Nutritious Humble Pie

It has been a couple weeks since my last post, so I figured that I would catch up while I sit icing my knees at the end of my last long run weekend before the Ohlone 50k.  It has been a busy couple of weeks full of humbling experiences.

Burnout Bear (middle) runs through a shady stretch.

Two weekends ago, Burnout Bear and I ran Brazen Racing's Diablo Trails Challenge Half Marathon.  We knew that it was going to a tough race when the high temperature for the day was predicted to reach the upper 80s.  Mount Diablo can feel scorching on warm days due to its exposed trails, and this day was no exception.  Luckily, there were 25 creek crossings on the course.  Normally, I wouldn't have been psyched about running 13 miles with soaked shoes and socks, but it actually felt refreshing that day and I looked forward to splashing around in each upcoming creek.  Burnout Bear had a tough time with the heat and I managed to catch up to him at mile 9.  We ran the rest of the course together and even crossed the finish line hand-in-hand.  I was hoping to find a Brazen volunteer taking pictures at the finish since Burnout Bear and I don't usually cross the line together, but no such luck.  We knew that it was not a spectacular performance, but we were further disappointed when the clock at the finish read 2:16.  We had worked as hard as we could and only ran a 10:25 pace!  To make matters worse, the top 3 females finished within seconds of one another (and over 10 minutes before we reached the finish), all breaking the course record.  So, obviously the conditions were not that bad and their success only amplified our feelings of defeat.

Trying to stay ahead...

The "Grizzly Peak Bear" cools off in a Diablo creek.

So, since then, Burnout Bear and I have tried to keep our chins up and focus on our Ohlone 50k training.  The humbling Diablo race experience served as motivation to get stronger.  Our final long training run was approaching and we had to figure out where to run 26 hilly miles on our own since we couldn't find a local trail marathon to participate in.  At the last minute, we decided that it was best to run the race course itself since the temperatures and trail conditions would probably be similar on race day.  To make sure that we would complete all 26 miles without quitting, we planned to run the entire Ohlone trail from the Stanford entrance at Mission Peak in Fremont all the way to Del Valle Lake in Livermore.  This, of course, required some vehicle coordination, parking one car in Del Valle Park early in the morning and then having to retrieve the other car in Fremont at the end of the day.  We ran into some of our friends from the Mission Peak Striders running club on the other side of Mission Peak, and it was a nice treat to catch up with them for a few minutes.  (They must have began running super early in the morning as they were running over the peak and back and were already on the return stretch.)  Burnout Bear and I continued running down into Sunol and stopped to fill up on water.  I looked into my Salomon pack and the bladder read over 40 oz.  I was surprised to find so much water remaining and decided not to fill it up any further.  This was a big mistake.  Apparently, you need to remove the bladder from the pack to acquire an accurate volume.  I ended up having less than 30 oz remaining and this is not enough to reach Rose Peak on a warm day.  We were both dry 3 miles before the peak - and that's 3 miles left of climbing.  So, I swallowed my pride, walked up to a group of hikers and asked if they could refill one of Burnout Bear's bottles for us.  Luckily, they were loaded with fresh water that they just filtered from a nearby pond, saving us from dehydration.  We were so incredibly thankful.  It was not long after Rose Peak, however, when both Burnout Bear and myself began to tire.  The trail bumps along for about 4 miles after the peak, which is very fatiguing after just having climbed both Mission and Rose Peaks.  From then on, we started walking each climb, feeling more and more discouraged.  We had hoped to hold a 12 minute pace as I did during the Grizzly Peak marathon, but we were much, much slower than that at this point.  Our enthusiasm was crushed, increasing our respect for anyone who has ever completed the Ohlone 50k.  We completed 26.5 miles and can only hope to finish all 31 miles of the course on race day!  Our goals for the race are:

• Finish!
• Carry enough water and nutrition.
• Enjoy our first 50k as much as possible.

There is going to be a new moon the evening before the race and a solar eclipse during the late afternoon on race day, so there are already signs that this will be a memorable day!

As for today, I had to complete my final 10 mile "recovery" jog around Brushy Peak.  It was another warm day and Burnout Bear couldn't join me due to work obligations.  So, I was on my own to push through the miles.  I felt embarrassed when bikers passed, or when I had to shuffle past hikers and wished that I could wear a sign reading "I just ran a marathon yesterday!" to explain my sad state.  My goal was to reach Brushy Peak without walking.  This was a tough challenge on tired legs, but I managed to keep putting one foot in front of the other until I successfully reached the peak.  I celebrated by stopping to look out over the town of Livermore for a few minutes and sucked down a warm gel that tasted like raspberry pie.  I realized that this is why I am a trail runner: every day has its own unique challenge (weather, terrain, fatigue) and this keeps the sport interesting; some days you succeed, and some days you just have to eat a slice of humble pie.

Now, taper time!...

Coastal Trail Runs Grizzly Peak Marathon: Bearly Reachable!

When Burnout Bear and I first looked at our 50k training schedule at the start of the year, we knew that the two longest 26 mile runs would be tough to accomplish.  Not only would they demand a lot of time and effort, but a lot of planning and incentive, as well.  We decided that the easiest way to complete them was to sign up for a race.  This way, there would be greater encouragement to start, finish and run strong until the end.  So, for the first 26 mile run, we signed up for the Coastal Trail Runs Grizzly Peak Marathon in Tilden Regional Park located in the Berkeley Hills.  And this was Burnout Bear's first marathon ever!

The week leading up to the marathon, I had the hardest time figuring out what water system and nutrition to use.  Burnout Bear already knew that he was going to stick with his traditional hand-held Amphipod.   He encouraged me to stick with what I have been using in training, as well, (either a Fuel Belt or my Camelback "shirt") and this was sound advice.  The night prior, I finally decided to go with the Camelback "shirt" (the bladder is worn inside of a special shirt pocket) and fill it up so that I wouldn't have to rely on the aid stations too much, if at all.  I would then use my Spibelt to hold all of my other stuff, including salt tabs and additional nutrition.

Based on my prior training pace and the difficultly of the course, I set a goal to finish with a sub-12 minute pace.  This was going to be a challenge, but not impossible.  I would definitely have to work hard, but that's the purpose of a goal, right?

Poison Ivy on the trail.

And what a doozy of a marathon it was!  Not only did it have over 5700 ft of climbing, but the trail was surprisingly technical and was covered with rocks, roots, and mud the entire way.  It didn't help that we were stuck in the bathroom line for 15 minutes (there was only one stall in the men's room) and started the race 3 minutes late.  We were caught behind the slower runners who were walking every incline, including many 5k and 10k runners wearing headphones on a single track trail (grrr!)  (Note: there were 5k, 10k, half-marathon, 30k, marathon and 50k races run on the same course at the same time.)  We had to carefully run off-trail to get around most of these runners, which resulted in a lot of frustration and poison ivy rashes on our arms (!) and legs, unfortunately.

Burnout Bear finishing strong!

The marathon route consisted of 2 half-marathon loops.  Both Burnout Bear and myself ran the first half much faster than we probably should have due to the mental game of running alongside the half-marathoners.  Hearing other runners at your heals is a great way to run faster, but it is tough to block out of your mind if you are trying to reserve energy for a second lap.  The toughest part of the course was the steep descent and ascent (both ways on both loops) on the Lupine trail up to Vollmer Peak which was basically a narrow rock slide.  I saw several runners trip and even one runner at an aid station icing her arm and blue, broken fingers before heading out to complete the final 13 mile loop of the 50k (!).  I managed to complete the first loop in 2:22 and knew that I had a good chance of meeting my goal of a sub-12 minute pace if I could keep it up.  This was a great motivator to conquer the hills a second time!  The final climb to Vollmer Peak was one of the most painful experiences, but I knew that the rest was mostly downhill after that.  When I saw the yellow ribbons indicating that I was back on the 10k course with only 3 miles remaining, I ate a gu that I stashed in my shorts (Cliff Vanilla, my favorite) and it helped me run strong all the way to the finish.  I was ecstatic to see 5:01 on the clock as I ran in.  I had reached my goal!

Finishing with the Grizzly Peak Bear in the background.

Burnout Bear was waiting at the finish as I crossed, looking a bit tired but holding up a medal!  He completed the marathon in 4:47 (clock time; 4:44 running time), earning himself 1st place in his age group.  What a spectacular first-marathon performance!  Burnout Bear certainly conquered Grizzly Peak!

As for me, I managed to place as 3rd female and 1st in my age group, as well.  Somehow, the third female that was in front of me at mile 14 disappeared.  Hmm.  I never saw her again and she didn't finish by the time we left the race...  Hopefully she didn't encounter the Grizzly!

A sample of the trail

An outstanding view of San Francisco from one of the peaks.

A view of Tilden Regional Park.  (All of the pictures above have been provided by Coastal Trail Runs - thank you!)

    

  

Long Island Kings Park 15k: The Fierceness (and Speed!) of Road Racing

Last weekend, I was in Long Island, NY and needed to squeeze in a run.  My Dad was taking a brief running hiatus and I wasn't psyched about pounding the pavement alone (no, there are no good trails), so we asked our local running friend Javier if there were any weekend races.  It ended up that I was in luck, and the "hilly" Kings Park 15k was being held the next morning by the Greater Long Island Running Club and USA Track & Field Long Island.  A dinner of New York cheese pizza and wine would have to do (and was delicious!)

Javier, Mom, and me: staying warm before the start.

My last road race was a 2-person CIM relay with Burnout Bear in December, so, in addition to getting in some much needed mileage, I was curious how my legs would perform on the road again.  Upon arriving at the elementary school where the race started and finished, I immediately noticed an intensity amongst the runners.  I could barely find the race registration desk in the gym amongst all of the clustered teams.  Most of the racers were showed their running club loyalty by wearing matching singlets and shorts.  I began feeling stomach butterflies.  I felt silly standing around while runners warmed up and stretched in high tech compression fabric and neon racing shoes.  My warm-up consists of bouncing up and down to keep warm in the early morning, at most.

As it grew nearer to the start time, I begrudgingly stripped down to my shorts and t-shirt and we headed outside of the school.  It was a chilling 40 degrees or so, making it a tough wait... and then the horn went off!  The first mile was slightly downhill and I was enjoying the fast start a little too much when I heard "6:30" (!) at the first mile marker.  I instantly backed off of the gas because I knew that I would soon burn out if I kept that up.  My goal was to strive for a sub-8 minute pace, but I didn't want to blow it.  So, I slowed down and held on to a sustainable pace the rest of the race.

Waiting with Javier at the start.

This was the first road race (over 5k) that I have run without headphones.  Doing so allowed me to overhear remarks made by road runners and spectators:

Around mile 4, I was running uphill alongside a man who suddenly shouted, "You can do it, Joe!  You can do it!"  I didn't see anyone around respond, but perhaps Joe was really pushing hard.  Then, 2 minutes later, I heard the man shout somewhere behind me, "Go, Joe, go!"  Apparently, Joe was his own cheerleader.  Interesting strategy.

Then, just after the 10k mark, there were several coaches with clipboards along the grassy median of an out-and-back stretch of the coarse (uphill one way, down the other).   They positioned themselves there in order to shout at their team members while running by - both ways.  One coach in green was particularly fierce.  There was a young man directly in front of me who appeared to be struggling.  It sounded like he was wheezing.  But his coach was not concerned in the slightest and yelled gruffly, "COME on, Robby!  You're NOT gonna die!  PUSH the uphill and WORK the downhill!!"  Yikes.  Poor Robby.  You just don't see things like this at trail races.

And off we go!

From about the 6 mile mark until the end of the race, I was running off and on with another woman.  Sometimes she passed me on the downhill, then I would pass her on the uphill.  (Note: these were Long Island "hills" and were often not much more than low-grade inclines.)  I enjoyed this unspoken game of tag, and I tried to keep in front of her for the remainder of the race.  This, unfortunately, did not happen as she sprinted past me up the final hill to the finish!  I have to say that she ran a great finish, and I didn't think that I had anything left... until I saw that the time on the clock read 1:09:45 and I finally pulled a final sprint from my legs, finishing in 1:09:52 and a pace of 7:30!  Woohoo!  Hill training must certainly be speed training in disguise, as they say.  I definitely could not have run this pace even 6 months ago.

My sweet Mom supporting us crazy runners.

As we headed back into the elementary school for post-race refreshments, there was a desk just inside the front door.  A lady at a computer and what looked like a receipt machine printed out a handy race result "receipt" for each runner that walked in.  The slip of paper showed each runner's race statistics and times, including the first 10k time and last 5k times, paces and places.  I had never received immediate, printed results like this before.  I usually write my results on the back of my bib days after a race when they are finally posted online, and now I didn't need to worry about that.  What a great idea... leave it to those intense road racers!

Special thanks to my Mom, Dad, and Javier for waking up early on a Saturday morning and being so supportive!  It was a memorable race and it was wonderful to have you all there. :)

Brazen Racing Badger Cove Half Marathon

Well, the dedicated training is starting to pay off!...  On St. Patricks Day, I ran the Brazen Racing Badger Cove Half Marathon in Del Valle Regional Park with Burnout Bear and some friends from the Mission Peak Striders.  I grew nervous about the weather during the week leading up to the race... rain, showers, rain, rain... and the largest downpour occured the night before the race.  This caused for a VERY muddy course, and, in fact, Brazen Racing had to alter the original course at the last minute because the support vehicle couldn't access the far aid station.  Instead of a single loop with a long out and back on the North side, the course was now two loops (and now two big hills) with a short out-and-back tail on the South side.

Elevation profile of the modified course: 2 loops

During the early morning drive to Del Valle, the car read that the temperature was 40 degrees outside.  I hoped that there would be no more rain that morning because running in cold rain would make the race extremely rough.  Anyhow, we arrived 10 minutes before the start of the race and luckily the sky was appearing clearer.  Brazen Racing put up their usual impressive staging area, including the large, balloon arch over the start/finish line.  We quickly gathered behind the large group of half marathoners (185 participants!) and off we went to conquer the mud!



Half Marathoners toe the line...

 I don't know if there are special shoes for running in mud, but I certainly could have used them.  The rugged treads on my trail shoes liked to gather clumps, which would grow larger and larger in size until I thought that my shoes were going to be pulled off.  Then, the mud bricks would become too heavy and fly off (hitting any runners around me) and the process would start over again.  I eventually got in the habit of scooting my feet every few strides to knock off the mud.  The steep uphills and downhills became tricky, slippery mud slides.  I had to walk a few of these just to prevent from falling (and, yes, it was nice to catch my breath!)

 With 2k feet of climbing, the course was already a challenge and the mud turned it into an obstacle course.  I have never run one of those "Muddy Buddy" races, but I imagine that this is what it would be like.  Fortunately, no one fell in the mud (that I am aware of) or twisted an ankle and the rain held off until after we finished.  I was tiring by the end of the second loop and was grateful to see the final downhill.  I started picking up speed and noticed that there was a group of 5k-ers in front of me, filling the width of the trail.  "On your left!" I called to them, and they curteously shifted to the right, looking over at me saying "Hey! You are the second female!"  What?!?  I thought they had to be mistaken, so I smiled and kept running for the finish.

Burnout Bear completes the race... quickly!



The 5k-ers were, in fact, correct, and I was shocked to hear my name followed by "second place female" over the loud speaker as I crossed the finish.  I thought I was dreaming.  I had only won sparse age group awards in the past, usually barely grabbing 3rd amongst small fields of less than 10 runners.  This was no dream, but just a hard-earned second place win mixed with some Irish luck.  Perhaps the rain and mud scared some competitors from showing up, or others were scared of falling on the muddy trail.  But, regardless, it was an adventurous, muddy race that I will never forget! 

 I hope to run this race again next year and highly recommend any of the Brazen Racing Half Marathon series races.  The courses are more challenging than the "usual" Brazen Races... especially Rocky Ridge!  Check them out if you enjoy running hilly half marathons.

 

Tim approaches the finish looking strong!



Great run, Dan!



Rida crosses the finish with a smile.

 

An exciting finish.

 

Envirosports 2012 Woodside King's Mountain Half Marathon

This past weekend, Burnout Bear and I ran our first race of the year: Envirosports 2012 Woodside King's Mountain Half Marathon.  We signed up for this race over a month ago because we love running in Huddard Park and wanted to spice up our training.  The course has 1900 feet of climbing over 13 miles, so it is hilly enough to fit into our training but was not overly taxing (since it is our "off" weekend.)  I have yet to run a Woodside race that I did not enjoy, and this event helped continue that tradition!

The trails in Huddard Park are extremely soft, covered with tree and fern leaves, and the dense woods help make for a cool run.  The only technical aspect of running there is the numerous switch-backs, which, when combined with a layer of dry leaves on the trail can cause for some downhill sliding and ankle-turning.

There were several positive aspects of this race that made it enjoyable and unique (note: this was our first time running Envirosports):

• A vibrant, funny welcome speech by the race director followed by a group singing of "America the Beautiful" helped dissipate my pre-race butterflies;
• The first place male and female finishers received a rubber chicken and a bottle of wine;
• The racing environment was very low-key and did not even have a post-race awards ceremony; finisher awards are mailed out after the event.

As with most races, there were areas that could have been improved:

• Trail marking!  Twice I encountered a long stretch without a marker and turned back thinking I had missed a turn (once on the uphill, once on the downhill - probably was the same spot each time!)  Not only did I lose time doing this, but the temporary sense of panic zapped me out of the "zone";
• The post-race nutrition was not super healthy.  There was water, Gatorade, trail mix, bananas, peanut butter pretzels, Twizzlers, and Chex mix.  For example, I like how Coastal Trail Runs serves hot lentil soup and Cliff products... :)

Overall, we really enjoyed the race and ran well.  The weather was perfectly cool with temperatures in the upper 50s and both Burnout Bear and myself achieved half marathon PRs (on a hilly trail course.)  Woohoo!

post race: Burnout Bear, myself, and our friend Rida

The relaxed, post race spread.

A no-frills finish.  (Your time is called to you as you cross.)

The Other Side of Diablo

Burnout Bear and I decided to complete this week's 22 mile long run on Mt. Diablo.  We set the bar high and decided to run over the mountain, down to Rock City, and back up and over.  This would be perfect preparation for the Ohlone 50k due to its double-mountain profile and steep, relentless climbs.

As we slowly got out of the car at the Mitchell Canyon trail entrance, I remembered the first time we parked in this same lot back in Sept. 2010:  We were heading for a hike that day and saw the setup for a race being cleared up.  There were tents and picnic tables full of food, and a humble finish line marked with caution tape and a large, red digital clock.  Nearby was a van labeled "Coastal Trail Runs".   It was love at first sight.  I walked up to one of the volunteers sitting in the biggest tent and asked for information about the events.  Apparently they had everything from a 5 mile race to a 50k!

I felt excited about the idea of trail running, but after our hike that day to Eagle Peak, I started doubting if I could do it, let alone on Mt. Diablo itself.  I had slipped on the trail several times and my legs were trashed from a simple hike which didn't even include the main mountain peak.  I was an ex-road runner, out of shape, carrying at least 10-15 extra pounds.  It seemed like a dream to run that mountain.  But I placed the Coastral Trail Runs flier on the fridge when I returned home and it served as a reminder to keep getting fit.  It is still posted on my fridge to this day.

And now here we were almost a year and a half later strapping on Camelbaks full of Hammer products and salt tabs, and lacing up our rugged trail running shoes for a training run.  Crazy!  And, well, that's what everyone else thought of us, as well.  We received so many random comments from hikers that I decided to jot them down:

• "Don't wait for us!  We'll see you up there!"
• "Go runners!!"
• "Oh, I can do that!"
• "Don't go too fast... You're going to make us look bad!"
• And when we asked the Ranger beforehand if there was water in Rock City: "Wow, you are going all the way to Rock City?? Good luck then! And are you coming back?.... TODAY?!?"

I guess we have officially crossed the line from "normal" (hiker) to insane trail runner.  And I couldn't be happier about it.  We managed to run all 23 miles (we missed a turn, adding another mile) in just over four and a half hours.  Not too shabby.

Just starting out - Mt. Diablo looming in the distance.

An awesome vista: you can see the bay from here.

That red speck is me carefully trotting down what I have called "Devil's Slide."

Rock City

Almost looks like Ohlone!

The Litmus Test of Old, Familiar Runs

For this "off" weekend, we decided to run familiar routes and see how they felt after weeks of training.

On Saturday, we ran 9 miles out-and-back with the Mission Peak Striders along Mill Creek Road in Fremont.  The road weaves through a valley between several hills up towards Mission Peak, following Mill Creek for most of the way.  The first 4.5 miles climb up Mill Creek Road approx. 1400 feet.  So, it is certainly a climb, but is runnable.  The road ends with a beautiful vista over Sunol, a wonderful treat for reaching the top of the road.  (Note that you can continue past the gate up to Mission Peak along a trail from this point.)  I actually find the 4.5 mile post-turnaround downhill stretch to be the hardest - either my shins or knees act up.  I love this run, but wish it was on an unpaved fire road, instead.

I felt strangely tired on this run, and actually ran a bit slower than I did a month prior!  This was extremely disappointing.  The work week prior was busier and a bit more stressful than usual, so perhaps this interfered with the quality of my run?  I hope that is the case because another possible answer is that I am simply not improving.

To aid in recovery, Burnout Bear and I eat a dinner of wild Atlantic salmon once per week.  After my slow run on Saturday, I figured that I could use the omega 3s and prepared the fish with Parmesan-crusted roasted fennel, mashed potatoes and asparagus.  We cut up the left over fennel fronds and mixed them into the potatoes, which worked well.  The roasted fennel was amazing and tasted just like onion rings!

Brushy Peak

Then, on Sunday we ran 7 miles around familiar Brushy Peak.  This is one of my favorite runs because there is always something new to see.  I felt much stronger today and the hills seemed noticeably easier than they did 4 weeks ago.  I don't know if I just had a better run than the day prior, or omega 3s are miracle workers, or perhaps my body is simply adapting more to trails.  I felt reassured that I am, in fact, slowly improving but will still encounter good running days and bad ones and will continue to have a rocky relationship with the watch if I scrutinize it too closely.  I guess this litmus test was not as clear as I had hoped!  Back to training!

Burnout Bear making his way up to Brushy Peak.

Lots of windmills.

Cow Party!

An adorable, downy calf.