My Recent Obsession

Boy Scout has almost recovered from the body trauma and mental tribulations from his 50 miler.  He is now jogging a bit and plotting his next move for his 50 miler on May 11th.  Let the fun begin once again!

My plotting involves more technical trail races for the rest of the spring and maybe a fun half-marathon.  I have become obsessed with racing the Xterra race series and trying to stay at the top of my game with 15k races and some 21k races.  The trails always prove to challenge my legs and stamina like no other type of running.  I also LOVE the downhill technical trail running.  Trails like the one in the photo above make me quiver...I feel like a horse/goat/rabbit...trying to find a "safe" way down the hill while maintaining a 7:30 pace.  I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT FALLING AT ALL in this post, so I won't.    The BIGGEST challenge has been hill climbing which I enjoy but find SO frustrating.  I really don't want to walk but the steepness of some of the trails makes this impossible.  Grrr...I have a lot of mental images that I access when I feel like walking;  I picture my legs churning and churning like a well-oiled machine.  Sometimes,  I just stare at the top of the hill and imagine myself being pulled up by the runners in front of me.  This works and doesn't work.  I just want to make it more consistent.

Next week,  I race locally, an Xterra Mission Trails run.  It has a mountain called 1000 Steps, and it is.  I had *FUN* on the rocky trails the last time I did this race and two weeks ago we ran it as training.  I was able to run every hill except the 1000 Steps trail itself.  I have big plans for this weekend...NO WALKING.  There, I said it out loud(really, my dog heard me).

I might place in these races and sometimes I win(because I'm a "mature age grouper")but that's not what matters to me...tackling these CHALLENGES has consumed me and I love picking some mini/major goals like NOT WALKING,  NOT TAKING A POTTY BREAK,  STAYING STRONG and AGGRESSIVE the whole way.   I have found these goals to be the best kind and although they don't revolve around a time or pace,  they do keep me moving forward.

Marathons and half marathons are still on the calendar but for now,  my OBSESSION keep me growing and getting stronger.

What are your OBSESSIONS with your running?  What keeps you motivated to press on?

Have a great last week of January,
meg

50 Miler was a Smiler...

At the risk of being called a Front'er...one who puts up the iron curtain and avoids telling you all of the bubbly, ugly, smelly, brewing trouble in my cauldron...I get out the gore right away.

It wasn't an easy race.

There were dark and dreary moments despite the HOT 83-85 degree weather.

Chunks and liquids were hurled right out in the open.

Walking too place, lots of walking.

Hills were exposed to the sun, switchbacks were present.

It was ugly at times.

However, true to form,  thanks to the way our BRAINS operate,  good times were had by all.

Inspiration was everywhere!

70 years olds finished 50 milers with smiles on their faces.

In fact,  there wasn't one fifty miler that didn't have a smile on their face.  Practically, the whole time.  Maybe they were "front'n" but it was weird and eerie,  they all seemed SO happy to be out there in the heat, water on hand or on back,  tossing back salt tabs like candy and chatting it up with each other and the volunteers.

My husband rose 50 notches in my book of notches...which actually takes quite a lot.  My book is pretty full and running out of pages since we've been together almost(29 years...in a few months).  Anyway,  he was pretty calm the whole time.  Here's a quick review of his fueling stops/miles in increments of 10 miles:

Start:  He's happy of course!  It's a chilly thirty-something degrees but most runners are in shorts since they've read the weather report for weeks.

10 Mile Mark:

Smiles all around.  He cruises through, stops for a clothing change, sheds his heart rate monitor and we exchange his fuel bottle.  He eats a BONK BREAKER and washes it down with regular water.  Kisses  take place and he's off. 

 On his way!

Mile 15 was a miss for us since I was watching a friend run the trail marathon!

Mile 20 was the one on the hill, set under some oak trees for shade and lots of long grass.  Steve ate another Bonk Breaker, drank water and we exchanged bottles.  Pretty low key, he was still smiling.

Mile 30 was before this dam in Escondido.  It's like a desert out there and this is where my car thermometer read 85 degrees.  The runners running up this trail weren't talking, weren't running and were pretty ticked off.  I heard a few choice mutters as I cheered them on:

"Hmm, this is where this race gets interesting."

"OMG, do you have any water and can you pour it over my whole body?"

"How hot is it right now?  If feels like someone is slapping my neck."

Steve started to have ISSUES here.  He was cramping from the hills and switchbacks and he wasn't eating or drinking anything.  He kept walking as I passed him some roll on BIOFREEZE which seemed to work until the next aide station.  

No smiles here.

Mile 35

Pure hell.  No tears but plenty of barfing and drama.  We surrounded him and tried to get him to eat solid foods.  He drank coconut water and various sodas and then promptly threw them up.  I played BAD COP and tried to keep him walking since that was our agreement and MY PART in this whole ting...the nasty who kept him walking.  I would hold up his water bottles and food and sort of wave it around, catch his eye and then start walking backwards...sort of the proverbial carrot thing.  IT worked.  

We sent him off at mile with a prayer and some advice...hoping he'd listen or COULD listen.

Mile 40

More darkness.  More cramping and more loss of liquids from more than one hole.  No smiles but still, a determination in his step.  

Mile 45

This stop was hidden right before the last hill so we never got to it.  I heard that this is where it all turned around for him.  He ate some watermelon, drank and go his second wind.  THIS is what I had been hoping for since mile 30.  He's notorious for a second wind.  This one just took 20 miles to come.

Mile 50

The finish.  The waiting was excruciating.  His body first appeared as he left the tree clumps past the dairy.  HE WAS RUNNING.  Actually running.  I ran out and couldn't stop myself from jumping up and down and crying.  8 1/2 months following meniscus surgery, he pulls this off and FINISHES.  What an ending.

Has the training been easy.  No.  Do I need to share the details?  NO,  let's dwell on the positives.  Sometimes NOT FRONT'N is the best thing to do...it's often best to recognize the RESULT and celebrate the beauty of the present moment, not the past.

The HAPPY ENDING?

35 finisher out of 70 finishers.  First in age group 50-59!!  10:43 finish time.

Crew...

You were all a part of THIS.  We cannon thank you enough for being our friends.  We truly *love* you all.

Happy Running,  TODO ES POSIBLE.

meg

50 Miler, 50 Miler, 50 SMILER!

Once upon a time,  a small, slight boy started running.  Perhaps away from his mother, brother or rough  little neighborhood buddies.

He ran fast.  It kept him small and skinny.

He grew...slowly.

He got tough.

In jr. high he started running to beat others.  He gained confidence.

In high school,  he ran some marathons.  He was fast.  He was still skinny.

His mom said he ate loaves of bread, drank gallons of milk right from the refrigerator.

He says he as ALWAYS hungry.  For more running.

In college, he grew his hair out.  Bleached it in the sun.  He started surfing.

Running became a memory.

Towards the end of college,  he started slam dancing.  He loved the Sex Pistols.  He cut his thick mop and opted for a mohawk.

**In Mexico, he meets a running girl.**
Yes, Mexico.
No, they don't stay there...it was a "weekend" get away that involved Hussong's and Corona's(college days, remember?).

He remembers the old days.  The hungry days.  He keeps surfing.

They marry, they have kids.  The running girl stops running.  

Mom, wife, teacher...and running doesn't have a space in her life.

He keeps surfing.

Running girl decides one day to take it up again, restore the LOVE of freedom, liberty and sweaty clothes.

Girl gets more serious and does some marathons; Rock and Roll's,  Bostons.  She has  fun.

Boy stops surfing and never looks back.  Not once.
They run together.  They compete.  They become competitive with each other in only the BEST of ways.
The have fun.  They become empty nesters...kind of.

FAST FORWARD to January 13th.
Hey, that's today!

Man tapers for his first 50 miler!!!!
He doesn't look back at his knee surgery 8 months ago.
Keeps his eyes on the finish.

Obviously, this story is NOT over.  In fact, it seems like it has just begun.

Life in the forties and fifties is looking pretty AWESOME.

ULTRA icky toe issue...

Race report next week!

New  Ultimate Direction vest...pretty light weight, room for cell phone and other treasures and treats.

He tested it out and it's pretty cool...

Happy Running...

meg

GOOD COACHING = HEALTHY RUNNING

HAPPY 2012!

You were full of highlights...

Thank you for bringing THE BOY WITH THE BOW TIE home for Christmas.

He turned the Casita de Ling into PEE WEE's PLAYHOUSE as usual.  Please don't steal my iPhone and take bizarre pictures again!  Out numbered again.

Sparkle Pants turned 3.  Can you believe that?

3 years of paper swords,  wrestling, surfing and making paper cookies...

what would our World have been without you?

Boy Scout opted to shave off his MO-VEMBER Stache.  Thank goodness.  I like a good beard but his fuzzy face never seemed to move past this phase...the kisses were still good though.

Sparkle Pants practiced safety-first while handling heavy machinery.

Chicago became my new favorite marathon.

Working Mama celebrates her 23rd birthday...and continues to go to school, work two jobs and love her young pup to bits.

We're truly grateful...

RUNNING!!

I am especially grateful for a year of injury free running, the first one since I started running 7 years ago.  In the beginning of my running career,   I ran marathon after marathon,  ran track with a training group and basically ran every run as hard as I could, because I could and because it made me happy.  Until my 40ish body put on the brakes.  I just didn't get it.  Why couldn't I run, train, run, train and race, race, race without getting hurt?

2010 brought some clarity and I decided that my hips were hurting way too much.  This running thing was just getting way too painful.  I sought a coach.  He was tough, he was SMART and he helped me get fit.  MAF and heart rate were key to this phase and I saw my race times improve.  I learned some key things that I will NEVER FORGET:

1.  If you're training for a marathon, don't waste your precious training and energy on racing a lot of other races in between, especially the small ones.  Stay focused.  Stay confident.

2.  Run by feel; don't DEPEND and obsess with your time/pace/watch/friends.  Run how you feel.  Love how you feel.  Love running.  This key lesson will never leave me.  It is now WHO I am as a runner.

3.  Trails, mountains, hills are *key* to training and strength.  Love them. Embrace them.

4.  Age is just a number.

After about 6 months with this coach, however,  I had pushed too hard once again.  Bam!  Foot problems, it band issue...I had listened to him but NOT my body. He changed me for the better, I owe him so much.   After New York, 2010, a PR race for me,  I backed off from racing...then did Boston(which was a disaster)and decided to start over.

ENTER Coach Number Two, Nicole!

I have been working with Nicole for almost a year and a half.  I found her through another masters runner's blog and liked her immediately.  It was a slow start for me.  TRUST.  I had to believe that starting slow once again would pay off in the end.  Nicole is a trail mountain running champion and her workouts intrigued me.  The periodization in her workouts and my training schedule were similar to what Coach One had me doing but I wound up doing more hill workouts.  SUDDENLY,  I found myself looking at my workouts and the calendar as MINE rather than just following them blindly and expecting a specific result.  I began to integrate WHAT I KNEW ABOUT MY BODY(HEL-LOW!)into my recovery days and finally,  my body began to respond.  

Specifically...if I started to feel a niggle,  I'd STOP, rehab for a day(foam roller, ice, acupuncture, massage, chiropractor-depending on the niggle)and then re evaluate my plans.  Sure enough, giving myself an extra recovery day or reducing my mileage GAVE MY BODY A CHANCE to heal.  Once Nicole and I fell into  groove,  I've started to learn that following her workouts for me, have kept me HEALTHY, HAPPY, INJURY FREE and RUNNING!

Could I have done this without a coach?  Maybe YOU could have.  Not me.  I love to run hard,  I love to leave it out on the trail too much.  

I needed a wise woman to tell me to keep my long runs between 8:45-9:30 no matter what!

I needed a wise woman to tell me to run my tempos by a prescribed "effort" not the EXACT pace!

I needed a wise woman to tell me to take care of my body when I had a cold...

I needed a wise woman to recognize that my goal is  not  to PR at every race, it's really to stay healthy so I can run into my 80's!  Truly.

Happy New Year! I hope your goals for the new year are accomplished quickly,  with enthusiasm and that 2013 is filled with love of friends and family and lots of HAPPY MILES.

meg

FIT and I LOVE YOU LIKE A LOVE SONG, BABY!

Let's get the nitty-gritty out of the way.

It's been a LONG time since I've blogged.  Believe it or not, I still READ blogs but I haven't commented in ages.  I just like to know what ALL OF YOU are up to and keep up with your lives and running but I'm sorry,  I don't have the time that I used to, back when I was first and EMPTY NESTER.  Hee, hee.

Any-hoo!  The good news is that I recovered from Chicago like a TIGER and am back gearing up for my first 15k trail race on Sunday.  I also ran a great 5k on Thanksgiving and although I STILL haven't gone sub-20,  I was pretty close!  20:20.  UGH.  I WILL DO THIS though,  I see the 5k sub 20 happening in 2013, early in the year.  I didn't wear a watch for the 5k and I ran to have fun and ended up feeling great at the end of the race but it was too late to make up for the slower first mile.  A **FUNNY** story though:  I tell everyone I'm not competitive every day.  Liar.   During the last mile of the race,  I could feel my two SPRY friends creeping up on me but they weren't exactly "with" me.  With a quarter of a mile to go,  I heard my track coach yell, "GO Meg!  GO MAYA's MOM AND DAD!" and with that,  I took off like a crazy old lady as fast as I could.  Geesh...I was afraid those young peeps were going to beat me.  Go figure.  Maya's dad ran Western States in June...Maya's mom is a super fit chick...SO CAPABLE OF CATCHING ME ANY DAY!    They "LET" me have it though.    Thanks for helping me out PEEPS!!

FITNESS though is a funny thing...and a powerful thing.  You can be recovering from a marathon and working on hills and suddenly be back to normal, recovered and perhaps even stronger than when you started your marathon training.  That happened to me.  My heart rate has now dropped down into the low 130's for my easy runs and my moderate and LT paces have actually increased.  DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU that age slows you down.  The KEY is fitness. Do all you can to keep yourself injury free, manage your pain and training and respect this:   RECOVERY.  I'll say it LOUDER...RECOVER!  For me that means icing my calves after a tough workout,  taking an extra day off if I'm fatigued or sore and allowing my body to rest a little longer after races.  I've managed to stay injury free since last spring which is actually a miracle for me since I've battled a lot of stuff in the past.

Run happy :) .

Finally...
my fine, hot husband...Happy Birthday!!  I'm taking this time to wish you the BEST day ever and I apologize for scheduling a race on your BIG day(even though you gave me your blessings).  I was hoping I could fly you to Hawaii,  renew our vows under a coconut tree and celebrate your day with plenty of red meat, wine, chocolate cake and cuddling but maybe next year.  You know I love you...
xoxo 

The Secure Runner-The Secure Woman

A tough woman I know...

a strong runner,

a resilient mom,

an intelligent scientist,

a loyal running team mate and a forever friend ran another 50k yesterday and

she ran it VERY fast.

It was one of those weeks when you start texting your runner friend just to make sure she's got some solidly positive thoughts in her head.  Just a little front- loading with some sparkly, heart-felt words of encouragement and lots of "go get 'ems."  As the week progressed, a few days of silence spoke volumes so BS(husband runner)and I held back and just waited...sending positive vibes out into the 90 degree atmosphere.  Seriously?  Would 400 ultra runners be tackling RAPTOR RIDGE at the end of October in ninety degree weather?  It wouldn't be that out of the ordinary around here but I was PRAYING that wouldn't be the case.  Perhaps THAT was the fear and the reason for the silence during the week.

But what about that silence?  Confidence or fear? 

It occured to me POST spectating, POST run,  that my friend reminds me of another friend of ours,   Tough as Nails .  She has NEVER has been the type to chit chat aimlessly about her running.  Nor has she ever been the type to elicit virtual hugs nor too many flower-filled recitations on her abilities as a runner.  The whole time I've known TAN(tough as nails-duh),  she's never needed those types of pats on the back.  She's a survivor.  Not a stone pillar,  yet, someone who has lived.  She has succeeded at what she has done in her life and s.t.e.a.d.y enough to claim it without having to check herself in the mirror; be it a rearview mirror or the one she uses to brush her teeth.  You could say that she has lived her life running without a Garmin.  Without a measure of her pace, her successes.  She runs by feel and has found her own pleasure and GOLD BELT BUCKLE(because TAN really did run Western States and won!) in her accepting her own abilities on ANY GIVEN DAY.  

That's what Little Tough Friend did as well.  She told us she'd either run close to 5 hours or up to 7 hours, depending on the hills and the weather.  She STUCK TO HER GUNS and accepted herself and her running that day and wound up with a SUPER FAST TIME!

I love that self-acceptance in women.  So inspiring.  

Stay strong my friends,

meg

Chicago and the Pain Monster

Chicago was just gorgeous!

Cali Friends,  the leaves really do change colors at this time of the year in other parts of the United States.  It's true!!!

I'm calling it a Mini-New York Marathon.  It had all the sights, smells and feelings of running in the city...minus the wild and crazy traffic problems/issues in getting to the start.  There were still the crowds that lined every inch of the course, sometimes seven people thick.  There were the smells of coffee--and then blocks later--chocolate---and on and off,  a sewer smell---topped off with a whiff of tacos and then again, the chocolate.  This was  a SMELLY race.  Chilly and smelly but spectacular.

My reviews on my performance, my execution? My big event?  Three thumbs up, one thumb down.  Okay, maybe all thumbs up.  I didn't exactly make my goal time of 3:20 but I was able to pull myself through some tough moments during the race.  I think back to my earlier race/marathon days and remember some "very dark" moments when I would feel a faint moment of panic over my pace, my poop issues, my stomach stuff and immediately let my peanut brain go MANIC.  Shut down.  Negative.  BUT THAT WAS ME IN THE PAST...I've really kind of done my own
Marathon Mental Makeover and it has been pretty successful during all of  my last races, both marathons and shorter stuff.

It essentially involves me putting my all into training so I have the confidence in my abilities.  Next,  I spend some time before my race visualizing PAIN and FATIGUE hitting and actually rehearsing what I'll say to myself and how I'll react.  HOW I'll react is everything.  I practice embracing the PAIN of the race, recognizing it and then visualizing myself moving through it and getting on with the race.  Lest you think this is MUMBO JUMBO,  just know that I actually emailed a sports psychologist who works with runners and he actually made me a very COOL cd that addresses some of the freaky things that crop up when I race.  Like fear of pain.  Like the potty issues.  Things that might impede me doing my very best when I go out to have fun at a marathon.  

So to make a long story short, very short...I went out too fast at this marathon,  didn't drink enough of my liquid nutrition(Carbo-pro) and ended up dropping off my pace after mile 20 or so.  The happy ending of the Chicago Story is that I kept my *happy*head in the game the whole time.  I never thought about stopping, about anything that was holding me back nor did I worry about my pace.  At the time,  I focused on each step I took as it hit the ground.  I thought about the many things that I could do to make the race better:

smiling
shaking out my arms
giving high five to kids
looking around
giving a high five to an inflatable monkey
counting frog umbrellas
reading a sign or two
drinking water
drinking gatorade

And during the last few miles,  I didn't think about anything!  I let myself absorb the pain in my foot, the burn in my quads and I just focused on pain.  I hugged it.  I was proud of myself for staring right into it's face and growling back.  Then, BOOM, the race was over.

Sometimes overcoming is even better than victory.  I was reaching for a goal that was definitely within my reach but for whatever reason, it wasn't  handed to me.  I had to fight for this one and the satisfaction and accomplishment was well worth the pain.

Chicago gave me some mental strength that I didn't know I possessed.  At the finish line,  hundreds of teenagers from the city came out as volunteers to pass out water, the medals, and bananas.  One young girl grabbed my wrist as I took a water  bottle and in my post-pain stupor, she  looked into my eyes...a little too deeply for the moment(if you ask me)and said,  "You are incredible.  Be so proud of what you just accomplished."  When a 16 year old girl says that to grandma like me,  you listen.  Thanks amazing volunteers.