

- After more than 30 trips through Amsterdam airport I actually stepped outside the door last Thursday to breathe Dutch air for the first time

- That was followed by my first visit to Belgium and the north east corner of France

- I know the Eurostar schedule by heart

- But that's useless information if it's fully booked

- The Eurotunnel car-train takes exactly 35 minutes; which, you have to think is quicker than swimming across

- Countless hotels and other travel related businesses are making a mint on the back of a volcano

- Despite this, the kindness of strangers is what I'll remember most from my travels at the end of last week

- That, and the fact that "daily disposable" contact lenses still work perfectly well after 5 days

- And having no luggage is not the end of the world

- At least not when you are lucky enough to get the loan of a lovely dress for a very important occasion at very short notice

- After 40 hours without sleep, you will sleep anywhere

- 40 hours is still waay shorter than most people take to do Arrowhead...

- I have undertaken zero physical exercise since last Wednesday

- And I now have a bad headcold so I don't plan on doing any in the next few days either

- Miwok in less than 2 weeks? I am not so sure that's a good idea

- Though I suppose I should first think about actually getting back to the US

- But before that, sleep...

An EVENT-full weekend...

What a great weekend to be running in the midwest!

Locally we had the second edition of the Zumbro 100 which saw some great times on a tough course especially for runners coming off winter training. I enjoyed the few hours I spent there Friday afternoon/evening getting to see all of the runners pass through either the start/finish area or later at AS 1/4. It was still relatively early in the race so everyone was looking very strong and still smiling... well, perhaps not everyone was smiling. Congrats to John Storkamp who held a commanding lead throughout the day on Friday, battled through stomach issues in the night, and took the win in 23:20.

Saturday morning we set off for New Auburn at an early hour - to run the Chippewa Moraine 50K. A very scenic jaunt along the Ice Age Trail. We all had a good run and it was great to catch up with so many people - all of us very glad that Jeff resurrected the wonderful race that Wynn had conceived of and directed in '08 & '09. I was very happy to win it again though as with last year I was humbled by how tough the relentless hills were. At a glance it seems like an "easier" course than other local 50K but my legs were having none of it yesterday! The full race report will follow shortly.

Further south, in Kansas, a group of local runners took part in the Olathe Marathon and, quite simply, kicked ass! Brian Peterson whose name you'll know from the local trails ran an amazing 2:36 to win (and PR by about 20 minutes). MN took 6 of the 10 men's places with ultrarunners Joe Zigenfuss and Tony Kocanda among them. And in the women's race my buddy Shelley Nelson took 2nd place in 3:17 (another big PR).

Zumbro 100 Updates

Just left the fun at Zumbro and will post this as soon as cell coverage returns!

I spent a few hours at the start/finish area of the 20 mile loop course and then headed over to AS 1 / 4 to catch up with Jen...

Mile 37.1 splits -

John Storkamp 6:15 (43.1 @ 7:25 / 57.1 @ 10:38)
Kyle Gulseth 7:22 (43.1 @ 8:49)
Bob Triplett 7:36 (43.1 @ 8:52)
Brad Birkholz 7:50 (43.1 @ 9:05)
Adam Schwartz-Lowe 7:50 (43.1 @ 9:10)
Brian Woods 8:12 (43.1 @ 9:34)
Zach Pierce 8:19 (43.1 @ 10:13)
Matt Patten 8:20 (43.1 @ 9:52)
Adrian Belitu 8:32 (43.1 @ 10:13)
Darrell Saari 8:43 (43.1 @ 10:26)
Dale Humphrey 8:47 (43.1 @ 10:15)
Kevin Guest 8:51 (43.1 @ 10:35)
John Taylor 8:55 (43.1 @ 10:35)
Tim Roe 9:10
James Benike 9:27
Susan Donnelly 9:31
Rob Apple 9:34
Scott Mark 9:34
Dennis Drey 9:35
Lynn Saari 9:42
Sara Lovett 9:42
Ryan Carter 10:03
Allan Holtz 10:30
Jason Husveth 10:49

John is smoking it. Matt's hanging in there - well, he's doing more than that! He looks in good form but said his knee is bugging him a bit. Zach doing great - he's been running with Adrian from Chicago who's getting in a nice training run with a big year ahead! Lynn & Sara are running together and looking strong... Amy was heading out with Jason as I was leaving. Don is biking the loop! And Maria ran a loop earlier.

A beautiful day for it - almost too warm for an hour or two in the afternoon when the temps were in the mid-60's. But it'll get pretty chilly later on and into the night. Trail conditions are excellent.

Brent Bjerkness unfortunately had to drop early in the 2nd loop.

SHT-Duluth and more spring trail running...

How lucky are we with this incredible early spring weather?

We made the most of it last weekend (can't believe it's Friday already by the time I am posting this - another crazy week), heading up to the Duluth section of the SHT on Saturday. Myself, Vale, Eric, Kami and Jim (male masters - meet your new competition!) left the Twin Cities around 5AM and met up with Lisa, Ron and Jeff at the Grand Portage trailhead in Jay Cooke State Park for an 8AM start.

It started out a little chilly and with the wind in places I was glad to have worn a light jacket (super light - the north face women's hydrogen jacket - it weighs a couple oz and is perfect for a day like this).

We took a detour to stand atop Elys Peak (towering over the St. Louis river at 1,250ft!)...



Along the way we met up with Jeff's wife Patrice several times - it was awesome to have crew! And Lisa had also stashed some food and water near the Zoo area (did someone really ask what's in the Zoo? :) The only downside to the whole day was seeing that horses had been through here and mucked up parts of the still very soft trail. And worse than that there was horse crap in the middle of the trail in several spots. We came across the culprits just before our last section in the Piedmont area and did not get a very pleasant reaction from them. I hope we can identify them as Lisa confirmed they should not have been on the trail despite their claims.

After Lisa's wonderful hospitality (and delicious salsa & beer) - we had an pretty entertaining ride back to the car in the Honda FIT - how many can YOU fit in a FIT?

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Sunday morning I had a lovely run at Afton with Alicia H who has just moved to the Twin Cities from Duluth. I'd only met Alicia briefly at a few races last year so it was alot of fun getting to know her better and chatting about various races etc. Especially her attempt at the Arrowhead 135 earlier this year. Some day...

The snow was almost gone from the ski hills and the park is getting ready for the year ahead burning off various sections over the past week.




The rest of the week has been pretty non-eventful. As usual when I don't run much my hanstrings tighten up - though this week was worse than usual. I went for an easy run with Karen on the Luce Line on Wednesday night and had to walk after a few miles. Not good! But the next morning my hamstrings were so much looser. Though I did tweak my inner left one Monday evening in hot yoga so that's bothering me a little - I can't get into Star pose at all as it's just too tight to stretch laterally.

Dandayamana–Bibhaktapada–Paschimotthanasana

But apart from that I've had some really good classes this week - finally being able to balance in Toe Stand with hands in prayer (ok, for all of 2 seconds)...

Padangustasana

But more on hot yoga later (soon!).

Taking a half day today and heading down to Zumbro for a few hours to hang out, support, heckle... looks to be a beautiful day. Hopefully the weather holds for tomorrow's fun at Chippewa.

Spring Forward

Until learning the "Spring forward, Fall back" mnemonic, I would always need to think for a minute, or ten, about which way the clocks go every March and October. "Spring forward, Autumn back" just doesn't work the same...


And of course I just like the analogy of springing forward - into the year, into spring training, into the nice weather, into the racing season!

This post will be a mix of all sorts but before I get started... when googling for an image to go with my very imaginative post title I came across this one - I thought it was so beautiful. I had never heard of the artist, Joe Tatarnic, before but was very drawn to some of his work. Don't you just love how the Internet opens up all sorts of interesting doors.

Work has been a bit hectic of late. If you know who I work for you will know why! Not exactly fun times around the office but no end of work that's for sure. Which is fine with me until the point that it threatens to interfere with my training... I mean, really, that is just so annoying. I had to work the Sunday before last but got done in time to head out to Afton for a loop - it was a beautiful evening and very quiet at that time I don't think I saw another soul along the trail. I ran the 25K loop in about 2:23 which I was happy with - after bombing along the river trail I was practically crawling up the Meatgrinder - I don't recommend that approach for the race! Mind you, it was a snails pace compared to Matt this past Saturday. It's really time he came up with a new set of "Matt" acronyms...

That Sunday run, following a Hyland run on Saturday set me up nicely for last week. Early on, it was looking like we would have to work through the weekend so I was trying to get in the miles where I could. However, my first 2-a-day in a long time was totally unplanned - I'd been working late on Wednesday and was then treated to a very relaxing leg massage (Thanks Nancy!) - driving home around 8:30PM and get a text from Sonya... sure, why not go for 10 around the lakes. I was happy my legs felt great after 12 that morning.

Thursday I made it down to Lebanon Hills for a loop - adding on a bit towards Dodd Rd - the soft trails through the woods were lovely. I had not run here until this winter so this was my first time sans snow - it really is a lovely park and so close to the cities. It was muddy around Jensen Lake but not bad overall. I'll have to check out the hillier trails across the road next time.

Friday morning there was a great turnout for the Hyland loop - I think 14 in total. It was great to catch up with everyone. I was dragging by the end - I should know that I can't keep up with this gang if I've run the evening before. But good training. Tempted to shoot for the early bird loop this week but we'll see how the sleep ratio is by then.

Saturday morning there was a big group at Afton - thanks to Zach for rounding up the troops. There were so many runners out there we got asked if there was an event on. Matt had already headed out on his PR loop. Everyone else took off while Karen and I hung out for Kami - we headed off on a loop, meeting up with Nancy, Tom and Alicia along the way and several others on the back end. Alicia is getting ready to run the Croom Fools 50K in Florida next weekend - looks like a lot of nice singletrack trail through forest. Steve's fudge was yum. Perfect mid-run food. I apologize for the suggestion that you might have been trying to poison me.

Karen and I headed out again for a short loop to end with 22. I'm looking forward to crewing/pacing for Karen at Kettle Moraine 100 in June. And very honored - I knew this lady had some fast road marathons under her belt but wasn't aware that she'd run the Olympic Trials until we got chatting on Saturday. Wow! That is some achievement. And judging by her training so far this season, she will be well ready to tackle the hundred. Afterwards we hung out at the visitor center for a while - nice warm fire and coffee courtesy of Tom & Nancy. And a lovely surprise - Nancy had made this for me in her, ahem, spare time...


Thank You!

Great to catch up with everyone - I was especially excited to chat with Jim about 3 Days of Syllamo. This is a race I would really like to try next year. And hopefully no one goes missing. Kudos to all the runners for giving up Day 3 to search for (and find) the wandering soul.

And then it was off to spend some cash at Twin Cities Running Company. Easy to do when they have a great selection of gear and lots of new trail shoes (yes, I am promoting here)... I wasn't really looking for new shoes but of course I ended up trying on every pair in the store (Thanks Kurt!) and as it turned out the very last pair - Vasque Mindbenders - were a perfect fit and felt very nice on. I figured it would be great to have an alternate to the Montrail Masochists, especially running consecutive days (which I seem to be doing more and more of) - and my bunions are bothering me quite a bit these days so anything that gives them relief is welcome. But at least my feet are in relatively good shape - I have not lost a toenail in over a year. Hopefully they never look like this...


Yeah, that is pretty gross.

Sunday morning I decided on Afton again. There was a group running at Elm Creek but I knew I needed to do hill repeats and sort of wanted to run by myself so I spent a few hours touring the lovely St. Croix bluffs...

I think 22 climbs in total including 8 times up the gravel hill which as anyone who runs at Afton with me knows I absolutely hate! I know, none of them are much compared to what I'll be doing at Miwok but the smaller, shorter repeats worked fine for Hellgate so I'll just have to hope it's enough. I've decided to abandon plans for running a 50 miler in Virginia in two weeks time. I had wanted to do that distance ahead of the 100K (Miwok is May 1) but just don't want to travel as I'll be heading to Ireland a few days later. The good news is they give a refund less $15 up until April 1. Better send that email. There are no local 50M races that weekend (or next weekend) - so it's off to Chippewa I go! I even looked up flights to Austin after seeing that Hells Hills is rated 4/4 by UR mag - and the fact that it would be very cool to see Olga and Tracy who are both running the 50M and Rasmus in the 50K - but really, I don't need that punishment. I am still signed up for a race in Connemara (IRE) Apr 10 which I must defer until next year. Though it's unlikely I'll want to do it then either. 39.3 miles on the road. What was I thinking? I am also going to skip Ron Daws 25K this weekend. It was a fun race last year - I think I ran a PR for the first 10 miles - helped by Pam pacing me! But instead a few of us are thinking of a trip up to the SHT - and Lisa has kindly offered the use of her sauna afterwards :) The only downside is the weather ain't looking so hot for the weekend - typical, mid-week it hits 70 and then cool and rainy for Saturday. Still, I guess it may well be like that at Chippewa and indeed Miwok. So probably another big week and maybe then take it easy next week ahead of Chippewa but I don't know that it will be much of a taper. Nic, you most definitely will be waiting for me at the finish line - but this year you'll probably be cleaned up and on your 3rd beer!

So spring training is rolling along pretty well. Though I almost passed out in hot yoga last night. I guess I pushed it a bit hard in spin class yesterday morning after a big weekend, and did not hydrate enough throughout the day. Easy run this morning which felt ok but not great. I think my body is reacting badly to no sugar - trying hard to avoid the candy jar! I am still working on that post about hot yoga and running - had a great class Saturday evening after the long run in the morning - it felt so good to stretch out and I was pleasantly surprised by how fresh my legs felt Sunday morning. I hadn't started the week with the intention of my highest ever training mileage (92) but I guess that's what happens when you run almost every day and long on the weekend. I just need to not overdo it now and listen to those 'minor' aches and pains. So far, so good though. I honestly think Way Too Cool 50K got rid of a few nagging issues!

Did my first speed work of 2010 this evening. I was just saying at the weekend that it's hard to fit in quality speed work along with high miles so mostly I just throw in a few intervals during longer runs. But I do like the track and want to try to do something fairly specific once a week. Or even once every two weeks. So after the easy run around the lakes this morning I figured I'd give it a shot. I didn't get to a track but hit the Luce Line instead - it's probably a better surface for me anyway and I like having the 0.1M posts along the way. I didn't do anything too mad - ran about 3 miles easy, 4 x 0.5M with 0.5M easy in between, cool down 3 miles. The 1/2 mile bursts were 3:11, 3:10, 3:06 and 3:00. Yeah I was sprinting at the end of the last one. The first one was the hardest and I wanted to immediately cut it to 1/4 mile. I though of Dee's new slogan from our emailing earlier in the day about speed work... JFDI. Indeed! Felt pretty good overall though my right foot keeps going numb when I run fast. I don't think it affects my gait but it's annoying. And on the few miles back to the car it was quite sore. Feels okay again now. Hyland tomorrow evening so that'll be a nice soft surface for the most part.

Sunday afternoon, on the way back from Afton I stopped off at the Human Race 8K in St. Paul - got there just in time to see the winner crossing the finish line. It was very cool to watch those guys coming in around 5:00 pace. Chris Lundstrom finished 5th in 24:47 and Wynn Davis 19th place with 25:57. Saw several others I know from the trails out there also - Kurt & Sonya, Paul and a big contingent on Duluth runners. It was a perfect day for it, cool, sunny, light cross-winds. Great competition between the Run'N'Fun and TCRC teams. Jenna Boren was the first female, taking 48th overall in this very competitive race, in 27:35 (~5:33 pace). What a beautiful stride as she glides towards the finish line...


Several spring cleaning images also came up when googling for the image up top. I guess that means it's time I took the Christmas wreath off the front door, eh? I have a screen door so you don't actually notice it. Really. And the holly from the mantelpiece. Though I do think it looks quite nice against the white painted wood. Really. I did almost get around to cleaning my car this past weekend - or should I say - having my car cleaned, but that didn't quite happen either. Soon.

But I did get around to some emotional spring cleaning. Along the lines of deleting a couple hundred emails that I have been hanging onto for too long now with the sole outcome of making me miserable every time I read through them. Ah, you sometimes have to wallow a little before moving on. It did feel good to hit the "delete all" button. Springing forward and all that...


A few pictures from Afton

The trails were in great condition...


Hardly seems like a hill at all...


But looks can be deceiving...


Happy to be done...


Legs felt good considering the high mileage week - could it be the magic tights? Or the new shoes...


Or just the lovely scenery...


With some strange looking machinery along the way...


Yes, there were many picture breaks during this run...

Perils with Prius? Oh yeah, baby!

This made me laugh out loud driving home this evening. A funny take on the ongoing saga...

Marketplace on NPR

Great run at Hyland after work - the trails are officially open for (running) business! Plenty of icy snow on the ski hills but easy enough to run across the top. Some mud in the usual spots but generally trail is in good shape. Hill repeats tomorrow... got to start sometime.

Right calf is still pretty tight. Big knot right in the middle of it. But overall feeling good after the weekend's action. The weather was something else this week - hopefully this weekend's drop in temperature is just a brief reminder of how far north we live. Back to Spring then please! Know that I have to start some structured training soon - more than just logging miles. Intervals, speedwork, ugh, sounds like hard work...

It's that time of year again...

... when we're all Irish, right?

So maybe you will enjoy the annual St. Patrick's Day greeting from Áras an Uachtaráin.

I found it a little underwhelming myself. Just like Mary then.

I'm too lazy to find any green clip art but I do like Google's efforts again this year.

Way Too Cool 50K

Okay, I’m going to get it out of the way first - this is one very cool race!

Back in December, after getting into the Miwok lottery I thought I’d chance the Way Too Cool lottery also. And as luck would have it I got into that too. My luck promptly ran out upon a Vegas with the girls. I had a week or so to decide if I wanted to go ahead and enter. I figured a March race in sunny California wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.

Sunny California was nowhere to be seen when I landed at SFO Friday morning and drove along I-80 past Sacramento and onto Auburn (finish line of WS100). It rained constantly. Getting heavier as the day went on. The forecast continued to promise clear skies and sun for Saturday but I wasn’t convinced. Had I really come all the way here to run in the cold rain? I picked up my race packet at the Auburn Running Company store and then drove the six or so miles out to...



It’s a small, one-stoplight town that makes the most of its name. Cool Beans Coffee Shop, Cool Massage Therapy, Cool Hair Do’s. You get the picture. Still raining, I drove by the race starting area to get my bearings for the morning and then it was time for coffee... and some carbo-loading...



Back to Auburn, checked into the hotel around 6pm and had lots of time to organize my race stuff and chill out before another early night. After getting back from Ireland last Monday, and then a fairly intense massage Wednesday evening, I had woken up Thursday with a sore throat and head cold. I wasn’t sure if it was the long flight or the massage churning up toxins or a mixture of both but I felt like I’d been run over by a train. Zero energy all day. Copious amounts of ginger tea helped my throat but going to bed that night I had the shivers and my body just felt sore all over. Amazing what a good night’s sleep can do - I woke up Friday like a new person. Still had a bit of a sore throat and blocked nose but my energy levels were revived. The race didn’t start until 8AM so I had another good sleep, up around 6AM – slight frost on the car but sure enough it was dry and the sun was beginning to break through the mist. I shouldn’t have doubted the forecast. Unlike back home it has rarely let me down. (The general consensus in Ireland is that Met Eireann should abandon all meteorological systems and just go with "scattered showers with the occasional sunny spell.")

Got parked a little before 7AM. I had eaten some granola and yogurt on the drive out followed by a banana. Got a small coffee in the check-in tent and then sat in the car to keep warm. My stomach was in bits. I couldn’t believe it. I rarely get nervous before races. I think being by myself was the main factor – I’m usually either with friends or know some people at the race and don’t have time to just think. And think and think... I had set a goal of 4:45 for this race when planning my calendar for the year. And hopefully a top-10 finish. Not really based on much. I looked at last years times, the UR rating (2/2), compared it to other races, took into account that it was still very early in the season. Should have taken into account that despite logging more miles than previous years for the winter months, I’ve had little to no hill training...

But too late for that now. I just wanted to get going. I had on shorts, tank with TCRC t-shirt over it (very excited to be representing Twin Cities Running Co. for the first time!), and arm warmers. Wearing my new-ish 2010 Montrail Masochists - love these shoes and they don't seem to have changed much about it but oddly enough I needed a size smaller than last year's version. Was undecided about gloves but standing in line for the porta-potty my fingers were turning white so I pulled on a light pair. It was in the mid-30’s but the sun was already beginning to shine brightly so I guess I should have known it would warm up pretty quickly.



A few minutes before race start everyone was out on the road – over 500 runners – the biggest field by far for any trail race I’ve done. But with the first 2 miles on the road, and then some wide trails before hitting any single track I knew that congestion wouldn’t be a problem. And we were off. My legs felt good to be running but I felt kind of shaky. It was weird. My lips were sort of trembling. I guess it was a mix of nerves and the cool air. But it settled down before long. I don’t think the head cold hurt me at all. My lungs were heaving a little on the early uphills but that was probably just a case of pushing too hard too soon. It was a fun group of runners to be among – lots of chatter on the road section and along the next several miles. Mostly CA runners and a lot of them from the Auburn area. Running alongside a group of guys discussing their planned 80 mile bike ride the next morning was a sign that I had indeed gone out too fast. Lots of triathletes and a few too many GPS fiends. I was wearing a regular watch and really did not need to know that we were running 7:20 pace. Make that 7:30 pace. And now we’ve sped up to 7:15’s. C’mon dudes it's mile 4 of a 31 mile race! Though I suppose it did cause me to fall back a bit which was definitely the right idea.

After a good mix of up and down, very runnable terrain, and a few water crossings (there would be many after Friday’s rain!), I hit AS 1 at mile 7.1 in just under an hour. No refill needed. About 20 minutes later I was regretting this upon remembering the two longest sections of the course were the first and second, with the next AS not until 15.6 miles. And I was getting low on water. And it was getting warm. I had taken a gel (still enjoying the Vanilla PowerBar Gels) just before the start and had about 5 or 6 with me, taking one every 45 minutes or so. And triple-berry nuun tabs in my water. I’d dropped my gloves at the AS. I didn’t really want to dump them - they are old and torn but I was kind of fond of them – but I figured it would be annoying to carry them the whole way.

Note - the links are not indicative of any sponsorship (I wish) - just figured I should give them credit for products I enjoy!

The next section was so pretty – lush green mountains, views over the American River Canyon, with glimpses of the river every now and then. The terrain was very runnable and after a while I fell into a nice pace between two other first-timers. The guy ahead mentioned we were on 4:30 pace. I took this with a grain of salt, it was early and I knew there were some big climbs to come. But at the same time I was running well within myself. We continued along for the next hour, hugging the mountainside as the winding trail took us inwards by several beautiful waterfalls and then back out along narrow ledges high above the canyon. The biggest water crossing so far came just before the second aid station. A bit of careful navigation but getting soaked was a guarantee which wasn’t a bad thing as it refreshed my somewhat tired feet. A mile or so back a girl had passed me and I wondered what place I was in. I felt like maybe top 20 but really had no idea. Then we went by a few supporters who told me I was number 8 female. Nice. 2:14 on the clock. Water refill and a few cups of coke at the AS and off up the hill. Then it was onto some very runnable single track. This was sweet! We had a 6.2 mile loop back to the same AS so I decided to see if I could do it in an hour. I vaguely remembered the steepest climb of the race being somewhere around mile 20 but no need to worry about that just yet. Quick bio-break along here and I was off again. It was beautiful, deep in the woods, smooth, soft surface – you could almost run without worrying about your footing. A little up and down but mostly flat. I knew the final miles would hurt and that I was probably pushing it more than I should right now but it felt good to run fast. I was running alone and loving it. I was thinking about Sea Legs Girl’s plans for a book of favourite running routes. I was thinking how incredible it would be to live somewhere like this, with awesome trails and mountains, and great weather year round. I was thinking how much I love running in Minnesota. Even in the winter. How incredible the people I’ve met there are. How much I enjoy training with my friends. How I’ll probably never really want to live anywhere else. How lucky I am to be able to travel to places like this.

Some steep downhill and then, then it was mile 20. And we were climbing. Oh boy. So much for an hour loop. This was painful. Back at the AS at 3:20. Just under 10 miles to go. 4:45 still a possibility? Just about. For now. A little over 5 miles to the next AS. Back the way we had come for the first few miles. Along the single track with the fantastic views. But this time we were meeting runners every 30 seconds or so. To be fair they were awesome and stepped aside but it did make it a bit hard to let loose. Not that I was feeling much like it after the mega climb. But then a girl went by and I decided to try to keep with her. It was fun! She was flying it. I met her after the race – Rachel Baker from San Francisco. A guy was just behind us and we rolled along like this for the next few miles. We turned off to the left and were on new trail as we hit some climbs. And then it really started to hit me. I just was not trained for these hills. My hips were aching. But still, I pulled back close to Rachel on the flats. I knew I was pushing harder than I would have by myself and was really grateful she had come along. Of course, I also knew there was every possibility I’d be crawling to the finish line. Another killer climb to the Old Goat AS at mile 26.8. 4:09. Quick refill and off again. Some nice downhill and then a mix of up and down. More up than I would have liked. I kept thinking we surely must be due some sustained downhill. But it never came. My hips got tighter and tighter. But my lungs felt good. And the scenery just got better. Wide meadows and stream crossings every hundred yards or so. It was so pretty. The course had been muddy in places but having a new appreciation for mud after Psycho Wyco it never felt slow or unsafe even on the downhills.

I was hoping to make it to the final AS back at Hwy 49 by 4:35 but the minutes ticked by and Rachel and the guy were far ahead out of sight. I was beginning to tire. And then, the glorious sound of diesel engines. Along hard paved road. A trail runner’s heaven - when it signifies less than 2 miles to go! 1.3 miles in fact – that was a nice surprise, my calculations had been closer to 2. I half thought of picking up the gloves – but no stopping now. 4:39. Could I do it in 4:50? 1.3 miles in 11 minutes seemed reasonable. Then I realized we were heading back the way we had come for the first mile or so. Which now meant up, up, up. I wasn’t even doing 11-minute miles! I had lost track of what position I was in as one girl – maybe two? - had flown by on the previous section and then I was passing a girl along here. 4:47 at the 1 mile to go sign which thankfully turned out to be quite the overestimation. Mostly flat along here but muddy, almost lost my shoe, but I was feeling good and pushing for the finish. Up a hill and turned off the trail we’d come out on to short cut back to the start/finish area... great support out along the trail here. It was so nice to see that finish line!

4:50:51, 9th F, 60th overall. I was really happy in the end. A bit slower than I’d hoped but when I saw that Darcy Africa had run 4:37 I immediately felt better :) Joelle Vaught was the winner in 4:13. A different league altogether. Caitlin Smith, last year’s winner and CR holder with 4:12 wasn’t running, nor was Devon Crosby-Helms and a few other top women.

Happy to be done... (note the lack of blood)



Crossing the finish line the announcer called out my name and upon hearing Minnesota I had a few people ask if I’d come all the way out here for the race – no big deal to me but upon seeing the results I think there were probably only a handful of runners from outside CA and the supporting states.

Some mud to clean off...



But first things first - the famous frog cupcake!



After cleaning up and hanging about in the lovely sunshine for an hour...





... I headed back towards San Francisco to meet up with friends, stopping at the Hwy 49 AS to pick up those ragged gloves. They’ll live to see another day!

I’d highly recommend this event for any mid-westerners looking for a spring race. Superbly well organized, great support along the course, even on the remotest trails, and overall a very friendly, welcoming atmosphere. The volunteers and staff were extremely helpful and I suppose the sunshine throughout the day helped too! And it’s a bit of a who’s who of ultra running with many top names toeing the line every year. It was a great experience but certainly a good reminder of the work I have to do before Miwok in a mere 7 weeks. That will come way too fast. I usually run my best races mid-summer to mid-fall so I know that to be ready earlier I simply have to train now the way I normaly would in May/June. And that means more than just logging miles. Hill repeats, speed work, intervals. The stuff that hurts. To quote Joe Z (as I did a few times along the trail yesterday) - "There are no secrets. You get out what you put in."

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A huge congrats to Kami, also representing TCRC this weekend at Land Between the Lakes 50M in Kentucky, taking 2nd place in 8:30! And to the other locals who ran that race and those who travelled further south for the 3 Days of Syllamo. Looking forward to hearing everyone's stories.

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A few more photos I took along the drive back to Auburn...