Life Update - New Coach, New Job & New Adventures

If there is one thing I can say, life is NOT boring! First, for the past couple months I have been working with a coach. Anyone in the trail, mountain and ultra community knows who he is. He is a legend and I am excited to learn as much as I can from him! For those who read this and don't know much about the sport just Google AJW or Andy Jones Wilkins. I have always wondered what my running potential is and I'm hoping that this will be the year I find out!

My racing schedule for the year (so far):

• 18 March 2017 - Mesquite Canyon 50km - 4th Place Female/9th Place Overall
• 17 June 2017 - Broken Arrow Skyrace 52km - 
• 9 July 2017 - Silver Rush 50Mi
• 19 August 2017 - Pikes Peak Marathon 42km

Okay, so the second BIG piece of news is....I accepted a new job. I'm working on a really neat project doing IT Systems Administration work for the military health system. We are providing a solution that combines Army/Navy radiology imaging into one archive so studies can be retrieved and viewed from any facility. And, just as it always happens when you start one new opportunity, others present themselves... earlier this week I received a call from the University of Colorado saying that I would be accepted into their Health Promotion Masters program this Fall. Unfortunately, I had to turn it down at this time since, I just accepted and started working at my new job. They did say they hope I decide to apply at a future date. We'll see...

And the last big update is we are still in the early processes of building a home. We bought the property and are working permits and inspections so that we can start building. I can't wait. As I mentioned before the property is up in the mountains, 8600ft...it's going to be amazing once we actually live there. 

Mesquite Canyon 50km

I just got back from Phoenix where I ran the Aravaipa Mesquite Canyon 50km in the White Tank Regional Park. Originally, I was signed up to run the 50 miler but about two weeks out I emailed the race organization to ask if I could drop to the 50km. Fortunately, it wasn't a problem because I hadn't run anything longer than a 30km in many months so I felt I wouldn't be able to do very well in the 50miler.

Race morning started much like all the other races except instead of getting ready in a hotel room, I was at my friend's house. It worked out perfect because I was going to leave Addie with my friend for the day while I used her car to go to and from the race. That was the plan we came up with the night before. But, that morning as I was eating my peanut butter & jelly and getting my hydration pack together my friend came out of her room and said that I could take her husband's car. She said this would be better because she and the girls would then be able to come up later on to see me finish. I was a little scared about driving her husband's really nice Audi but I also was happy that they were going to come see me since I was feeling that it was going to be a little lonely to finish and not have my daughter and friend there. So, at 5am I left the house, drove very carefully all the way there and as I  entered the park to pay for parking I felt and heard an awful noise.  I immediately backed the car up and asked the attendant if I did any damage although I knew I had. She said "yeah a little". So I continued driving to the start of the race which was quite a ways in the White Tank park. When I got out I took a look and saw I had scratched the rim of the tire a little. I felt bad but I had to hurry off and pick up my bib and get ready to start since I only had about 15mins. 

As in all of my races, I went into it with the mindset that I would push hard but run my own race. I would go by feel and listen to my body. As I toed the line, so to speak and listened to the race brief I was feeling the adrenalin and excitement that I always do right before the start. The countdown began and 10 secs later we were off! I was following the guy in front of me who happened to be Charlie Ware, there was also a guy running along side me named Doug Aroca. As we were running, I saw signs for the 50mi/30km race and I had a feeling we were not going the right way so I asked Doug. He told me we were and that we shared the same route as the 50 miler course. After about another mile or more the lead guy Charlie said he "didn't know about us, but he was turning around". At that point I also did not think we were going in the right direction so I told Doug, "I'm going with him". The three of us headed back in the direction we came and got back on course right before the first checkpoint. The two guys went through, as did I but, I was the LAST person to run through it. I didn't stop at it but, I did ask how far ahead everyone was, the nice lady there said "not too far, don't worry". Easier said than done. I was worried. I didn't see anyone ahead of me but as soon as I started running up the mountain I passed a lady and right as I ran by her I noticed my nose was running and then I realized it was blood. Luckily, I ran by another lady who I saw had tissue so I asked if I could have a piece of it. She saw my situation and gave me a clean piece and asked if I was alright. I told her I felt fine, thanked her and kept going. I was feeling good and was able to run a good pace up the mountain. I didn't feel the need to power hike at all. At the second checkpoint, I didn't fill up my pack and they told me as I was leaving that we had 9 miles to the next checkpoint. Since I was trying to make up the lost time/distance, I felt I could get by with the amount of water in my pack.

The next 9 miles went by really easy but as I started to get close to the turn around point I felt the heat getting to me a little and my stomach felt a bit queasy. At the checkpoint I filled up my pack and ate a couple pieces of watermelon and took off. Right away the nauseousness came back, I wanted to ignore it so I still tried to run a little. About a half a mile down the the way I began a violent episode of vomiting.  A female runner asked if I were alright and I told her yeah and that I thought it was the heat...she just said "good, keep going!" So, for the next mile I power hiked, which was ok because it just happened to be a pretty steep climb. By the time I got close to the top my stomach had settled and I felt good again, actually I felt great! I ended up running from that point on and didn't have to power hike again. I felt strong and as if I were still running within my limits. I continued to pass runners and move up in the field. Right as I was getting to the 4th checkpoint I fell hard. I landed on both knees and elbows and slid a little. I was able to get up and shake it off, got to the checkpoint, filled up my pack and took off.  I was running really well at this point and then what do you know, I fell again. This time wasn't nearly as bad but it slowed me down for a second.

The final section of the race was crazy. We ran in a dried up riverbed that had huge rocks you had to climb down on and at times slide on your butt. In between the rocks were sections of sand and mossy water pools. It was a lot of fun but at times I felt like I was running two steps forward and one step back. This section lasted quite a while, I'm not sure the exact distance but I remember thinking that I couldn't wait to get on solid ground again.

Once the trail did head back up in the Canyon I ran up behind a girl named Lora that was in my race, she was in 3rd place. I ran right behind her and we arrived at the final checkpoint at the same time...and boy oh boy, this checkpoint couldn't have come at a better time...I was out of water and SOOOOO HOT! The temp was about 94 at this point and it felt like it. Lora left the aid station about a minute before me because I had to finish putting Tailwind and water in my pack. I knew she was right in front of me so I tried to run as well as I could. I ended up not catching her and finished 4th for women and 9th overall. You can check out the results here!

What I love about this sport is that it challenges each and every one of us in different ways and we're tested every time we race. There aren't many things that test the human body and mind as an ultra distance race does. But, it's the times when we overcome the obstacles, that we win. I didn't do as well as I wanted in this race but because I had so many obstacles I overcame and made it to the finish, I felt like a winner :)

Some things I would like to say about this race is:

1. It was challenging but so beautiful. The Spring flowers were in full bloom and they really made it a sight to see!
2. The organization was really great despite my getting off course...that was my own mistake and something that can happen when you are in the front.
3. The volunteers were soooooo amazing. They were all so kind and helpful. They filled up your hydration pack for you while you got something in your stomach so as to not waste time and it was great.

Would I go back? Absolutely!

A BIG THANKS to all those who helped me! I couldn't have done this without my friend, Suany, who watched my daughter! It was so awesome of her to bring two toddlers to the finish and wait for me in the heat...she's a true friend. I wouldn't have felt as good as I did without Tailwind, so thanks for getting me through another long day. And thanks to Ryan, who was so understanding when I told him I ruined his rim.

My 2017 Racing Schedule!

As the 2016 racing season comes to an end for me I'm looking forward to 2017. I feel like this is going to be a great year... I'm in pretty good shape, I didn't over train this year or race too much so I'm fresh and more importantly I'm motivated!
UltraTrail Barcelona  - March 25th 2017

Transvulcania - May 13th 2017

Lavaredo UT - June 23rd 2017




CCC or TDS (depending on the lottery) - August 30th/September 1st 2017


CCC:


TDS:

VO2 Max Testing

Wow, that was so much fun! I was so excited before the VO2 max test that I felt like I had drank 2 cups of coffee even though I only had water. It was such an adrenalin rush! I had to fast before the test, only drink water...so that is just another example that proves the body is an amazing thing! I had the jitters all from excitement!


The whole thing only took about 30 minutes. First, I sat down with the PT Sarah, she took my blood pressure, then she ran an ultra-sound body fat analyzer on me. After that, we discussed the speed that I would want to max out at. She said normally for athletes they choose 8.7 miles per hour but that is around a 6:50 mile pace and since I had just did around that pace for my half marathon she thought we should go to 10mph. It was all so exciting! She and I both agreed that my max heart rate is actually higher than the calculation of 220-age but that is what she would have to use as the basis for the test. So, the plan was, I'd start off walking on the treadmill and then she would increase the speed until I reached 10mph and then at that point she would start to increase the incline. She told me to look at the chart on the wall and to let her know once I reached "10 - Feeling Nauseous" After the plan was laid out, she fitted me with a heart-rate monitor and a mask. Then I got on the treadmill and the test began.


It only lasted about 10 mins. At first, I was at a walking pace, just to make sure the heart rate monitor was capturing the data. Then she moved the speed up to 6.7, then after a minute or two she moved it up again, and then after another minute she sped it up again and again until I reached 10mph. I ran at this pace for another minute or so then she increased the incline to 01, at this point she told me that I was around 91% of my max heart rate. Then she increased the incline to 02. Once max heart rate was reached, the test was over. I never felt nauseous or saw stars, which she had warned me might happen.


My VO2 Max results = 68.5%...not Kilian Jornet good but still good :) Check out this: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/records/vo2max.htm

Body Fat % = 13.9%

Scott Rock the Top - Zugspitz Trailrun Challenge

Oh boy, do I have a story. First, I have to say that I almost didn't even start the race. I woke up that morning totally exhausted and it took all I had to force myself to get out there.

The day before the race, we took a half day off of work so that we could get on the road by 12:30 for our 4/5 hour drive down to Garmisch. We had a lot of last minute things that needed to be accomplished but we got on the road by 12:45...not bad. What was bad, was the drive down there. We hit so many Stau (German word for traffic jam) and ultimately it set us back 2 hours. We ended up arriving in Garmisch at 20:00, just one hour before the race registration booth closed. I picked up my bib and then we grabbed a bite to eat because neither of us had eaten a real meal since breakfast. We decided to eat at a middle eastern restaurant which I was a little weary about but the food looked amazing so I decided to take a chance...it was delicious! While we were eating, our phones were going off with family, friends and co-workers asking if we were ok because there had been a shooting in Munich. By the time we were done with dinner it was already 22:30 so we headed to the Edelweiss Lodge which is the U.S. Military Lodge and Resort to check-in to our campsite. Once at the campsite, we set up our bivy's...Addie and I would sleep in mine and Bj would sleep in his. This was going to be an experiment because not only was it Adelaide's first time camping but I was expecting her to sleep in my bivy with me. We laid down around 23:30, I could already tell it wasn't going to work because the two of us were trying to sleep on a single air-mat and whenever she would fidget (which was a lot) she would slide off and each time she fell off, she would start crying. Somehow we both fell asleep before midnight. But, at 01:30 I was woken by her scream and before I knew it she was trying to stand up in the bivy and was freaking out because there was no room for her to do so. It was a mess! I woke Bj up and told him that I couldn't sleep with her in the bivy and I asked him if he would set up the tent. Instead, he suggested that we lay the back seat down in the car and I lay my air-mat on it. So, after pulling everything out of the car to include the baby's car-seat we were able to lay the mat down and Addie and I slept (not well, but we slept). We still tossed and turned throughout the next several hours. Every time she would move, she would slide off of the mat.

04:45 came way too early. When my alarm woke me up, I considered just turning it off and going back to sleep but instead I forced myself to get up. I started to get ready out of the trunk of the car and woke Bj up around 05:00. As I was getting my gear together he came over to the car and I told him that I didn't think I wanted to start the race. I just felt horrible, I hadn't gotten much sleep and I was so tired. He said ok and that he would put up the tent so I could go back to sleep...but after about a minute of debating in my head, I yelled over to him that I was going to run. We ended up leaving the campsite by 05:30 to head to the start of the race which was about a half hour away. Unfortunately, I didn't get to have any breakfast so I was super hungry on the drive there. We arrived Ehrwald (the start) at 05:55, 5 mins before the start...just in time.

I got into the shoot and politely nudged my way up to the front, but not too close because I wanted to ensure that I would run my own race and not get caught up in the excitement. The countdown started and before I knew it, we were off!

At first I felt terrible. My legs were so heavy, I felt like each one was 200lbs each. Around 4km, I wanted to quit. I really thought to myself, this isn't your day...it's ok to drop. Three girls had passed me but two of them were directly in front of me. I was still running the runable up-hills but my legs felt like lead. After about 7km I started to feel a little better. I decided to push myself past the two girls in front of me and took advantage of my downhill running ability. The terrain at this point was messy. It was a wet, mushy cattle path with lots of mounds and holes that you had to try not to step in or you could break an ankle. Oh yeah and I should mention lots of cow poop. Luckily, I gained a little bit of distance on the girls, not much but a little. When we got to the first checkpoint, I hurried up and got water and was on my way. No time wasted. Somewhere around the halfway point spectators told me that the first woman was only about 3 mins ahead of me...so I pushed it. I ran whenever the grade wasn't crazy steep and before I knew it I passed her. I happened to run by her on a downhill and it was right before the second checkpoint. I still had plenty of water and nutrition so I didn't stop at that checkpoint. I just kept running.

Somewhere around the 25km mark I was heading up the mountain again and ended up passing a guy who was taking a break. He told me that I was the first woman and said something like "you can do it!". Not long after that, he was behind me and I asked if he wanted to go around me and he responded with "no", he said whenever he is in front, he can't control himself and goes too fast so he wanted to stay behind me. We ended up talking and running together for the rest of the race. Johannes was his name. As the kilometers went on, I learned all about him. He was a super nice guy, a teacher from a town not so far away. He told me all about the different sports he had done and how in January he became a father for the first time. We talked about how much fun and stressful it can be to have a baby but also that we wouldn't change it for anything. At this point, I was really happy to have someone to talk to me because I was suffering quite a bit from blisters on the tops of my toes. They were really hurting with every downhill step I took. Johannes asked me if I wanted to use his tape but I didn't want to stop so I told him, maybe later. Luckily, most of the race took place going uphill so the pain would subside enough to give me a break. Every downhill step though, felt like my toes were on fire! With every step, my foot would shift in my shoe and the tops of my toes would rub the blisters that I knew were broken open and raw.

About 5km out I was running in a group of about 3 or 4 guys. Sometimes I would pass them and then sometimes they would pass me. Somewhere around here we crossed from Austria into Germany and ran over the most dangerous section of the race which had us running on a narrow path with via feratta on one side and the mountain edge on the other. As we approached the final checkpoint which was at Knorr Hut, I had to hurry, fill my pack with water, grab a gel with caffeine and then go on my way. I wanted to wait for my new friend but I just had to keep moving. I was fearful the women behind me would be coming up soon so I just left the checkpoint while they stayed to refuel. I knew the they wouldn't be far behind me but, I couldn't wait...I needed to finish. The final push was tough but then again, so was the whole race. But, with it being mid-day the sun was out in full force. I was pretty hot but all I could think about was that the race was mine. The feeling I had as I approached the top was awesome...I knew I was the first woman. As I rounded the top of Sonnalpin, I heard my name and looked over to see Bj and my baby girl. I was so happy to see them but I had to cross the finish line before I could celebrate. As I approached the finish line, I think I surprised them because they were not ready for me. I saw one girl scrambling to get the banner up but she was trying to do it alone and it wasn't working out well for her so I just crossed the finish line anyway. I was so happy to have come in first place that I didn't care about the banner. One girl placed the medal around my neck and then they asked if I would run back through...so I did. At that point I was just so happy that I didn't mind running back around to get a photo with the banner! As I was walking out of the shoot, some young boy wanted a photo with me so I stopped while his mother took the picture. Then I was approached by several people, asking questions and then requesting a few minutes for an interview. Around that time I saw my beautiful baby girl and her smile just filled me with so much more happiness! It was all surreal.

Overall, it was a super tough marathon. Lots and lots of climbing. I felt strong except for the blisters on my feet. I would definitely go back and do it again. The course was beautiful, the views were amazing and I love the climbing. My Strava showed a distance of 47.3km with 3,751m of elevation gain. For my American friends, that is 28.9 miles with 12,306ft of elevation gain ;)


Not a bad ending to what started off to be a horrible beginning. A lesson I learned from this run was no matter what, go out and give it a shot, you might surprise yourself. I really didn't think the race would go well but after a couple hours I warmed up and was happy to be out there. Once again, I kept telling myself...I'm right where I want to be!

My sleep the night before the start

And Up...

And Up...The climb makes you feel ALIVE!

View from the top - Sportograf.com

Cool shot by Sportograf.com

View from the top!

Sportograf.com

The Finish Line

Pure Happiness :)

Finished!

1st :) :)

Me and MY WORLD!

:/

Awards Ceremony :)

You can check out my Strava here: https://www.strava.com/activities/650541266

Here are some other sites I was mentioned in :)

- The Exito.de photo story

- The Alpine.de
- Runnersworld.de

Rock the Top - Just a Week Away

I'm actually pretty excited about my next race... It's only a little over a marathon in distance but the elevation that we will climb...yikes!!! I really don't know much about the race except, it is called Rock the Top, Zugsptiz Trailrun Challenge put on by Scott, this is the 3rd year running and it is 43,5km with 3965m of elevation. That is a lot of climbing in a short distance. Plan B is the organization that puts this race, they are the same organization that puts on Zugspitz Ultratrail and I think they do a fantastic job.

Anyway, I'm not sure how long it will take me. I guess in the past the winning female won it in around 6 hours...so I guess I'm shooting for somewhere around there.

We plan on camping out that weekend in Garmisch and I'm excited because it will be Addie's first time camping! Should be fun :)

Transvulcania 2014 - A Race to Remember

Transvulcania...WOW! What a fun race. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out since I haven't been able to train properly. For the whole month of March and two weeks of April I took off from running, completely to try and finally rid myself of the constant pain I was in. I also had a PRP injection during this time and I think that was the reason I was able to run the race. Sooo, back to the race! It was A-MAZ-ING...I had so much fun and was pretty happy the whole time. I was hoping to complete it in 10 hours but with the lack of training and injury my main goal was to finish.

The night before the race I wanted to get to bed early so I went I my room at about 3pm and put my pack together and lay around playing on the laptop. But at about 8:30 I started to get real hungry so I ordered some room service since I didn't want to have to get dressed to go down to the hotel restaurant. My pre-race meal: steak, mixed vegatables and patatoes. It was pretty yummy and I needed the nutrition to help me run strong!

The race started at 6am and the atmosphere at the start was great. Like many other races, there was music playing, elites being introduced, runners everywhere full of excitement and anticipation of the day ahead. It was really exciting. The countdown in Spanish begin and everyone shouted, diez, nueve, ocho, siete, seis, cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, uno and then the air horn went off and so did the runners. We started off on a wide dirt road below the Fuencaliente lighthouse which shortly led to a single-track dirt path that went on for about 8km. It was apparent that many of the runners knew we were about to be forced on a narrow path because the pushing and shoving was like no other race I've been apart of. I was a little surprised at this but I understand that it wasn't meant with bad intentions but just that people didn't want to get stuck behind slow people on the single-track path.  But, I was still a little surprised at the amount of men that had no problem pushing me out of their way to run past. Those 8k in the volcanic sand felt like 20...it was so difficult to run on because each time you stepped, your feet would sink in and it was like running in slow motion.

At the start :)

Soon after the first checkpoint the trail started going up again but then again that is the story of this race. We just kept going up, up  and up! I loved watching the sun rise, it was absolutely beautiful and made me feel really happy. I knew I wasn't moving fast but I didn't care. I was just happy to be out there enjoying the morning. The day went on and the hours past. Around the 26km mark is where Refugio de El Pilar checkpoint was and where the Marathon race begin. It just so happened that I ran by that checkpoint at 4:28hrs...and two minutes later the Marathon started. The runners ran by and from this point on we were all mixed together. Not only could you identify the marathon runners by their red bibs but also because they were sooooo clean! That's right, all of us who had already been on trail were a mess. We had dirt everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! But, after a couple hours they too were dirty and the only way to tell who was who was by the color of our bibs.

The crowds were great, people were out cheering in all the little towns and outside of their homes along the course. As the day progressed it got hot...muy caliente! And as we climbed the less shade there was for relief.

 It seemed like the climbs wouldn't stop and as much as I would have liked, I did not stay at any checkpoint but for just enough time to fill up my water bladder.

When the downhills came, I zoomed. I ran past people and imagined myself flying. I was really looking forward to the final descent that I had heard so much about. That is, until it came. I reached the highest point of the race and the last peak before the final descent at 10 hours. At this point I was really looking forward to heading down and at first I was flying, jumping from rock to rock and enjoying the momentum. But descending from 2400+ meters to sea-level got to me. It was about the time when I reached the second to the last checkpoint which was half-way down that I started to feel the pain in my feet and heat of the day. It was so hot at this point but luckily at the Tore Forestal de El Time checkpoint they had huge buckets of water and were kindly pouring the water over our heads. It was much needed because I was really starting to feel the heat. After filling up my pack I continued down the mountain but it wasn't without a couple good spills which left a nice blue bruise on my butt.

Happy to be on the trails :) and feeling good!

Once I reached Tazacorte which happened to be the Marathon's finishing point I was filled with excitement which soon turned into anger as we headed up the riverbed and then up the other side of the mountain. I knew that we would have to go back up but I didn't realize just how far back up we would have to go. I remember reaching a road where volunteers were stopping traffic and I asked the young lady where do we go now...and when she pointed up, I remember yelling "Are you kidding me???!!!" but then I smiled at her so she didn't think I was upset with her. We ended up climbing up to 400+ meters and then the finish line was in site...that was a great feeling. I just plodded along as people were screaming as if I were Frosty herself. That was a great part about this race, the crowds didn't care who you were, to them, you were a rockstar...and that was a great feeling!

I finished in 13:02:00, not 10:00:00 like I wanted but I finished...and that I'm happy about!

Photo was taken right after the race.

I also had a wonderful time the days surrounding the race. I met some really great people and was happy to have extended my ultra-running family! I can't wait to see you all again at future races :)

Hanging out at the pool and the beach the following day!

Thank you to all the volunteers and to the race organization for such a memorable race experience! It was truly a race to remember.