Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Laurel Highlands Ultra 2011 Race Report

My adventure to Ohiopyle started in of all places, Ohio, on 675 heading towards Columbus. There I was to meet my ultra partner in crime, Joe Shearer. The hour drive from Dayton, Ohio to Columbus proved treacherous enough as thunderstorms had descended upon my tiny 1993 geo prizm with a vengeance making it difficult to see 10 ft in front of my vehicle. By the time I had made it (and found a parking spot) near Joe's residence the storm was merely a light rain. I called Joe, let him know where I was, cause I wasn't about to drag all my supplies in the rain to his door, and I threw my stuff into the back of his car and we were off.

Joe, has a habit of trying to sabotage me and this trip immediately proved to be no different. He had conveniently left his trunk open, probably because he had put half a can of Copenhagen in his mouth and wasnt paying attention but we managed to pull over before all of my belongings scattered onto the highway.

Joe tried to tell me that chewing wasn't all so bad and that I should try some. So I placed a wad of dip in my mouth. After about 15 minutes I began to sweat profusely and eventually I threw up out of Joe's window.

Only a couple of hours in, and I already knew this weekend would be EPIC.

Joe is from the Laurel Highland area so we didnt worry about getting lost unlike our last ultra trip to Capon Valley. The only worry I had was how many hours would I have to listen to Wicked being played on the highest volume level in his car....this turned out to be 4 hours of being blasted with non stop musicals that Joe knew every word to. [An accurate summary of the friendship between Joe and I can be found summed up neatly in this song ]. As a condition of Joe letting me ride in his car he made me bring the Grease soundtrack which we listened to on the four hour drive back.

We arrived to the pre race dinner about an hour early and decided to head over to the bar next door to get a couple of pre race drinks. Upon looking at my id I was told they could not serve me because my id was slightly bent. I have never heard of this before and had to drink a diet coke while Joe downed half a bottle of gin.

The pre race dinner was great and the director went over what we could expect from the course. We even saw our friend from Capon Valley, Donny. Donny informed me of Joe's secret concern for me during the last ultra we did. "He was REALLY worried about you, he kept asking about you every 2 minutes!" Joe kept shooting me spiteful looks throughout the dinner which another runner would comment on during the bus ride over to the start line as "sharp looks full of hate". Which is accurate.

We drove to the finish line to set up camp and check out the end of the trail. I had sandals on and Joe informed me what poison ivy looked like and I was standing in it. We got into our tents around 9 or 10 and by midnight there was a severe downpour and thunder surrounding us. By the time I woke up around 2am the bottom of my sleeping bag was soaked. 2:45am came along and the alarm went off and the reality of what lay before me hit me. 77 miles...what the hell.

The shuttle bus picked us up around 330 and by that time I had realized I hadnt put any aquafor on, forgot my piece of paper with the cut off times, my ibprofen and salt tablets. Great.

Once at the start I checked in and sipped on some coffee until the race director indicted we needed to line up across the street. Joe pointed out an anomaly of a runner who was sprinting here and there warming up. He had basketball shorts on and a bottle of in each hand with what I think was gatorade. He didnt have any fannypack for gels or anything. Joe informed me that this is the guy he calls "Gatorade man" finished the race last year. I don't know your name, and if you are reading this both Joe and I have mad respect for you.

The race began and Joe sprinted off into the distance shouting something like "eat my dust midget". I knew I didn't have a shot in hell at finishing the race. I mean I knew I was physically very under prepared. I have only been running about a year and 6 months of that Ive been injured. I was just excited to be OUT THERE.

Miles 6-8 and mile 18 proved to be every bit as tough as I imagined if not more so. Imagine vertical climbs. My knees had locked up and I had to hobble down the down hills by mile 15. I dont know if it was an itband relapse or what. It just wasnt my day and I wasnt putting in a 100% and by mile 19 my time was up. Some you lose and some you don't finish.

Thus began a new adventure. One I like to call "Hitchiking to the Laurel 77mile finishline."

The first ride I took was with three twenty something DOD contractors from Washington d.c. who were doing the 50k relay: Abbey, Amos(?) and Ginger. Thank you guys!

The next ride was with a member of a 77 mile relay team and a prison warden who was kind enough to take me to mile 52! Thank you!!!

The next ride I took was with the wife of either the 1st or 2nd place finisher and she was nice enough to drive me to mile 64.

The last ride was with a family whose daughters were running in a 77 mile relay team and they were nice enough to take me to the finishline where Joe's car was! Thanks again if you read this!!!

It took a few hours but I had made it to Joe's car. Now, I just waited on Joe.

I knew he had it in him to finish the race this year and I was right. I kept checking in to see what mile he was at and when I realized he had made it to all the check points I knew there was no way he wouldnt finish. He ended up being 17th and the youngest finisher. Truly BADASS. I couldn't of been prouder of him. He had settled a score with Laurel, one that he had since he was a teenager.

The trouble is, now I have a score to settle with the Laurel...one that I hope to settle in 2012, one that hopefully won't include hitchhiking.


Afterward...
I may have accidentally contributed in the death of Joe's car battery. Sorry Joe.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

WANT

So, having just now started my 3 month leave from work to study I checked my facebook and saw Brooks has released a bunch of new color options in their shoes. I want the Cascadias SO BAD. Since I am poor and am not working in order to study for this epic test so I may one day have an actual profession I cannot purchase them.
Oh, Cascadia 6 I want you soooo bad.
I could use you for the Laurel or the 100 miler in September.

Link to the awesomeness.

*SIGH*

77 Miles

On June 11th I'll be running 77 miles in PA. I've only recently started to rebuild. I had the best run (feeling wise) I've had in a long time yesterday out on the bike path. I was ecstatic. Today at the gym I dared to go below 10 minute miles on the treadmill doing 3 miles at a little over 7 minute pace. It felt awesome. I have to build up my stamina again. I'm basically, physically speaking, where I was around August of last year. It's prolly a bit insane that I'll be running 77 miles in a few weeks but what people don't seem to understand is that to me being out in the woods for 24 hours by myself is a fun vacay. It's a good time. So whether I'm ready to run it is irrelevant to me.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast, but I'm intercontinental when I eat French toast

I'm "running" the Laurel Highlands 77 mile run on June 11th and I would just like to say I'm officially screwed and I am most likely 100% insane as I'm 100% not ready for this race but NOTHING will stop me from trying.

I'm either extremely brave or extremely stupid. Probably just extremely stupid.

This guy I work with a few weeks ago was telling my boss about my racing antics that I do when I'm injured and she told him how I drove home from work at 2am during a middle of a tornado warning/storm with high winds last month while they decided to wait it out.

Then he said to me: "What is wrong with you? Are you trying to be a stunt woman or just trying to test the Gods or something?"

Maybe.

Then he made a plea to me that I shouldn't race that weekend. It got to me and the thing he said about testing the gods maybe rang true on some level or at least made me stop and think about it and that's partially the reason I didn't do the Tie Dye 50k in April...someone actually got some common sense through to me.

No one even has a chance of getting common sense through to me about the Laurel because I've blocked any common sense from getting into my head.


Also, I'm doing Another Dam 50k...at least part of it.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Capon Valley 50k

I was not prepared to do this race, I didn't carb up, I drank liqour the night before, and I am still nursing some injuries...which might be from what a new doctor I'm seeing says is basically Phase II spinal degeneration.

However,

It was SO BEAUTIFUL. The hills were plentiful and brutal. Nothing like I've ever ran on before (and by ran I mean walk up). The views were amazing. Honestly, being out there, out on any trail, there is no place else I would rather be. I like meeting people out there.However, I also like the solitude I find in running trails. Its peaceful, rejuvenates my spirits, I don't need to pretend. It's just me and nature. Ha, I wouldn't mind living in a cabin somewhere up in the mountains.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Not DMX, More Like DNS

SOOOO
I didn't run the Tie Dye 50k. I have this groin strain/injury and I have 2 more races in the next two weeks so I decided to sit this one out. I did show up to yell "Come on Jerkface" at a running buddy who was also doing the race. Just being there for that short amount of time made me wish I ran it. They had pink tie dye shirts which I totally wanted.

Oh well. I remember whining not too long ago saying that if I could go back in time I wouldnt have ran Bigfoot with a groin injury because that led to my it band problem. So I would have been an idiot to make the same mistake twice. It felt like wussing out but if it means avoiding another relapse into 3 months of ITBAND HELL then I probably made the right decision.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

RAINN

Off topic I guess but I saw this and thought it was really cool of this guy to do

When I lived in Colorado I was sexually assaulted. It was by someone I knew, someone who had a pregnant wife. He was also a supervisor of mine. For months I thought it was my fault, because I was promiscuous and even though now I know it wasn't my fault there is still a part of me that thinks it is. When it was happening he said some really horrible things to me, things that sometimes in my dark moments I had thought about myself and it literally paralyzed my mind (I just kept kept repeating the entire time "please stop". I was abused as a child and I guess as a coping mechanism or something like that I am able to block out everything around me and just go into my head whether I want to or not. For months I would cry for hours in the bathroom at work or would literally throw up when I had to work with him. I started wearing combat boots and mace on a necklace on the walks home at night. Most days I didn't leave my studio apt. and I would spend most of my time sleeping in between studying for the LSAT. I honestly just wanted to die. I really thought it was my fault and months later when I told the police what happened I was surprised that they told me it wasn't my fault and that what happened to me was wrong. I had a pretty traumatic childhood and the police told me that people like that often can sense people who have been victims of abuse in the past and prey on them. That made me feel helpless, and again it made me feel that I had brought it upon myself. Most of the time I don't really deal with the things that have happened in the past or I use humor to avoid any real emotions about it. I never utilized RAINN but I really respect what they do. There are so many guys out there that don't respect women. I work as a waitress right now, and late at night guys will grope you or say really gross things to you and even when my managers do see it happen they don't do anything about it. For someone like myself I get really aggravated about that. It's just very sad that society thinks its okay for men to treat women like that.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Laurel Highlands Ultra 77mile race 2011: I NEED A PACER

To All That May Read This:

I plan on running the Laurel Highland 77mile race this June. I would very much love a pacer to run with me at night. If you would like to pace this slow 5ft tall girl through part of the night I would be eternally grateful!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Pacific Crest Trail

I plan on hiking part of the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. I am slowly making these plans a reality. Eyes on the prize and all that.

Maybe the Appalachian Trail too...I mean since it's so close why not?

I'm only going to live once right?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Solo Adventures at John Bryant State Park and Narrows Reserve

Abracadabra girl, you're probably lost.


This morning I drove to Yellow Springs to check out the trail I will be doing a 50k on in JB State Park. The sun wasn't out until later on in the day so it was pretty deserted out there. A bit spooky too. ESPECIALLY after jro calls me and tells me he heard that members of the manson family live there. I know that's not true but Ive watched enough horrors movies to know that when little 5ft tall girls venture out into the woods by themselves and then they get a phone call saying there are killers in the woods that's when the girl gets killed. So I decided to go get something to eat in town and head down to Narrows Reserve...a very nonthreatening non spooky tiny reserve with a trail in Beavercreek.

Narrows Reserve:
I love these steps. I just think they're neat and challenging.
What goes up must come down. A different set of stairs about a half mile from the above ones:


The stairs can get pretty slick in the winter time but it makes for an interesting run.


Being awesome ^





The river is up more than usual flooding the path. The water felt great!

The trail leads to a "meadow"


Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Monday, April 4, 2011

Run in the Rain

And dress in unflattering running gear. Oh yeah. I bought the jacket last fall because it was on sale for 30 dollars and its usually 130. Its an xtra small so its xtra tight. I am in no way an xtra small but I couldn't pass up that deal! At least I can get the zipper zipped. I pretty much feel like Chris Farley in the movie "Tommy Boy"(thanks JF!) when he does the "Fat man in a little coat" scene when I wear this.

Lets Run

It's called my "A Game", its called "bringing it", and it's going to be happening April 23rd.
Something like this

Sunday, April 3, 2011

ORRRC HALF RACE REPORT



I've gotten in the habit of waking up on race days, looking at the alarm clock and thinking to myself "Eh, maybe I'll just sleep in this morning instead of running that race." Of course, I ALWAYS end up running the race but this habit has usually caused me to arrive at the starting line anywhere with only 15-5 minutes to spare. Today was 15 minutes to spare so I did okay. I kept telling myself "Its just the half marathon, it's just a half marathon, you'll be out of here in a couple of hours no problem." I had bought a new pink and white tye dye top by Nike. It kept riding up when I was running which was annoying the heck out of me. The course was a tiny bit hilly during the first 3-4 miles. I tried to stay at a slow steady pace and I did acheive that goal so I'm proud of myself. I usually go slow anyway because I AM SLOW but I usually go a bit faster than I did. Joe flew past me about a half mile in after saying hello. I also saw Vibrams guy from Lima (Im sorry I cant remember your name! You prolly refer to me as neck tattoo girl, haha!) around mile 6 and we had a short exchange of hellos, he was actually running barefoot and just carrying his Vibrams. Dude is hard core. All the volunteers were super nice and I made sure to thank them after the turnaround on the way back. The race went by really fast and the sun even came out for a few miles which was nice. Stuck around long enough to watch the first marathoner finish. That dude is also hardcore.

ORRRC Halfy

I'm in the pink and white shirt in the above pic. Click on it and zoom in. I look bored. Probably because I'm running really slow.Starting line ^

Did an easy 13.1 at an easy 10:30 pace today at the ORRRC half marathon. Ran it slow, ran it how I wanted to, which I thought was important, and I was glad to have ran it the way I did. My knees are good. Little concerned that I'm about 2 weeks late but Im usually all across the board with that-I hope to God thats all it is. Got drunk at Bar Louie immediately after the marathon and saw Sucker Punch-while still in my race gear. It was a good day. Pics Later!!!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Dropped to the Half Marathon...BUT...



I may cross the finish line for the half and then continue on...depending on my knee but honestly I'm only feeling the half...

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Achey Knees

When I was an early teen, my optometrist found that my optic nerve was swollen or there was a Drusen/something weird going on in the back of my eye. So I went to specialists 5 hours away and had a bunch of tests run. I had mris, catscans, xrays, even an ultrasound done on my eye-it was weird. For a while they thought I had multiple sclerosis and my mom started bringing me to the YMCA to work out. She didnt tell me at first until they found that the tests were non conclusive and it is probably just a Drusen and prolly not a sign of MS. The specialists continued to monitor my eye for several years bi-annually and then just annually until my mom moved to another state and I just stopped going. Whenver we'd go they would bring in medical students to check out the weird anomaly in my eye-I felt really weird about that. SO its probably just a Drusen. Even with it just being a drusen it still means my eye will be more and more fucked up as the years go by.

Whenever my knees ache and are stiff and I have really low energy I can't help but think in the very back of my mind what if these docs in wv were wrong, the mri was nonconclusive. Its not like ive had my eye checked by specialists since I was a teen...it's not like Ive gone to any doctor except urgent care, the doc at walmart to get new contacts and a chiro since I was a teen. Basically as I sit here this morning with stiff fucked up knees I'm a little worried.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Running on the Lakeshore Path

Jro and I went to Chicago over the weekend to see Godspeed You Black Emperor!. On the morning we left we decided to head to Lakeshore path for a run. It was SO BEAUTIFUL running on the path and looking over to the lake on my left. The sun was shining and it was only 30 degrees outside. It was really a lot of fun. I am very jealous of the people of Chicago having such a lovely place to run.

Montrail Mountain Masochists!!!

I got my Mountain Masochist's delivered yesterday and I am super excited to try them out. They feel wonderful as I'm sitting here typing this up. This is a HUGE change from my NB WT101s. I needed some support so after much researching I chose this pair by Montrail.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Last Minute Race...Sort Of

Okay I officially registered for the Tie Dye 32 miler over in Yellow Springs the 3rd week of April.
I have the ORRRC Marathon next week...I'm only going to be doing the half even though Im registered for the full because 1. I have two 50ks a half all within a month of the ORRRC Marathon and I am nervous about running on pavement that far because of my knee (lucked out not causing serious injury during the GJ 50k road race) 2. I have a theory that half marathons may be more fun than the marathon. We'll see, it will be the first half Ive ran.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

I think I'm Out Of My Damned Mind

I really really really really REALLY want to run the Mohican 50mile or 100mile. Problem: It's a week after the Laurel Highlands 77mile Ultra. I must be out of my damned mind because I want to do both and if I had money right now I would sign up for the Mohican this instant.
Also, I want to sign up to do a 50k 2 weeks before another 50k.
ALSO, I'm thinking about driving up to Cleveland this weekend to do a Fatass 50k.

I just want to run every race.

It's a serious PROBLEM.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Saucony Mirage Review Update #3

It's been a week since the 50k and I ran for the first time yesterday over in Central Park. I only ran a mile because (1) I was on vacay and wasn't wearing a sports bra because I didn't go to Central Park with the intention of running (2) I was scared about my knee since I had still been experiencing pain while sitting down.
No pain.

Today I worked out for two hours on the eliptical and then ran a very easy 3 miles on the treadmill to see how my knee felt. The good news is it felt great. No pain.

I am really loving the Mirage. They haven't given me any problems and are giving me the slight stability support I needed. If you are someone, like me, who has mainly trained in minimalist shoes and feel like you need a little bit of stability because you are a slight overpronator (again like myself) then I would suggest the Mirage. I have been more than happy with them thus far and although they are not running shoes that I would have gone for if I had not been injured and was trying out everything and the kitchen sink to run pain free, they have really become a shoe I love and am comfortable running in on a regular basis.

Unless anything new happens concerning my pair of the Saucony Mirage I don't think I will continue with another update. Anyone out there who is reading this can assume that I am running well in the Saucony Mirage.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Green Jewel 50k Race Report: I'M TOO LEGIT TO QUIT

The journey began with a 3 1/2 hour drive with J-ro to Cleveland the night prior to the 50k where I stayed in a decent hotel. Upon arriving at the hotel I checked my e-mail to find a last minute message from the race director warning race participants that Oak Grove would be closed until 5 am for (I shit you not) SALAMANDER MIGRATION. I loved that/never heard of it/thought it was hilarious. I did not fall asleep until around midnight and I woke up around 4am. I ate half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, did a warm up on the treadmill in the hotel, stretched my IT Band and headed to the start.

Going into the 50k yesterday I knew that because of my IT Band I would not be able to run a good portion of the race for fear of further destroying my knee. Furthermore, the portion I would be able to run would need to be at a slow pace, nothing fancy, nothing fast, slow as possible. I was just looking to finish under the cut off with my knee intact and if I had to I was prepared to drop out rather than destroy my knee further.

There was a bit of confusion as to where exactly my race bib was (the registration people at the start told me mine would be in the bus since I had signed up to ride over in the bus and the bus people said no mine would be at the start, I went back and forth a few times and finally got my bib about 12 minutes to start). This gave me a bit of anxiety but hey I prolly should of told them I would be driving to the start.

Cassie R. and Gina C. were running the Green Jewel as a training run for another ultra in Missouri. Cassie R. had been kind enough to suggest I run with them as they would be going at a steady slower pace. They managed to locate me a couple of minutes before the start and before you knew it someone said "okay start" and we were off. It was raining nearly the entire race and within the first 15 minutes my clothes and shoes were soaked. Cassie and Gina, kept up a great steady pace for me to cling to and my plan was to stay with them until somewhere between mile 15-20 in which I would make myself walk the rest of the way. I felt a twinge in my IT Band right after the first aid station. Things started to get really bad for my knee around mile 16 and I thanked Cassie and Gina and told them to go ahead and I'd see them at the finish.

Around mile 17 I met another racer (forgot name Im so sorry?) who stayed with me for maybe 2 miles. He was racing in Vibrams. I like Vibrams but I can never seem to run on pavement with them. I prefer to run on the trails in them. We shared injury stories and the like. I ran/walked with him for awhile until I told him to go ahead that I needed to walk it out longer.

When I got to the 4th aid station my IT Band was REALLY getting bad. But I only had a 3rd of the way to go so I power walked on. The last leg after the 5th aid station is what really did me in. I SHOULD HAVE DROPPED AT THIS POINT-for the sake of my knee I wish I would have dropped. I learned something about myself during this race-if I think there is even a slimmest chance in hell that I will finish, no matter if one of my legs are falling off or I am whimpering in pain I will push on as hard as I can to my own detriment. I power walked like a madwoman up those final 7 miles. I DID NOT HAVE A GPS OR ANYTHING THAT TOLD ME MY PACE. I was relying on all the time Ive spent walking on a treadmill and tried to gauge internally how fast I was walking. I was a half an hour to the cutoff when I tried to start "running". By running I mean I was "run limping" and swinging my arms as high and as fast as I could to create momentum. I was in so much pain I started yelling.

Then something happened.

For the past week, since Ive been able to run again its been difficult for me at times because Ive had to do all my runs on the treadmill for fear of my knee relapsing.

During this past week whenever Ive struggled, I all of a sudden imagine my dad (he died 6 years ago, though I had not seen him for 11 years before he died). I imagine him running beside me. He doesn't say anything, he's just there in my mind running beside me. I don't think of any of the bad stuff that happened. And then I imagine my mom and my sisters and my older brother and his kid, and all my estranged nephews and niece and they're there running too, I imagine my ex husband and his wife and their kids and everyone is surrounding me, I imagine all these people whom I love but who aren't in my life and we are all running together and it feels like they are carrying me or pushing me and the running gets so much easier.

I started whimpering again and I'm not sure if its because of the pain I'm feeling or because I'm pretending I'm running with my dead father and my family on a bike path.

When I see the finish I look down at my watch and I know I will make it just under the cut off and I slow back down to a walk.

I walk across the finish line and I'm certain I am the last to finish, but that's okay because I know that the fact that I finished the 50k in time even though I walked 13 miles of it and was in extreme pain was some kind of inner achievement for myself.

I immediately called my chiropractor to set up an appointment as soon as possible.

My knee was so screwed up that I could not walk on my own for the rest of the day.

Saucony Mirage Review: Update 2/ I RAN A 50k IN THEM

Yesterday I completed the Green Jewel 50k. I knew I would not be running the entire course due to a serious IT Band issue that only recently got better a week before the race and I did not want to chance hurting it again. The course was on pavement but it was raining the entire time and fairly muddy in some parts. In one section of a course you had to cross over a flooded creek which came to be waist deep on me.

So how did the Saucony's hold up???:

Great, considering they were covered in mud and thoroughly soaked in water dozens of times during the race they did hold up wonderfully. I didn't get any blisters and they dried out fairly quickly every time they did get drenched. The last 14 or so miles I had to walk because my ITBand was quickly deteriorating which led me to do some very extreme powerwalking in order to finish in time. This caused bruising on the front of my ankles. I don't know if it was necessarily due to the shoes or due to the fact I was walking as fast as my little legs would go. I would recommend the Mirage for running but not long distance powerwalking, haha.

Race review later today.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Racing Weight

There is a this weight loss book called, "Racing Weight" geared towards runners who want to lose weight but continue their training. I am 5ft'1in'and 3 quarters and on a good day I like to say Im 5'2. Right now I am weighing in at 112 which is normal. In order to get faster and run better I think that my ideal racing weight would be between 95-100 pounds. Now that may sound like freakishly slender but honestly for my height it's NOT. It would be the same as if a 5ft'6'in woman weighed 115-120 pounds. Throughout all of my teens I weighed 90 pounds until I hit my 20s. Losing weight while still maintaining the energy to race is tricky and Racing Weight lays out a plan to help you lose 1-2 pounds a week. The first few weeks you need to have at least 30% of your calories come from protein in your meals. The author makes sense in his presentation and the book also offers some diagrams for certain exercises and also recipes for healthy meals.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

My Dream Race

Arrowhead Ultra My Dream Race

My goal for 2011 is to complete a 100 mile race by ANY means necessary. I need to complete one so I can register for the Arrowhead135 mile ultra which will be taking place in Jan 2012. It's in one of the coldest towns in the United States with temperatures getting -40 with a high of 0 degrees. you have to carry something like 15 pounds of supplies with you and you are not allowed a pacer.

I want to run this race since I first heard about it last September. It's all about self reliance and testing your inner strength and boundaries. Plus, I consider it will be fun. Yeah, that's right, I think running in -20 degree weather a good time.

Don't judge me.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Saucony Mirage Update: 1

I have decided that I'm going to write updates every week about how I feel about the Saucony Mirage: how they are holding up, are they too supportive, are they not supportive enough, just my impressions of them as I train. I'm doing this because it's a new shoe and runners out there may want opinions about them before they buy it. I know I did and found little to no personal reviews about them from runners.


I am still recovering from an IT band injury so I have yet to log many miles in these shoes. I have ran maybe 12 miles in them thus far and only on the treadmill.

So, how are they working out?

Surprisingly well. I have only run in minimalist, low heel to toe drop ratio, lightweight trainers and racing flats since I began running. This was a change. I knew it would be. The Saucony Mirages are lightweight for a support shoe but I can still notice the extra weight from the shoes while I'm running. It's very noticeable. I am very happy that I bought these instead of the standard supportive shoe that is much heavier than the Mirage, I really don't think I could have dealt with that. I feel that I am running more evenly in these shoes. I have noticed that I am putting equal weight on each leg while I am running which is what I needed. I also notice the built in arch support, I think I notice it because Ive never ran in shoes with arch support before. I needed that support particularly for my right leg as much as I hate to admit it. Its only a slight support but it's still there. Also, my it band band pain is improving so I have definitely taken a shine to this pair of shoes.

Overall, so far so good!

Sweet, New Compression Socks. Sweet, New Brooks Skirt.


God, I need a new webcam, one that isn't 15 dollars and from 2006. I love compression socks. I don't know if they actually work but I always feel like I can go faster for longer in them. My legs feel more peppy. The skirt is actually the first article of running clothes I have ever bought from Brooks. I like the way it fits and on the spandex under neath there is some sort of substance that keeps them where they need to be. It's not as cute or flattering as my Nike running skirt but way more comfortable. There is also a pocket in the back (with a zipper!) big enough to store gels in.

IT BAND UPDATE:
The Gods have answered my prayers. I was in the gym for nearly 3 hours today and I had no pain in my knee. NONE. I only ran 4 miles (2 miles twice once before an eliptical workout and the other set afterwards. My chriopractor told me I'm only allowed to run 2 at a time until the IT Band gets better) but I did an hour and a half eliptical workout and then 40 minutes on this hill climber machine. I'm scared to be optimistic but I am so happy right now.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Bar Exam is Like an Ultra

Twice a year fearful law school graduates come together in their state to take the bar exam so they can become real life attorneys. In Ohio, everyone who seeks to have Esq. follow their name makes the pilgrimage to Columbus, Ohio.
So why is it like an Ultra?
1. You have to pace yourself or else you may DNF. For real.
2. You are allowed a water bottle and only a water bottle to stay hydrated.
3. You have to pay an insane entry fee.
4. You train for months.
5. Not only does it test your mental toughness but also your physical toughness as well.
6. You plan out what you will eat for breakfast.
7. You show up an hour before it starts.
8. Its a multi day event.
9. You will want to quit/die/wonder why the hell you decided to do this.
10. It is recommended that you dress in layers/comfortably.

Day 1: My brain wants to exploooode.
Cant wait for Day 2 and 8 hours of multi choice without a clock. Not allowed to bring in watches for this!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Saucony Mirages or I spent more money I don't have


Today I went to Up and Running because my chiropractor said I might need shoes with more stability. She also called me flatfooted. HORRIFIED. I went there to have my foot/gait analyzed by someone who was knowledgable with running. To my sheer horror, the store employee suggested that I should probably use a stability shoe and brought out 3 pairs: one by Brooks, one by Mizuno and one by Saucony. I hated all of them. The employee saw the obvious disgust on my face. I asked him what was in the Saucony box, I can't remember the response. However, he asked me why I asked and if I had run in Saucony's before. I told him I had been interested in the Kinvaras. He then went over and grabbed a pair of the Saucony Mirages, which I had heard about recently since they were released this month. Okay, they were CUTE, but still in my eyes they were the devil. I thought it over. As a last ditch effort I grabbed a pair of the Brooks Cascadias off the shelf and asked "Could the Cascadia's be an option for stability, I mean I know they market them as neutral Trail shoes but they seem comparable, right??!"
Employee: "Those shoes are two completely different concepts."
Me: "I know, but I was just hoping."
I love Up and Running, its a great store and everyone who works there is very helpful.
Its just that...I never thought I would wear a stability shoe.
I only plan on using them until I get better. Ill probably use them during the Green Jewel 50k and the ORRRC marathon (since its a road race).

Saucony is marketing the Mirages as a cousin to the Kinvara with a heel/toe drop of 4mm. Honestly, it looks like more of a 6mm drop to me but I'm just eyeballing it in comparison to my New Balance WT 101s, Nike Frees and my Green Silences.

Speaking of my Green Silences, lately I've felt weird about them, mainly because I was wearing them when I initially injured my IT Band. A part of me wants to BURN them.

We'll see how these Mirages work out.

I LOVE the smell of new shoes

Monday, February 14, 2011

Haruki Murakami

"Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life." Haruki Murakami

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Something I want to remember

One of the reasons I think I ever started running was prolly because of this person. Sometimes there are just genuine good people out there in the world and it's like you don't quite understand how they can be so decent. When I was a teenager I always admired how nice this person was and wish I could be like that.

I'll be dedicating the 100 miles I run when I run my first 100 mile race to this person because he was/is really inspirational.


"Shut it... I told you back then and I'll tell you again, you had more heart than me and I told you that you were improving every time. You wouldn't listen to me, but I knew if you stayed focus you'd really be a force. You had all the ability then and you still do. I tried to push you harder every chance I got. I remember coming and running beside you trying to push you to finish strong. Looking back I realize now why I majored in business because I work hard but I enjoy pushing others as a manager. Just be sure to listen to your body I ignored the pain in my knee for a year and I paid for it. I didn't pay much attention because my times were getting faster every race. Knee surgery is hard on you depending on what you have wrong. Listen I'm proud of you, I really wanted to run a marathon. I ran the distance of a half marathon once in two hours. I'd like to think that's pretty good lol."

My IT Band: Gertrude

For about 2 months now I have been having some serious issues with my right IT Band. Out of shear random luck a DailyMile friend messaged me, asking if I was still planning on running the Green Jewel 50k because she had just signed up and saw my name on the list of participants. I messaged back explaining that a of right now I am, but I'm having some IT Band issues so who knows. She then responded that she had an IT Band problem for 3 months and finally went to a Chiro that did the something called an Active Release Technique and it cured her and later another friend who was also having IT band problems. She gave me the name of the chiro and there seems to be a glimmer of hope now for me!

Fingers crossed that this works/won't be crazy expensive.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Lauren Fleshman's Picky Bars! YaY!






I got my package of Lauren Fleshman's Picky Bars in the mail today. I decided to get the variety pack which included:
Almond Agave Vegan
Lauren's Mega Nuts
Honey Roasted Sunflower

I already tried the Almond Vegan Agave and it was delicious and served its after run snack purpose.

Frostbite 5 mile Run

The Frostbite 5 Mile run was yesterday. It was only 3 dollars for ORRRC members so there was no reason (well no reason other than my messed up knee) that I couldn't run it. It was pretty flat except for the last mile and a half had some residential area hills. My official finishing time was 45:05 for an overall pace of 9:01 min miles. I wasn't trying to kill myself out there mostly because of my knee and the fact that I'm still on antibiotics.

The weather was great and there was no ice or anything to worry about.

The start of the race was a bit funky, the race started maybe 10-15 minutes later than expected and all of a sudden we heard a gunshot or some kind of noise and realized it was race time!

It was funny, about a minute into it some people in front of me actually stopped for a freaking puddle. ARE YOU SERIOUS? I couldn't believe that, don't race if you don't expect to step in a tiny puddle. Geez louise people.

I had a good time and really enjoyed the race.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Sickly

I hate being so sick I can't bring myself to run. Its horrible. True story.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Runnin and Stuntin


You can run with fake hair, if nothing else then for a boost in morale/I love extensions.

Running and Guys with Beards

Ryan Hall's beard!

So dreamy...and I have never found him to even be remotely attractive before. I will be the first to say, and everyone who knows me, knows at least this about me: I'm into rugged looking guys with beards. Beards just give a guy an overall rugged look, one that I find very crushable in an innocent tiger beat poster on my wall sort of way.

I just think they are cute.

The end.

I keep trying to find a time in my childhood where I crushed on some older guy who had facial hair but I can't seem to remember any. I don't know where this comes from. Maybe its the West Virginian in me. I don't know. I just know I crush on anything with facial hair, except a woman with facial hair.

My knee hurt a lot today. Freaking out about it. I put in a strong 9 miles at least on the treadmill until my knee wouldn't allow me to go any further.

I am now going to go take a bubble bath and think about Ryan Hall.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Late Picture-Bigfoot 50k stumble


I took this 10 days after the Bigfoot 50k. It was about a month until the bruise completely disappeared. I wanted to cry/scream/vomit when it happened. Instead, when someone asked if I was okay, I said "I'm fine" and ran in the back, running with a limp for about 15 minutes. I know, I know, I'm a badass.

Upcoming Challenges

The Green Jewel 50k is coming up in about 5 weeks. It should be easier than Bigfoot but I am a bit nervous that I may not be up to par for another 50k quite yet. One reason being, I have been having ITB problems or what I am calling ITB problems. It may just be arthritis as I was a figure skater when I was younger and crashing on my knees was not an uncommon occurrence. I would develop horrible knots/calcium deposits from falling on them.

Some days the side of my knee is better, some days worse. Sometimes it starts hurting under 3 miles others it takes 6 miles before I feel a twinge. Its fairly discouraging. I've even actually started warming up properly before running and after running I stretch now and I'll take an anti-inflammatory. Sometimes, I'll even water jog or swim to see if that will help. I had a 38 mile week last week so I'm hoping to get past the 40 mark and hopefully enter back into the 50 mile weeks soon.

I also signed up for the Laurel Highlands Ultra in June. It's a 77 mile trail race in PA and according to the race's website there was only a 50% finishing rate in 2010. I think it may be a good training race for the Leadville 100 in August or at least the best I'll be able to do before then. I considered signing up for the Mohican 100 instead but I have a running friend who was pushing for Laurel and I thought, why the hell not?

I've mostly been running indoors lately due to my knee and the shock absorption the treadmill provides. I'll be glad when I can get back out there, it is very hard mentally for me to run on a treadmill because it can be SOOO boring and there are so many factors that can annoy me-mostly the other people in the gym, or the fact that it's like training in a damn greenhouse, it gets so humid in there.

Sidenote-I'm getting to be a pro at the stability board.