When Ultra's Don't Go to Plan - My Leadville 100 Trail Run Story

It's been 2 weeks post-Leadville and I can finally sit down and finish this. I started it a couple days after but I just didn't have the energy to complete my thoughts. I know a lot of other things have happened in the Ultra world but I know I would regret it if I didn't get my thoughts out about this race.

It had been 5 years since toeing the line in a 100 Mile race. Going into Leadville, I knew a couple of things...it was going to hurt, it was going to be hard and it would challenge me in ways that I hadn't experienced in a long time. I was prepared for all of that, the pain, the challenge but what I wasn't prepared for was the puking...that's right, the puking. It got me and it got me early....2.5hrs early. I didn't do anything I hadn't done on long training runs or even in other races that I ran to help prepare me for Leadville and it happened SO early that you can't blame it on lack of fitness...I hadn't even really gotten to test my fitness at this point. And just to be clear, I'm ok with puking...later in a race, I almost expect it... but in the first couple hours...that was just hard to deal with. The reason it was so hard is after many hours of it, I started to deteriorate, I had no energy, my mind weakened, my body weakened and my race became a suffer-fest to the end. Here's how it went down...

The weeks leading up to the race were pretty stressful, not because of the race itself but, more because I felt a struggle at home with balancing my passion for running and training and keeping members of the family happy. I had to be careful not to talk about Leadville too much and I needed to make sure my training was done when it would least affect others so I could be present. If you are not an ultrarunner it may be hard to understand our passion for the sport. To me, it is part of who I am...I love running and I love how fun and exciting ultra running is but I also understand that it is not for everyone...just like baseball isn't for everyone. I only mention this because when preparing for a 100 you really need to be in the right mindset and I don't think I went into this race at my best.

modeling the CTS buff in her own way

Addie and I got to Leadville on Thursday with a friend Samantha Wood, and by the way, she ended up placing 3rd Place Female behind Magda Boulet and Cat Bradley...so pretty damn impressive! So happy for her. On Friday, my crew all got into town...so once everyone was there we had a team meeting at my hotel room. My team consisted of some pretty awesome people. I had Amanda Pevoteaux as the Crew Chief/Pacer,  and pacers Chris Sipe (who had just finished the Western States 100), and Josh Holer (local runner and also 2020 Western States runner). My Coach, Adam St. Pierre also swung by to tell us how it should all go down. My pacers would run in front, block oncoming traffic, be the ones to tell others they are doing great and allow me to just do my thing and run.

Pacers Chris and Josh

Prerace meeting

Headed out of Outward Bound

I thought I was fit, I thought I had done the training and I thought my race would turn out a different way. But, As I mentioned before, I knew pretty early on that things were NOT going to plan. My friend Brooks and I were running together for the first 5ish miles but I had to let him go as I had to stop for a potty break...no big deal I thought, I'm sure I'll catch back up...then I had to stop again and finally a third time. Ugh, this bothered me as I could see so many runners passing me by while I handled my business in the bushes. I arrived at the first Aid Station May Queen and didn't stop as I had everything I needed with me. I was running well but my stomach just didn't feel right. As I was running on the Powerline section I had to stop and puke...oh no, I thought, this is too early for that! Once I stopped I got back to running and Dave Mackey was next to me. I told him how awesome I thought he was and that I had really enjoyed hearing him speak about his accident at the Colorado Running Company. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I just finished puking so I'm not sure...that's when he said well, it probably won't be the last time today...and boy was he right. I was running on pace or a little ahead when I got to the Aid Station Outward Bound. I informed my team of how I was feeling...my coach told me to "slow the F down" and they sent me on my way. I didn't feel like I was running too fast, it didn't feel like my stomach issues were because I was pushing too hard.

Probably telling me to slow the F down

Leaving Twin Lakes for Hope Pass

I took it fairly easy on the next section but still had bouts of nausea...my stomach just felt like the food wasn't digesting at all. I say this because of the sloshing I felt and because of the amount of liquid food that was coming up...it was a lot! When I got to Twin Lakes, my crew was there waiting and they worked me like a racecar in pit stop...they made sure I had everything I needed (which was amazing) and sent me on my way. I ran through the marshy section, trudged through the stream crossings and started hiking once I started the climb up to Hope Pass. I felt good, I passed people on the way up to include 6 women (Yes, I was counting). When I got to the Hope Pass Aid Station, I didn't stay too long, I sipped a cup of Ramen and then continued up the Pass for another 3/4 of a mile before descending down the other side to Winfield. I was feeling pretty good at this point and thought things were turning around until about 4 miles later the vomiting returned. When I got to Winfield, I started to feel it. I started to feel the loss of nutrition... I know this because my mind had suddenly taken a turn down negative-lane. I was starting to doubt if I could continue feeling the way I was. I was happy to see my pacer Chris who was donning the best pacer outfit ever...a pair of short shorts that were Mexican themed with what I think were tacos (if I'm remembering correctly) and a matching tank. At the time, all I could say was "wow, those are great"...It was hard to really appreciate how fun they were with how bad I was feeling! My coach was also there at Winfield and dumped a bunch of cold water and ice on me...he gave me some words of encouragement and sent me on on my way with Chris leading us out and holding some soup and chips for me. As we made the climb back up lots of people gave Chris props for his fun pacer outfit...I was glad someone was showing him the appreciation because I felt so bad I'm not sure I really said much to him.

Smiling because the worst was over
(or so I thought)...back to Twin Lakes

As we continued up to Hope Pass, I was continuing to feel rough...I was moving very slowly and had some more vomit sessions...when we got to the top, I sat down for a second while Chris got me some ramen and crackers. I sipped and ate the crackers and then we were on the way. He told me after a few minutes of letting the food settle we should pick up the pace. This solidified that fact that things were not looking good for me...normally, I love bombing it down mountains but at this point all I could do I was shuffle down...my stomach bouncing and sloshing with each step. When we got back to Twin Lakes, my crew was there along with Coach Duncan Callahan who is a previous Leadville winner (twice). I was having another low mental moment and I needed to hear that I could do it. I just remember saying that it seemed impossible...another 40 miles at that point!!! After about 10 mins I was on my way with a new pacer, Amanda. I knew she was looking forward to having some fun with me so I felt bad that I was not going to be able to give her the experience she was hoping to have. Not only was I struggling with not being able to keep any food down but I was also dealing with not being able to breathe properly...this happens to me in long races...after a while, I feel so congested and have a shortness of breath. Amanda tried to get me to take deeper breaths but when I did it would trigger coughing. It was so nice to have her with me because I felt like poo. I felt so bad physically that I couldn't help but be a Negative Nancy at this point...which I really didn't want to do. I wanted to be happy even if I was suffering but this just felt different. I still couldn't keep food down which made me feel so drained of energy that my mind weakened. Amanda led us back to Outward Bound Aid station...And, I guess I was a little loopy because after the race Amanda mentioned that the green reflective lights that I saw near the road were not, in fact moving like I had expressed. She also thought it was funny that for whatever reason when she said we were pretty close to the Aid Station I had asked who was going to be there...kind of a weird question when I knew all along who was going to be there. My mind was just not working right!

At Outward Bound my pacers swapped out. I picked up Josh Holer...poor Josh because the next 25 miles took us 7 hours!!! I complained, whined, apologized for being so slow...I asked to nap, to quit, I asked him to stop asking me to eat. He was just doing his job as a pacer but I was so sick of puking that I didn't want to put another thing in my mouth. I'm not sure if I said it or was just thinking it but I think I told him something along the lines that he had no idea how bad I felt and that if he did he would stop nagging me...it was probably just a thought because he's still talking to me which means I most likely didn't say it out loud!

28:01:22

The morning hours seemed to tick by in slow motion, the final climb went on forever and I only ran (more like a shuffle) when Josh would tell me to. He would point to a place on the side of the road, see that rock, run to there and then we can walk...see that sign, run to that and then we walk...he did this and I would do what he asked but it was definitely not a run...I felt like I couldn't physically bend my legs in a way that would allow me to run so I just did what I could. I moved forward. As I was about to round the corner for the final climb to the finish line my coach drove up, slammed the car in park, jumped out and gave me some final words of encouragement...he told me if he opened the dictionary to tough, my picture would be there...that made me feel super happy even though I may not have shown it. I finished the Leadville 100 with my crew and family beside me in 28:01:22, 4 hours longer than I wanted it to. I am not stoked about my time but I am so proud that I stuck it out and crossed that finish line. 100's are hard...so much can go wrong, it's not all about checking every block, things can happen that shake up your plan but it's about pushing on through the darkness, it's about friends that help you on your journey, it's about community and it's about finding things out about yourself that you can't in those moments when you are sitting on your couch watching a movie. You have to DIG DEEP in 100's and that's what I did. I didn't do it alone, if it wasn't for my crew, pacers, and coach, I may not be able to call myself  Leadville 100 finisher!

Best crew ever!

Crewing and Pacing Western States 100

Western States...we all know this as one of the most prestigious ultramarathons in the USA and the grandfather of trail ultras in the world. Each year, thousands of people try to get in through the lottery, some by obtaining a golden ticket which they win by placing in the top 2 positions at a select number of difficult races. However, every year only 369 people are lucky enough to run in this race. But that doesn’t mean it’s small or that it is any less competitive than say, a race that has thousands of runners running. Actually, some would argue that it is even more competitive because of those that run in this race range from the super fast elite to the seasoned ultrarunners with thousands of miles on their feet. Both are forces to be reckoned with! My point is, people who get in generally know what the hell they are doing and don’t take the race lightly!

Like last year, I knew I was going back to this race to crew. I originally thought that I would just help out with the CTS athletes. I had so much fun last year and enjoyed helping so much that I knew I wanted to do it again. So when a running friend I knew from Finland asked me if I would be his crew chief, I, of course, said yes. He was number 13 on the waitlist and based off of previous years, we knew that meant he was going to get in. It was only 3 weeks prior to the race that he knew for sure though when his name was pulled from the waitlist and he was a confirmed runner in Western States. It was a little after this when Jukka was contacted by another guy who is originally from Finland but has been residing in San Francisco since attending university many years ago (sorry Risto, I assumed it was many). Risto saw that a guy from Finland got off the waitlist and he wanted to help his fellow countryman out so asked to be part of our crew. It was a perfect and much-needed addition to the team and would allow me to not only crew but also pace. There were so many things that happened around this trip that was serendipitous - the first was that at the same time I was messaging Jukka to see if I could pace as well as crew, Jukka’s other pacer who was originally going to pace the entire 2nd Half of the race was emailing Jukka saying he would only be able to pace until Rucky Chucky. So it worked out perfectly...Will Cooper would pace from Foresthill to Rucky Chucky and I would pace from Rucky Chucky to the finish. Since I was bringing Addie along with me I hired a babysitter. Ellery is an 18-year-old about to head off for university and agreed to come along and help me for the trip during the times that I would be preoccupied. The plan was for Risto and the kids head to Auburn after leaving Foresthill. Will would pace Jukka and I would take Will’s car to Rucky Chucky so he would have it when he finished his pacing duties. This was all ironed out a couple days before the race.

Me after winning the
Altra Uphill Challenge

Two days before the Western States race, Jukka mentioned to me that there was a race for anyone who wanted to join on Friday morning at 10am and that I should run it. He said that was an uphill race called the Altra Uphill Challenge and that it was only 6km. I was not aware of this event until they mentioned it so I wasn’t sure if I would want to run it last minute but the morning of the race, which was the day before Western States I messaged my coach and asked if I could do it...his response was “yes, win it”. So a couple hours later I toed the line and what do you know, I did! It was so much fun and I won $100 gift certificate at Altra and a Suunto 9 GPS watch...I believe this to be the second stroke of serendipity as this was not even on my radar but ended rather well for me!

Sunset the night before the
race at Robinson Flat

Addie and I snuggling
in the tent

After the race and a quick meeting with Team Jukka crew, Addie, Ellery and I met up with Jason and Liz Koop as well as a guy from our area named Josh in Foresthill and we all carpooled to the first aid station where we would meet and crew for the runners - Robinson Flat. After last years crazy adventure down the road to Deliverance, I thought it would be best to follow people who really knew how to get there. We got to Robinson Flat a couple hours before dark, met up with John Fitzgerald, who is also a CTS coach as well as Stephanie Howe. We all ate our dinner and fell asleep in our tents or in Stephanie’s case, a kickass van so that we could rise early for Western States race-day. It was a super cold night especially for late June but I was lucky because I had Addie to snuggle with and she’s always so warm! 

Addie and Liz being cute

Team Jukka at Robinson Flat

A quick pic with Mr. Bill
(Previous RF Aid Station Captian)

The next morning we set up our support area right after the Robinson Flat aid station tent and waited for our runners to come through. This aid station is fun because the front runners come flying in...very exciting to spectate. I find it inspiring to watch the front runners putting themselves out there and really giving this race all they've got. I find it even more inspiring to see the mid and back of the packers doing the same, giving it all they've got. Since everyone in our little group had their own runners they were supporting things started to thin out as the morning went on. Since we were Jukka’s crew, we had to wait for him to come through Robinson Flat which happened to be around 12:30pm. 

Team Jukka at Foresthill

Once Jukka left Robinson Flat, Ellery, Addie and I got in our car and headed to Foresthill. Risto and Jon also drove in their car and met us for “linner” (lunch and dinner) at Maker’s, which was a restaurant with bar food options...nice and greasy, just what we needed after a long morning of standing out in the sun. Shortly after getting to the restaurant, Will joined us. The whole crew was finally all together. After we ate, we found a spot on the ground and watched runner after runner pass through. It was fun to cheer everyone on and see how the different athletes were looking. 
We had gotten word that the lead woman, Courtney had dropped, Clare had moved up and CTS athlete Kaci had jumped to third place. We also saw Amanda and her man Zach walking in the opposite direction of the course on their way to drop from the race. So much was happening in the woman's race at this point and it was very exciting! At around 10:30pm Jukka came through Foresthill aid station. When he came into the aid station he was feeling really low, so low he fell to the ground and was a little out of it when asked a couple questions by the medical staff. Will had just picked him up as his pacer right before Foresthill and by the sounds of how Jukka looked and felt we all kind of thought, his race might have been over. But Will did what a good pacer does and he told Jukka to EAT and before we knew it, Jukka was back and ready to go! 

After Jukka and Will left Foresthill we all left for our next stations...Risto, Ellery, Jon (Jukka’s 16-year-old son) and Addie headed to Placer High School while I went to Rucky Chucky. The plan was that I would go there and catch some sleep in the back of Will’s car and that I should be ready to pace 30 mins before the 30hr cutoff since Jukka was getting closer and closer to the 30 hr cutoff....actually when they left Foresthill they were only 15 mins ahead of it. At Rucky Chucky I set my alarm for 3am the fell asleep somewhere around 11:30pm however with the excitement of the race, I woke up on my own at 2:30am. I immediately grabbed my phone to see the last checkpoint they had passed through and it showed Cal 2, this meant they had one more aid station, Cal 3 to pass through before Rucky Chucky. I kept refreshing the timing website but it kept showing Cal 2 as their last aid station. A number of things went through my head such as, maybe they are moving really slowly (since he was looking so bad at Foresthill), or maybe they dropped, or maybe the website didn’t pick up their last aid station passing. At 3am I decided just to head down to the pickup point which is near the river crossing. I saw that there was a bus that ran every 15mins so I got out of the warm car and headed to wait at the cold “bus stop”. For whatever reason this bus did not come within 15 mins of the last bus - it was more like 20+ mins. But since I was expecting to have to wait for them, it didn’t really bother me that I had to wait a little longer for the bus. When it stopped, I jumped on and took the ride to the river. When I got off, I thought about using the toilet since I had to pee but for whatever reason, the third serendipitous thing happened. I kept walking to the aid station, passing the bathrooms and when I did, I saw Will! He was going through his bag which was on a table and I yelled: “Will, what are you doing here already?!” He said, “hey, tell Gordy you are here!” I then said “ok, here are your keys” holding them up to Will’s face. He didn’t grab them at first because he looked over at Gordy, yes THE Gordy Ainsleigh and said: “hey, she’s here!”...I said “Will, the Keys!” shaking them so he would take them. As he grabbed the keys from me he said: “tell Gordy you are here and will pace Jukka”. As I was about to head down the stairs, I saw Jukka at the bottom getting a life vest on and Gordy was at the top about to head down. I patted Gordy on the shoulder and I said: “I’m here”. I didn’t realize until we were in the boat, crossing the river that Gordy was going to pace Jukka! I apologized and tried to explain what had happened. Jukka said he was just glad it worked out. I then apologized for showing up because how cool of a story would that have been to have Gordy Ainsleigh pace you to a Western States finish?!?! Jukka agreed but was happy I showed up just in the nick of time!

Sunday morning sunrise
before ALT aid station

As the morning hours ticked by I really had to remind Jukka to eat and drink. I had to be a little tough at times and told him if he wanted to make the cutoff and get that belt buckle he needed to get in enough nutrition. So I paid attention to the time and reminded him every 30 mins. I also had to make him run when I knew he was hurting - I felt a little bad at times but we were so close to the 30hr cutoff that we didn’t have a lot of time to play with. Everyone says it’s all runnable after Foresthill, those people are crazy! Sure, there are lost of rolling sections, flat and descents but there was also some good sized hills that we had to climb! Jukka couldn’t run the hills, I remember I ran a little tiny climb and he said, “I thought you said we weren’t going to run the hills”. I had to remember he was coming at these little climbs with 80+miles already and I was fresh! We had fun though, I tried to talk a little about other things to keep his mind occupied.

Dean being awesome and taking
a quick pic with Jukka

Right before daybreak, we ran by some runners and in a small group. One guy was in the middle of the trail bent over stretching his legs. As I went to go around him, I looked up at the voice who was politely asking us to go around the guy cramping up, and I noticed that voice was Dean Karnazes. So I yelled out “Dean!” I then said hey “this is my runner, Jukka, he’s a big fan, do you think I could get your photo?!” Dean said “of course” and then he thanked me. He said, “hey, that was super cool of you” and then something along the lines of some people not liking him as much.  That’s when I said “well, I don’t know about that, you are the reason MOST of us are here!” That’s when I had to remind Jukka that we had a cutoff to chase and we took off. 

Later in the morning it really started to heat up. I kept reminding Jukka to drink and eat and encouraged him to run every chance we got. He never really complained. He just did what I asked. After we crossed No Hands Bridge I could tell it was really hard for him. At one point he said he felt nauseous so I told him to puke - sometimes as a runner, you feel you need to try and hold it in but what I’ve come to realize is once you get it out you feel so much better! Plus, I knew that if he puked whatever it was making him feel so bad, we only had less than 2 miles to go so it would not have been the end of the world. After he said he wasn’t able to vomit, I told him to just keep going then...no time to waste! As we crossed a little stream I told him to get wet, wet his hat and splash water on him as best he could. I could tell he couldn’t really bend over well so I helped him out. As a pacer, it’s your job to get the runner to the finish line in whatever goal they have set. We were meeting his goal of finishing but we weren’t quite there yet. As I started to pick up the pace on a flat-ish section he said I think we can just walk to the finish but that’s when I had to remind him of the time and how close we were to the 30-hour cutoff. We passed through the last little aid station and I remember telling him, this is it, just one more little hill but what I didn’t know is that little hill just kept on going...it wasn’t anything crazy but at mile 99 of your run, a little hill can seem like a 14er! It wasn’t long before we could see the track and Jukka was running to his Western States finish in the Golden Hour. 

It was such a special and fun experience - I loved pacing...I think I will continue to pace until I get in the race myself. The course seems like it would really suit me well and oh my gosh, coming into the neighborhood and stepping on the track was sooooo much fun! I freakin’ loved it! Western States is definitely something special! Congratulations to all the runners who gave it a shot, whether or not you finished...be proud you were able to get there. And to all those amazing runners who keep kicking butt year after year...you are something special!

Thank you to team Jukka for all that you did to help get him to the finish. As Jukka and I joked on course...Finnish guys/gals Finish!

Western States 100 - From Newb's Perspective

Last weekend was a whirlwind of excitement. Up all night and day, little food, going going going all day, dirt everywhere, sore feet, extremely hot, some crying....and I was just spectating!

Friday night Addie and I landed in Reno, Nevada, picked up the rental car, a VW Passat and headed to Robinson Flat, California. Right as I turned off the interstate, I stopped at a convenience store to pick up water and snacks for the weekend ahead. Addie was fast asleep and we all know what a pain it is to wake a sleeping toddler just to carry them into the store. She was so tired that I was able to get her out without waking her...only to walk up to the door 3 mins after 10pm to be waved away...they closed at 10! Dang...Oh well, I had some water and a few toddler snacks so I figured I'd get some food once at Robinson Flat. As I continued down an unseemingly harmless road called Soda Springs Road it quickly turned into a dirt road, on the side of the road was a sign that said something about only 4 wheel drive vehicles should continue on that road. I stopped for a min, looked at my phone, realized I had no cell phone reception and that this was indeed the way my GPS was telling me to go. What to do, what to do...It was late, I couldn't call anyone (believe me, I tried) and my GPS wanted me to continue down the road...so I did. I kept thinking that the dirt road would eventually run into the main road, a paved road...heck at this point, I would have even appreciated a gravel road. The road that I was on was beyond scary. I crossed over three streams, it was so rocky, with small boulders, huge divots, and very uneven terrain that it caused me to bottom out about a bazillion times.  I kept thinking that I was going to get a flat tire or puncture the gas tank....that would have been the worst case scenario. If I would have broken down, my plan was to stay the night in the car and hike with the baby backpack carrier in the morning to civilization. Best case scenario, I continue blindly following my GPS and trust it knows how to get to Robinson Flat and at some point in the night, I make it. The road never turned into a paved road but eventually, after 28 miles on a rugged mountain offroad road, we made it. It was a little after 12:30am when I arrived and instead of waking everyone with me setting up the tent, I decided to lay out my sleeping mat, lay my sleeping bag on it and sleep under the open stars. Addie had woken up from her deep sleep right as we arrived so I had to ask her to whisper, not cry and lay in the bag with me. She was so good. She did just that and her and I looked up at the beautiful, unobstructed sky until we fell asleep.

The next morning, I was like a kid in a candy shop so at 4 am I was awake, waiting for the action to begin. I kept poking my head out of the bag, waiting to see people moving around. Finally, around 5am, people were waking up and getting the aid station set up. I went over to our CTS tent and started talking to the "old timers" at that aid station. I told them about my previous night's scary adventure and before long, I had a bunch of people coming up to me asking how I made it up that road in the little "white car" and heard more than once that they "had only been up that road once in our life" and they were from "around here". I was the talk of Robinson Flat for a bit. I think my favorite comment was "you must be an ultra runner cause you're crazy as hell!"

The CTS crew showed up and begin preparing for our athletes. We had 14 running the race and so there was a lot of excitement to see who would be in, how they would be feeling and what they would need. Coach Jason Koop knows exactly what needs to be done so I just tried to help out where I could.

Somewhere around noon a bunch of the CTS crew headed to the Forest Hill aid station (mile 62). We set up, got ice, more food and cheered all the amazing athletes as they came through. This aid station was happening! There were people lined up and down the road and it reminded me a lot of a European style race. People were excited, cheering the athletes on as they picked up their pacers (or not) and were on their way. As someone who would like to run this race one day, it was really neat to watch. I was itching to be out there with them...I can honestly say, I much rather be running and suffering through the miles than sitting under a tent watching all the action from the sidelines. With that said, it was also really cool to be able to help out and watch how professional the CTS coaches and athletes were when it came down to taking care of the athletes! Liz Koop put in some really long hours but did it all with a smile on her face. Coach AJW was all over the place, cheering all the athletes on as they ran by, helping out in any way he could. For someone who had hip resurfacing surgery recently, he didn't let it stop him from carrying nine 20lbs bags of ice so that our athletes wouldn't go without. Coach Adam had the honor of pacing John Fitzgerald who was running in top 20 position but he didn't let that stop him from making sure the other athletes were also take care of. I was impressed and honored to be able to help out even if in a small way.

Around 6:30pm, Addie, the CTS "Media Guy" Cory and I took off from Forest Hill to head to Auburn. When we got there we found it incredibly difficult to find a spot to park and because of that we had to drive all over the place before we finally found a spot...and in those 15-20 minutes, we missed Jim Wamsley finishing. As we rushed up to the Placer track we heard him speaking in his finishing interview and realized he finished the 2018 Western States in record time! That guy is a beast! Just incredible... Cory and I set up shop at the end of the track and cheered all the other finishers in. It was amazing to watch and made me want to run that race even more! They were all so inspiring.

Addie had fun playing on the pole volt jump landing mats with a lot of other kids until about 10pm which is about the time when I forced her to lay down on the mat and sleeping bag so she would fall asleep. She did not go down easy because she wanted to keep playing but I knew she was tired by the emotional state she was in. Laughing and crying all at the same time for no reason. When she was asleep (which didn't take too long) I drug her on the sleeping mat and in the bag to the finish line area so I could continue to cheer people in and keep my eyes on her. I waited to cheer in the top 10 men and women and then sometime around 2am I curled up beside Addie and crashed hard. It didn't matter that the bright football field lights were shining on me or that John Medinger's voice was a constant in my ears all night long. I slept like I had just run a 100 miler!

The next morning I woke up around 5am and continued to cheer people in. It was so much fun to cheer the runners that were finishing in the "Golden Hour" and if anything could be as good as seeing the first guy/gal finish, it was seeing the last. They were cheered in as if they were winning the race and it was so much fun to be apart of that!

This race is obviously amazing and anyone who gets in it knows that. I now see what the hype is all about and want my chance to run it more than ever! Western States, Baby!

May and June Update

The past couple months have been crazy...First, I started a new job. Like with any new job, there's a learning curve but this one is especially difficult. I'll be happy with it once I really got all the pieces down and I'm comfortable with the environment.

Momma & Addie in Tahoe

Addie is amazing me every day. She speaks so well now. She's remembering things and talking about them and able to express herself so much more than she used to. She's also super lovable and sweet. It's the best feeling in the world to have her come up to me, grab me by the face and kiss me. I know I've said this before but, I'm so lucky to be her mother!

Coach AJW w/Athletes Becky & Dreama

I've also been working with my coach, AJW, which has been awesome! I had teetered with the thought of a coach for a while and I'm so happy I made the decision and commitment. Training has been much more structured and consistent, which really is the key. I am especially glad that I joined the CTS team, they are a group of true professionals and I feel I'm in good hands with them! I'm putting all my trust in the process and trying very hard to do exactly as I'm supposed to. I believe that if I do my part, I will see results. People have told me, when working with a coach, I really need to give it a year before I see a difference, so I'm being patient but excited for the future at the same time.

Day 2 - CTS High Altitude Training Camp

Last month, I attended a 3 day High Altitude Training Camp over Memorial Day Weekend, which was a ton of fun and very educational. It was my first running camp but definitely not my last. Even though a lot of what we discussed is stuff we all kind of know, it was really nice to hear it all again and reinforce the importance of certain things like nutrition and hydration. There was also stuff I had never heard of, like different training methodologies and how there are new ways that have been proven to produce better results in athlete's performance. I also really enjoyed the camp because I got in a lot of mileage with some pretty awesome people. Many of those people made a lasting impression on me and I'm really happy I got the chance to share some miles with them. I also got to run on some trails in my area that I hadn't been on yet, which was great. On the last day of camp we ran up to Mt. Rosa (11,500ft) and I was able to get this beautiful panoramic photo (see below).

Mt. Rosa Summit

LT & VO2 Max Testing - CTS

After the training camp I got the privilege to have my VO2 Max and Lactate Threshold tested at the CTS facility in Colorado Springs. I was so nervous both for the results and for the actual act of testing. I had done it one time before in Germany and so I kind of knew what to expect. Although, this test was much better quality. For example, during the test for LT they prick your finger every 3 mins to determine how much lactate is in your blood while continually increasing the workload. That part of the test was the easy part...the VO2 max portion however is what had me so nervous. Basically, you run until you see stars. What I primarily remember from those last few minutes were Coach Koop saying "This is where it gets hard", lots of "Go, Go Go" and "Push 30 more seconds"...but I heard that one a couple of times :) The VO2 Max part of the test went on for 9 minutes. I was a little disappointed with the results but I guess it just means I need to work a little harder to have the best engine I can. I can't THANK the CTS team enough for giving me this opportunity!!! You guys are AWESOME!


This month I ran in the Broken Arrow Skyrace. I chose this race because they claimed it was just like European Skyrace and because it had 10,000 feet of elevation gain in just 52km. It was also in a part of the U.S. I had not been to yet.  I was hoping to place better than I did but, all I can do is keep trying. The day before the race we arrived in Squaw Valley. Actually, we almost didn't make it. We were at the Denver Airport waiting to board, talking with a fellow trail runner, Amanda P. who was also running the race. As we were talking Addie was being silly, laying on the ground. Bj grabbed her by the arm to pick her up and right then, we all heard a pop. She was immediately crying and couldn't move her arm. I swore it was out of socket! It was so scary, we grabbed everything and took off to find medical assistance. On our way to get help, Addie stopped crying but was still holding her arm as if it hurt. After a few minutes a medic came and inspected Addie, she determined that her shoulder was not out of socket and that it probably just got over extended. So, with minutes to spare we ran back to our gate and were the last to board the plane. We got lucky on so many levels!  After we landed in Reno, we went straight from the airport to grab lunch with Amanda at a local brewery since we were all starving.

Broken Arrow Skyrace Race Brief

After lunch we drove about 45 mins to the campground where we would stay for the next 4 days. Addie loved it. I told her that the tent was our home and from that point on she called it her "yellow home". After we got the tent set up, we headed over to the packet pickup and race brief. In the brief they said many, many times..."there's lots of snow". What they should have said was "There is more snow than most of you have probably ever ran on". That is definitely the case for me, at least. After the brief, I took in the beauty around me. This was my first time in California and although I heard it was beautiful, it was nice to see it for myself. The mountains were rocky with lots of pines and trees scattered throughout and since they had a very heavy snow year (900+cm) there was still lots of snow on top, which made it very magical looking.

The Yellow Home

The race started at a very practical 0700 on Saturday, which was great because getting ready in a tent with a toddler requires a little bit of extra time...it was a little chilly in the morning so after I got dressed, I started the car and tuned on the heat so I could wake and change Addie in the warmth. Fortunately, I was able to get enough sleep the night before with the normal interruptions because either myself or Addie would fall off of the "one person" mat. She is becoming quite the camping pro though. She didn't even cry when she fell off, she just says "momma, I fall". I would still be kind of sleeping as I grabbed her and pulled her back on. I did notice a little bit of stiffness in my body since I could really only sleep on my left side but, I figured that would be the least of my problems in a couple hours. We arrived at the start just in time for me to drop my drop bag off and get to the starting line. I really wanted to get a coffee but with 10 mins to the start of the race, I decided trying to find a place to sell me coffee wasn't the best idea. 

Stairway to Heaven - Ascending Squaw Peak

The course was beautiful, harder than I thought, mainly because of all the snow. Where there wasn't snow (in the lower sections), there was mud from the melted snow so we went from wet muddy feet to wet snowy feet pretty much all day. Prior to the race, I thought I would be able to make up some lost time on the downhills but since the downhills were covered in snow, it was more like skiing without skis which meant lots of falling and inconsistent stride. It was hard to keep a pace because every couple feet I would either fall or sink deep into the snow, sometimes all the way up to my knees! This was also pretty exhausting because so much physical and mental effort went into trying to stay up and moving forward. The race DID remind me of a European skyrace, lots of cheering, amazing volunteers, steep climbs in the snow, beautiful views and a festive atmosphere. This was only the second year of the race but it was so well organized that it seemed like a more mature event. It was awesome, I highly recommend it and I definitely want to go back and run it again!

1st Summit of Pikes Peak - June 24th, 2017

This past weekend I finally got to summit Pikes Peak, my first 14'er! I didn't get to run it except towards the end because I was hiking with Bj, but it was actually good because I got to pick up a lot of stones that I had been wanting to stop and grab on some of my runs. It was also good because I was able to scope out the route we take during the Pikes Peak Marathon which I'm doing in August. Now, I just need to run up and down it many times before the race!

So, what now? Well, I'm training to run the Silver Rush 50 miler in the beginning of July. I haven't done that distance in over a year now so we'll see how it goes. 

I'm so thankful for everything that is going on in my life. I feel happy and grateful with all that is happening. I'm just going to continue to work hard and play hard. Life is too short to let it pass us by with doubts of what could have been...I choose to live life! 

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:

Tailwind Trailblazer - Germany

I feel so happy and honored! I get to share a product that I believe in 100%, Tailwind Nutrition. How wonderful is that?!

My Experience:

I have been using it for my nutrition for the past 3 1/2 years now and I absolutely love it. It really is amazing stuff. Here’s what I’ve experienced using it.

It keeps me going out on the trail without ever feeling like I’ve hit a “wall”. It doesn’t matter if it is 4 hours, 15 hours or 41 hours…(yes, I’ve been out on the trail for 41 hours). I no longer "crash" or feel like I've lost my motivation. If I stay on top of hydrating during a race, I continue to feel strong throughout...I can keep moving!

This stuff prevents me from having to deal with exertional rhabdomyolysis. This used to happen when I would go out for an extended period and even though I would use gels and at the time a different hydration supplement, I would start to feel pain in my kidneys followed by my urine being coca cola colored. Ever since using Tailwind, this doesn’t happen.

When I drink it, it doesn’t make my stomach upset! I don't feel queasy or heavy or like I'm forcing myself to drink it because I know my body needs the nutrition. I can literally drink it all day or for a whole race and my stomach will feel great. That also didn’t used to happen (when using other products). It is so smooth and drinkable…. probably because it’s made with 100% natural ingredients!

Why I'm Sharing:

I could really go on and on about Tailwind but it is better for people to just try it out for themselves. That’s why I’m going to share it with others. I especially want to focus sharing it with people here in Germany and Europe since until now, it has not been available.

So please let me know if you would like to try it out and I’ll get some over to you...I have a lot of samples that I want to share! I am certain that once you try it, you will love it!

Where to Get It:

For those in Europe, if you already know you want some, you can use this link to get 10% off, shipping from the UK: http://www.tailwindnutrition.co.uk/index/ref/Dreama/ 

Let me know if you have any questions...

Happy Training!