Ganesha, Obstacles, and Opportunities

Two days until Miwok, two months of ultrarunning, and years of preparation for this day. It is Thursday, the last day of April. I woke-up early this morning and biked to the pool. It was my favorite workout, the fifteen minute swim. My swim teacher is one of the best people ever because she kicks my ass and she also has the best sense of humor. I felt fortunate that she had me take it easy on my legs this week (she never usually lets me do anything easy). Cracked me up when Monday she walked over to my lane and whispered that I didn't need to do the 200 kick, I could just do a 100. Anyway, after swimming I headed over to the yoga studio, stopping to get a tea and a scone. Got to the studio an hour before my class. I thought I would practice some yoga, but instead I rolled out my mat, took an eye pillow, and laid there for 20+ minutes, visualizing Saturday's course. For the remaining 30 minutes, I took out a bolster curled up and almost fell asleep. I only had one student this morning and it was one of my first yoga teachers in Oakland. I began class as I always do, chanting, Om gam ganapataye namaha!. It is a chant to Ganesha, the deity in the picture above, known for removing obstacles. Pretty sure I am going to put an image of Ganesha on my water bottle for Miwok. At the very least, I'm sure I will have plenty of time to repeat his mantra over and over in my head. Deities, lucky thongs, what next?? I'll keep you posted.

My number, 326, and La Sportiva gear are already laying out on my kitchen table. I'm excited, nervous, and just plain want to run. It is like torture for me to take days off from running. Looking forward to the potential of rain on Saturday. Running in the rain is my absolute favorite. My close friends, Jordan Trew and Will Gotthardt, will be supporting me throughout the race. Plus I'll have several previous doula clients motivating and inspiring me. Seeing the physical demands of labor and the power of the female body has allowed me to believe in my own body, appreciate it, and trust it. I've also seen how one's mental state can make or break the experience. The last birth I was at was long, 30+ hours, and she pushed for well over 4 hours. There were moments of fear and doubt, but seeing how positivity carried her through it was remarkable. I'll be thinking about her a lot. Ok, I just smiled. I am really happy. Happy to be able to run, practice yoga, see life come into the world, and get glimpses of how these things are all connected.

I leave you with my favorite line of an email from Buzz Burrell, ... heck, nothing to do but go up there, start running, see what happens, right?

Skyline to Sea 50k

Let me start by saying I do not recommend sitting in the back of a school bus and sitting sideways in the seat especially when the bus is taking winding roads. This was the start of my Skyline to Sea experience and I thought puking was going to be involved as well. Luckily I was off the bus and enjoying fresh air at Saratoga Gap just in time. This being said riding the bus was great hang out time. I got to chat with Chuck Wilson, Brian Wyatt, Leor Pantilat, and Will Gotthardt. Ah and they talked about Miwok for at least part of the ride, so yup, my mind and body were not even realizing today was a "race".

The beginning of the race had me laughing to myself. I was now doing the opposite direction than Will and I's first 40 miler. Net downhill feels much different when there wasn't 20+ miles of net uphill first. I cruised right pass the spot where I had my breakdown and enjoyed each and every tiny climb. I love hills and I fucking love running hills. Ok, so I stopped to take a pee in what I thought was the perfect hideaway, but Brett Rivers and Ken Parnow came cruising past. Not the first time someone has seen me squatting during a race. I made my apologies and caught back up to them. We all chatted for a bit and then I cruised past.

Ok my second recommendation, fucking pay attention to course markings. You know it is not a good sign when you've been running for 5 minutes without seeing any course marking. Also not a good thing when you see a big sign that says "dangerous: no bridge ahead, 8 foot drop." So that is when I knew I had fucked up. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pissed for a few seconds. But I think it is good I got lost, it reminded me to not push this race. As I was back tracking Mark Tanaka saved me. It was perfect timing and we headed uphill, on the right trail (thanks again Mark). The redwoods were amazing and I stayed more aware of the ribbons. Of course I was also asking backpackers if they saw runners on the trail. I was paranoid that I would zone out and be well off course again. Anyhow I caught back up to Ken with a few miles left. I came through the finish at 4:17.54, set a new course record, and honestly wanted to do the whole thing again, backwards. Ok maybe not backwards, but felt like I wanted to run more, which is perfect for next weekend. Leor won the race setting a new course record at 3:38. 05. Lots of other impressive running, Will ran 4:02.02 (so now were 4-1), Brian 4:21.40 (after running Diablo the previous weekend), Ken 4:24:54, and Mark 4:26.30 (after a 150 miler!).

It was great hanging out after the race and talking some more with people. I finally met Dave who ran a 5:12 PR and also enjoyed a personal detour, in fact two of them. Sarah and Wendell thanks again for a wonderful event. And looking forward to seeing your photography Aaron.

Alright more to come regarding pre-Miwok...

The Lucky Thong

I am not a particularly superstitious person. Ok unless you include the lucky thong. Yes, I’ve debated on whether on not to let you all in on my little secret. But, what the hell. I’ve worn the same pair of underwear for every race since Sequoia (my first 50k) and yes, I do wash it (I am not that crazy). I find it funny that we often put more faith into something other than ourselves when our own hearts, minds, and bodies hold so much strength. I put a great deal of faith into one small piece of fabric. Come race morning, I know which pair of undies are to be worn. No debate.

Alright so now that I’ve broken the big secret and you all know about my lucky thong, hopefully I can keep your attention. At this moment, I have exactly a week until Miwok. Shit! I am getting the same stomach dropping from nerves and excitement that I got pre-Way too Cool. My question is when do you suddenly wake-up and go hey I want to run 62 miles? Hmmm…the first time I heard about the Miwok 100k was in Trail Runner magazine. As soon as I read about it, I wanted to do it. So last year, I put a star on my calendar for registration day. But being my typical self, I was out the door and running when I remembered it was the day to sign-up. Of course, it was full by the time I got back. Two weeks before the race, I got an email saying there was space. But there was no way I was prepared to run Miwok in 2008. I didn’t even have a lucky thong yet.

On a more serious note, I am really looking forward to this race and I’ve been really looking forward to it since 2008. Now that I have seen the whole course I am equally excited. On Saturday April 18th, I did a 40 mile section with Will. We started at Rodeo Beach and then went 3 miles past Pan Toll and then turned around. At mile 32, I ate a peanut butter and honey sandwich. For sure it made a difference in comparison to the pervious week’s 40 miler. No crying, no walking, and I was eager to run 28 miles the following Tuesday, which started at Randall Trail to Pan Toll and back.

More to come after to Skyline to Sea 50k this weekend…

So hungry...

It's Sunday April 12th, the day Will has planned a 40 mile run in Big Basin. I am eager and excited even with the previous night run (an "easy" hour where my stomach decided to give me all sorts of discomfort). At noon we are off. We accidentally take a 6 mile detour uphill, but we enjoy an easy pace, towering redwoods, and sunshine. We cruse back downhill and hop on the skyine to sea trail. Ok, mind you we're taking it the opposite direction of the 50k race next Sunday. The race has a net downhill, so this in turns means we have a net uphill. We underestimated this net uphill. It was one of those gradual grinds where you just fucking wish the hill would be steeper or just plain turn into a flat trail. At about 2 hours my stomach starts growling even with the morning bagel and yogurt and continuos Shot Bloks. I start dreaming about food. In the mean time, Will keeps having me run in front of him because whenever I am behind him I start fading back (a trend that he claims I started after Way too Cool). At about 4+ hours, Will reminds me that there are supplies for peanut butter and honey sandwiches in the truck. I suddenly become more upbeat and as we start the return I become confident that I'll make it. But, around 5+ hours, I realize I need to conserve my Shot Bloks and things start to change drastically. I spread my last two out. At this point Will has cruised out in front and taken a lead, I've fallen back. He slows down and I brake down. I am in tears, I can't make it I tell him. We've got 7+ miles to go. He motivates and I take the lead, but within a mile, I start crying again. I have to walk. I've never felt so hungry in all of my life. Pretty sure it is the first time I've broke into tears while running. We decide to take the road for the last 3/4 miles since it is now close to 7pm. I jog that painfully slow run where you want to go faster, but your body is saying listen lady this is all I got. I stop again, shit, I am going to get sick. Luckily the nausea passes and we start jogging again. I start to pick it up as we get super close, warm clothes and food are minutes away! We arrive at Will's truck at 7:25 pm. We've spent 7:25 hours on our feet. I can barely change my clothes. I kid you not, I think it took 5 minutes to get my sports bra off. Anyway, Will saves the day by handing me a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Food never tasted so good. I was back to my happy self. Lesson learned. Protein and fat are good on long runs... will find out Saturday...

Peterson Ridge Rumble 60ishK

At 4:30 am on Saturday April 4th, Will and I headed off for Bend, Oregon. As Will said with two hours of the eight hour trip left, "pretty uneventful trip." Don't get me wrong gorgeous, but no exciting stories. That is until we realize we have not seen a gas station in a long time. In a period of an hour +, there is no gas station to be seen and the fuel light has been on this whole time. We finally see a gas station... oh shit, the sign says closed! The next town it says is 30 miles away. I keep thinking to myself we could run it, but our legs would for sure feel that the next day racing. We make it another 15 miles or so, not sure how, but we do. As soon as we run out of gas, we coast down the hill a little bit. I can't fucking believe it, but we can make something out in the distance. For sure a restaurant, but it isn't clear if they have gas. We make it about 1/4 mile from the place and get out and walk. I have never been so excited to see gas in my whole life (and a restroom, I had to pee like crazy during this whole adventure). So we get gas at Diamond Lake Juncture and we're on our way.

We roll into Bend, stop at the Motel 6 to check in and then walk over to Fleet Feet to check in for the race. We talk to Rod Bien for a little bit before heading down the street for a little Mexican food, and then a short walk through town. Both super sleepy from the drive so prepping for the race, napping, and a good night of sleep we're next on our list.

Sunday 5 am, April 5th, a bowl of yogurt and granola and a suncake. Then it is time to check the temp outside. Burr!!! Yup not going for the sports bra and shorts instead knickers, long sleeve shirt, La Sportiva baseball cap, my lucky Wildcats, and striped mittens. Nervous about the race as my stomach had not been feeling great, Will's intestines were not up to par, and of course I had no idea what to expect of the course or other runners. The drive up to Sisters is beautiful with constant glimpses of the mountains.


During our warm-up, I could tell I was more anxious then normal, but tried to remind myself to stay relaxed. I met Sean Meissner (the race director), Alan Abbs, Jenn Shelton, and Eric Poole at the start. In the first mile of the race, Will and I chatted with Eric and Jenn. I also met another woman Pam Smith who hung close for the first two hours of the race. She actually zoomed pass Will and I when we stopped to pee about an hour + in the race and then again during the icy section. As for the course, flat, winding, rocky, uneven, icy (Will took a couple falls, I walked that fucking section). Oh, I failed to mention, I took a nice fall in beginning, loosing a shot blok to the dirt. About 2 + hours into the run Will and I were still running together and there was no sight of another women close by. I tried to settle in, but as Will would attest I still had bursts of anxious running. Then we had lots of long straight a ways to run (they brought back memories of running in Michigan... straight up, I do not like long straight a ways... mentally challenging). At 3 hours, we had a hill... whoppy!!! Almost to the top and Will tells me he needs to pee again, I keep going (I guess a good thing as the remainder of his run becomes "crappy"). Aide station at the top and I find out 8 miles left, I look at my watch and tell myself that means I'll finish at 4:36 (I kid you not, I have no f'n idea why that is what I assumed, but I did). Now, I am running by myself and nervous that I am going to miss a turn because it is back to winding trails. Then I come upon a beautiful vista, the mountains were amazing, and I remind myself that shit, I am in Oregon! But, once again, I take a fall. This time mud, striped mittens and bottle are covered. Oh well, I get up and go. I got back into a rhythm with my breathing. In fact a good portion of the run, I did a yoga mantra over and over just to keep myself calm. Alright then I am super excited to see the next aide station and I hope they say 2 miles left, but instead they say 4. Doesn't matter, I am still on my 4:36 pace that became ingrained in my head 4 miles back. As soon as I could see the road and the high school, I knew the run was almost over. The race finished on the track, so I was able to give it a nice kick at the end. First comment to me after I came through the finish was wow your dirty (I have to say, that is a new one). I finished 1st woman in 4:36:57 and 8th overall. Will came in 9th overall at 4:47:20. Pam came in second woman at 5:02:28 and Jenn third at 5:12:40.


So the drive back to California was pretty uneventful, no running out of gas. Lots of beautiful views especially Mt. Shasta. Back to the bay by 12:30 and in bed by 1:30. Slept good, but can't believe how sore I am. Running flat trails definitely uses different muscles. Once again, I can't thank my body enough. Thanks Will for your continued confidence, driving 16 hours, and giving me a good story to add to my blog. Thanks to Sean for a beautiful run and to all the super nice Oregon folks I met. Now it's time to get ready for Miwok.

(photo courtesy of Glenn Tachlyama)