Serious Case of the North Face Runs

It's been a...BUSY...week this week. 

My desk feels like this... (photo credit: www.ratracetrap.com)

But that's a very good thing...being busy has helped prevent a lot of my usual taper week crazies.  And, I've managed to make it through the whole week with only one complaint of aches and pains.  Usually I find 46 other aches and pains to agonize over during taper week.  So I've done very well this time around.  This may be due in part to finally actually being f'real trained for a race longer than 30 miles.  Solid training kills the crazies.  True story.

Of course, I did have the CRAZIEST dream last night.  I guess it had to manifest somewhere :)

Anywho, tomorrow morning at 5:00 we line up to run the North Face Endurance Challenge Midwest Regional 50 Mile Run.  That's a really long name.  This will be my fifth 50 mile event, and my 14 official ultra (I don't count the fat asses or my lame DNF at Leadville).  Heh, that's not a lot compared to some, but I didn't realize I was already in double digits.  I'm still a freshman ultra runner, for sure!  If this were high school, the seniors (aka Veteran Ultrarunners) would toss pennies at me as I walked down the hall.  At least that's what they did at my high school (but since everyone knew my older brother (and his penchant for...regulating) I was saved from the penny misery, among other freshman ailments :) But, that's a hilarious story for another day!).

Tomorrow's going to be fun; I can already feel it.  Geof and I will be running together as usual.  That's how we roll.  I'll be breaking in my newest pair of Sporty Cats, thanks to the genius amazingness of Stacy in procuring a pair of the old/my favorite version of the Cats in time for the race.  I love my Cats.  Does that make me a Cat lady? ;)

I feel kinda nervous for tomorrow, but not overwhelmingly so.  It'll be the furthest I've run since last September, at Rio Del Lago 100M, but only by about two miles (I did manage close to 49 back in July...severely undertrained).  But still.  It's kinda intimidating.

Enjoy this most glorious of weekends and get outside!

Paige, out.

A First Date

I have a first date tonight and I'm pretty nervous.

I've gone out on a limb on this one and really don't know what to expect.  You could say it's a sort of 'blind' date I suppose.  I don't know much about them.  We met online.

If it doesn't work out, I'm going to blame it on Stacy.  He suggested I give it a chance.  I hmm'd and haw'd about it for a couple of days and then decided to just take the plunge.  First dates are fun, no?  You never ever know what can come of such things, so one must always be open to new adventures, right?

Did I mention I'm nervous? 

Thank goodness my husband is so understanding and not being weird about my first date :)

Do you want to see a picture?  It's from their online profile, so since I haven't yet seen them in person I hope they live up to their really awesome photo:

What?  Did you think I meant a date date?  Like with a person?  Oh you silly, I'm married!  Of course I'm talking about running shoes! ;)  They are the Montrail Rogue Racer.  Snazzy name, no?

I'm crossing my fingers that it's love at first sight.  Don't worry, I spoke with my Sporty Cats already and they're prepared for the new roommate.

I'll let you know how it goes. 

Paige, out.

Fall Is In The Air

Photo courtesy of www.layoutsparks.com  

Stepping outside the slight chill went straight to the bone, but a quick thought to the intense heat of one of the weekend's runs stops goosebumps in their tracks. 

"Brrr!"

Legs are tight and tired, but ready to do this. 

A weak beep from our watches and we're headed down the street.  Fall is in the air and the dense blanket of last week's humidity has lifted, at least temporarily. 

If my legs were made of wood, they would be the weathered, creaky type that lines the floors of weather-worn porches, or ancient attics.  I can almost hear them whine with each step.  I remind myself that a warm-up will have them singing shortly. 

As sing they did.  A brilliant mezzo soprano, on opening night, sparkling beneath the lights!  Maybe that's an exaggeration, but they were feeling happy. 
The wind howled at our backs, pushing us along with fantastic speed.  "We are going to pay for this on the way back north," he says, turning toward me as his voice is carried off, tumbling along the shoulders of the early autumnal wind, to be caught by someone up ahead.  Funny how sound travels on the wind. 

Coats and even scarves are making their first appearances of the season.  Sure signs of autumn.  Smiles abound, thankful for the respite from the heat. 

The lake is in a fury, waves crashing relentlessly against the breakwall.  Rounding the corner by the museum, walls of water shoot straight up in the air, crashing down inches from our feet.  "Eeee!  Hahahahaha, it's beautiful!" I shout as we dodge the water walls.  Timing is everything if you want to stay dry, and we manage to make it around the bend untouched.  For now. 

Crash!  BOOM! 

Another wave, this time soaking the spot we just ran across.  Ksssssssssssss, as the water recedes and plunges back into the lake only to be thrown back up into the air with the next wave.  The sound consumes every air particle, every nook and cranny.  I can barely hear myself laughing as we make our way along the next wall of water.  Climbing up one, two, three steps to avoid the commotion altogether, we marvel at the view of the city hugged in a blanket of clouds.  It's a little like being in a snow globe, but with clouds.

Making our way onto the little island we wind around the path, reaching our turnaround point.  "It's been nice chatting!"  And we turn and head back into a fierce wind, nearly on our toes leaning into it.

Whhhhiiiiiirrrrrrr  A monotone, high-pitched buzz that nearly disappears if you turn your head all the way to one side.  Eyes watering, nose running.  Ah, autumn, indeed.

Soon the leaves will be changing.  The brisk breeze will become a blowing wind.  The sun will welcome us midway through our morning runs, if at all, rather than greeting us upon waking.  A day in the 60s will be a rare treat, and runny noses will become the norm once again.

It feels as though we'll never get there, but eventually we're home.  Beep.  And done.  I didn't know if my legs had it in them after a tough long road run the day before, and a demoralizingly hot trail run two days prior.  But they did. 

And thus begins Week 7.

Paige, out.

Finding the Boomshockalocka

Today's run was a mere three miles, but I can officially declare that I've re-found my boomshockalocka (BSL). 

It's Week 5 in JJ100 training and that means it's an official step-back week for me.  Periodization, it's a beautiful thing :)  It helps you find your BSL.

Saturday's long run was run alongside the New Leaf Ultra Runs Summer Palos 32.4M run.  I didn't sign up for the race so that I wouldn't be tempted to go over my goal mileage (20 miles).  But, Geof was running the full distance, so we ran together for what ended up being three full loops for me...24.3 miles.  It was just easier to run a full third loop (8.1) miles rather than work the math and turn back early :)  Plus, it meant more trail time with Geof.  Can't go wrong there.  So, I ended up overshooting my weekly mileage at touch, but that's better than undercutting it I suppose. 

The legs felt like bouquets of fresh daisies (only, covered in bug spray).  I was really having a great day on the trail.  And my feet were THRILLED to be in my Sporty Cats again!  I'm pretty sure my feet are now at least a 1/2 size bigger now as my tootsies were jamming it up with the toe guard much of the run.  Time to upgrade :)

Geof and I arrived just as the group headed off down the trail, so we took our time gathering our stuff from the truck and finding a spot in the start/finish shelter, catching up a bit with Kelly and baby Caleb, and then, finally getting started 15 minutes later.  We were moving at a pretty swift pace, time was flying, and everything was jiving so well.  We caught up to the front of the pack by the end of the first loop, topped off the water, ate a Honey Stinger Waffle, took an S!Cap, caught up with Brian a little, kicked around for about 10 minutes, then headed out.  After passing the lead pack, other than the two guys WAY out front, we locked into a pace that surprised me once I glanced down at my Garmin...the second lap we averaged between 7:40-7:55.  Neither of us could believe how good we felt. 

The sky was starting to darken and we knew rain was on its way, so when we pulled into the start/finish, I changed out of my damp Injinji liner socks (umm, these socks, BTW, completely rock so far.  Love them.) and into a pair of my hot weather Drymax socks (bad idea, shoulda kept on the Injinjis...never thought I'd say that!!), refilled the bottles, ate another Waffle and then we were off once more.  We locked into a more reasonable pace for this one, about 8:15s, and cruised along in what was now a torrential downpour.  It was spectacular!  We haven't run in rain like that for awhile and it turned out to be such a treat.  It made it a little hard to see at times since it was coming down so hard and bouncing off the ground, but the cooling effect was very much welcomed, as well as keeping the bugs at bay while it came down. 

We ran through the big puddles, charged up Big Bertha, walked a little bit to shake out the glutes, and generally reveled in the beauty of the rain and the surrounding forest.  What a fantastic run. 

After my last loop, Geof headed out for his fourth and final one, finishing strong in 5:12 I think (and 3rd overall I believe), for the 32.4 miles, woohoo!  Now it was time to eat a burrito and look forward to a step-back week :) 
Monday was a short run, then Tuesday was our usual T10 which ended up being a surprisingly great run.  Along the way, we caught up to a runner we see out on the path most mornings and is a staple at all the Chicago Lakefront 50/50s.  Usually, she's heading back from her run by the time we cross paths with her, but yesterday we shared a few miles with Cathy and had a great time getting to know her a little better...and worked on convincing her to give KM100 a go :) 

We are working on incorporating more varied pacing into our runs, as in easy-medium-hard, etc.  It's hard to do at first, but I feel like maybe I'm getting the hang of it.  Running the exact same pace everyday is good if you aren't trying to improve.  Geof's been whispering the idea of intervals for awhile now, so we are giving it a go, albeit informally.  Saturday's run was a medium-hard effort for me, Monday was easy, yesterday was a medium effort, today was a hard effort :)  Maybe tomorrow will be easy, Friday medium, and our long run medium/hard.  We'll see. 

I love my boomshockalocka.  I'm going to hold onto it this time :) 

Paige, out.

Glancing Back But Moving Forward

Jumping for joy...YAY for Colorado!

The road to a DNF is paved with the best of intentions...and I had had the very best of intentions going into the 2010 Leadville Trail 100. 

It's so weird to think back to where I was and who I was this very day last year.  We were wrapping up medical check-in at the gymnasium in downtown Leadville, awaiting the arrival of our fantastic crew, hanging out with Brian, Kelly and Deanna, heavy with anticipation for the coming day.  Packing and unpacking my pack several times throughout the afternoon, organizing and then reorganizing my crew duffle over and over.  Agonizing over my shoes and what shirt to start in.  Gloves and a hat?  Just gloves?  Just a hat?  Skull cap or ball cap?  SO MANY DECISIONS!  Thank goodness I didn't need to worry with drop bags.  I hate putting together drop bags, almost as much as I hate lima beans (blech, I shiver every time I think of lima beans...I'm currently covered in goosebumps of disgust...). 

Anyway, I don't mean to blabber on and on about the past, but I like to reflect on major events that, when I really think about it, have really made me who I am.  An event that caused a shift in paradigm.  An event that moved me so much that I am eternally a different person because of it.

That sounds so hokey and lame.  But it's true.

Leadville took the wind out of my sails.  It was my first DNF.  It is an experience that I now look back on fondly (convenient amnesia?).  I don't have a bad taste in my mouth from it, and I certainly don't feel bitter or like I need to avenge myself there.  Quite the opposite.  I feel good about the lessons I learned there and the person I became as a result of my breakdown on Hope Pass.  I know that one day I will return, but it's fairly low on my list right now...I will require myself to spend time doing speedwork at altitude before I spend that kind of money to do it again :-) 

The experience, ALL of it, was fantastic.  But I especially loved the warm community we were a part of for just 5 short days, shuffling around the Leadville Hostel, sharing meals with complete strangers, hearing stories of grand adventures, the failures and triumphs of the runners, the collective buzz of excitement, anxiety, and taper crazies.  Pre-race water bottles replaced by empty beer cans stacked up on the big porch as folks kicked up their sore feet, regaling others with their version of the experience...signs of recovery, sorrow, victory.  I really enjoyed that place.

And, now, here I am a whole 'nother person.  I lived, I learned, I moved on.  I continue to work towards another finishline, continue to work on my mind, on my legs, on my desire.  Nothing really comes for free in life; it always costs you something at some point.  My mind decided to invoice me that day as I stood a mile up the trail on the backside of Hope Pass, agonizing over whether or not I push on, only to be pulled up top.  I owed a debt, and I paid.  I lumbered down that mountain, angry, resentful, deeply saddened.

But I paid my debt.  And now I'm free and clear...for now :)

Whereas I questioned, "How Did I Get Here?" during my time on that trail, I no longer wonder; I now know.  I can see exactly the road...and trail...I've followed to get me where I am now.  The curves, and steps, undulations, weather. 

And I love where I am, and the path I created to get here.  Onward!

I so look forward to the next 100 mile adventure :)

Paige, out.

Turning Corners

It's official, week three of JJ100 training is so far my very, very favorite, and all because of one ridiculously awesome long run on Sunday.

All week, runs got a bit better each day, but I still felt a little out of whack, which was humongously annoying.  I was also humongously annoyed with the blister battle my feet have decided to wage against me.  WTF feet?  Since when do you decide you can change your chemistry and get all 'sensitive' on me?  I have training runs to do!

Friday, I only had three miles planned, but with a single glance I was convinced to run six miles with Geof instead.  A nice, brisk six later, I was feeling slightly optimistic for our long run coming up on Sunday.  Generally, we like to knock out the long run on Saturday so that we can sleep in on Sunday and bask in our shared victory, but we were driving out to Iowa City early Saturday morning and thus committed ourselves to zero sleeping in and a long run Sunday morning from Running Wild in Coralville, IA. 

I threw both pairs of my road shoes in my bag (my should-be-retired Ghost 3s, and my new-but-ass-sucking Ghost 4s) as I was unsure which pair to run in.  I only needed to get 15 miles in since I was way over my miles for the week already, but we decided jointly that 20 miles would be more fun :)  Plus, we were planning to run the old 20 mile route Geof led when he worked for Running Wild back in his college days. 

We woke up nice n' early Sunday morning, greeted mightily by cicadas and crickets still burning the midnight oil outside our window (P.S. I absolutely love sleeping with the windows open, a soft breeze blowing in and the sound of crickets dancing on the windowsill.  A/C is for the birds ;)).  Arriving at Running Wild with a couple minutes to spare before the group set off for the run, we just took our time and headed inside to meet the owner/Geof's old boss, Joe.  Joe was supremely surprised to see Geof walk through the door and greeted him with a big hug.  I walked around enjoying all the pictures of Geof all over the stockroom from his days there, and ogled the wall of running shoes.  Nothing like the smell of running shoes early in the morning!  It was fun to finally see the store, meet Joe and put visuals to all the great stories he's told from his time working there. 

The group had long since left by the time we stepped outside to start the run.  Fine by us.  We were looking forward to the run together through town :)  One last hop-skip to make sure my shoes were okay (I decided to go with my retiree Ghost 3s afterall...oldies but goodies).  After a quick loop around the block, we followed the original 'south route' down Second Street, eventually hooking up with the wonderfully shaded Iowa River Corridor Trail, which follows the river through town, winds through a park, beside some aging academic buildings, past a fire station, over some railroad tracks, down a densely wooded and shady section along the river, through Napoleon Park, and out onto a rolling country road.  Then, we turned around and headed back the way we came.  The running store placed water coolers at a few different spots along the way, so we had plenty to drink, but thankfully the early morning weather was downright perfect in the upper 60s/low 70s, sunny and barely any humidity. 

I was feeling like a million bucks.  I love Iowa City.  It's a place that really knows how to take care of itself.  It's clean, friendly, highly academic, has a lot of history and culture, and clearly loves its runners and cyclists judging by the number of awesome paths through and around town making getting around sans vehicle very easy. 

My feet held up incredibly well...not even a hot spot.  Funny, 'cuz a 4 miler was hot-spotting my feet pretty well earlier in the week.  My feet must be allergic to Chicago ;-) 

The run honestly could not have gone any better.  The time flew by and we were really enjoying ourselves.  Before we knew it, we were pulling up to the store.  Another one in the books.  Bagels with PB, and OJ awaited us inside the store and we noshed like kings while Geof and Joe shot the breeze a little while longer. 

One of my favorite parts of the run?  No soreness.  Not even jimmy legs (which I usually always get after long runs).  Not even during the 3.5 hour drive home later that afternoon.  Not even the next day, or the day after that.  I couldn't even tell we ran 20 miles.  About dang time my legs got used to the distance!   So, I feel like I turned a little bit of a corner with this run.  And that feels pretty good. 

After changing into dry clothes, we treated ourselves to iced lattes and sat outside Tierra Coffee, basking in the warm, non-humid, sunlight, while visions of new running shoes danced in my head.

Week four holds one final mileage push before a step-back week in week five (woohoo!).  So far, so good.

Paige, out.

Serious Case of the Training Runs

It's official: my first two weeks of JJ100 training are in the books.  The verdict?  Pretty darn good. 

Other than my little spill on Friday, things are well, and that's a great thing to report.  I actually ran a few miles over my intended mileage both weeks.  That's a rare event.  It just sorta happened that way.  I have felt a bit like my body has reset its running clock and the last two weeks have felt kind of...awkward...though not altogether bad.  It was weird, like my legs forgot how to run.  My knees knocked every so often (that hasn't happened since my college running days when I was lazy and had crappy form!), I kicked my ankle bone here and there, blisters pop up out of nowhere, I tripped and fell (again, that hasn't happened in a LONG time, on pavement), and my 'easy' pace has been feeling quite labored. 

What's up with that?!?!

Today's run was no different...I couldn't find my groove, my rhythm, my boom-shocka-locka.  I also ran in a new pair o' kicks (Brooks Ghost 4s) in an effort to start easing them in while also easing out my close-to-retirement Brooks Ghost 3s.  My feet were all slippy slide-y inside my shoes, like they were clown shoes and the insole was slick.  I sort of fantasized about ripping them off, setting them on fire and then throwing them in the lake while doing a barefoot happy dance on the shore whilst watching them disintegrate.  But then I decided maybe I was overreacting and that I should find solace in knowing tomorrow's run in them will totally rock the casbah.

I should now mention the degree of awesome that our Saturday long run ended up being.  It was a very high degree.  We started in a light drizzle, heading south.  The legs felt brand new and totally rockin' for once and we flew through the first 10 miles or so.  It was amazing.  I wondered if I had had a leg replacement done in my sleep.  We had planned initally to run south for a bit, then turn back north for a bit of a change in scenery.  But after a loop around Northerly Island, we silently decided to continue south.  It stayed cloudy, thankfully, so the steambath we were already running in didn't turn into a full-on wet sauna, thank goodness.  Geof had 24 on the schedule and I had 17, but since we had a Cubs game to get to directly after our run, it was looking like our less-than-three-hour window for running was only going to allow my 17, so that's what we were shooting for.  Geof's piece-of-crap GPS (it is SUCH a POS, and I think we've finally decided it's time to retire it and return to the trusty Garmin :)) wouldn't link up from the get go (after standing around in the rain for 15 minutes, waiting to see if it would start), so we were working off of pace to judge our turnaround point, and rough memory.  Once we turned around, at what we thought was about 9 miles, I started a slow mental downward spiral.  Just a general feeling of blah, and an overall feeling of wanting to be done.  Instead of being a total wretch, I decided to practice my 100-mile reminders: this, too, shall pass.  And, it did.  It just took a little bit of patience, and dropping my very last Honey Stinger Waffle on the ground, whilst exclaiming, "oh, f**k!" in front of passing runners and cyclists.  You better believe I picked that sucker up, dusted it off, and ate it.  Hey, five second rule. 

My legs were feeling less than jazzy towards the end, but I was mentally much more spritely knowing that baseball, beers and hotdogs awaited us!  Finishing up in just enough time to allow us a whole 14 minutes to clean-up, pound a smoothie, and get downstairs to meet Richard and Tilly and head to the game.

We were both pretty sure we ran at least 18 miles, but the pacing didn't match up when Geof logged it...too slow a pace.  So, when we got home later that afternoon I decided to map out our little jaunt.  A solid 20 miles, on the freakin' nose.  Hot damn!  No wonder my legs felt like Jell-o that night :)  I'm also happy to report my golfball knee didn't bother me once.  It's pretty gross looking still, but that's about it.  I'm getting good at 'wound dressings' :)

So, Sunday was a time-on-feet day...walking around the Museum of Science and Industry all afternoon, finally getting to see the Bodyworlds exhibit (AWESOME!!!) and the Smart Home exhibit (also AWESOME!!!). 

Did I tell you about NF50?  No?  Well, Geof and I decided to sign up for the Wisconsin edition of the North Face Endurance Challenge - 50M.  The timing with our training was just too perfect, so we'll be running that one together this time.  I ran it back in 2009 and had an okay time, but I was also undertrained, overraced, and totally wiped from the season.  I am really looking forward to this one this year!

One last really random thing, I tried this really good drink yesterday that I grabbed while we were in line at Whole Foods.  It's called Ginger Soother and it is DELICIOUS. 

Our friend Jim mentioned a ginger juice he'd used throughout Burning River 100 the week prior and when I saw this at the store I figured it may be what he was talking about.  It's by the same peeps (Ginger People) that make Ginger Chews (aka stomach lifesavers).  Geof and I both agreed it is quite yummy...of course we are both big, big fans of ginger and would eat it in bulk if given the chance :)  So, if you see it somewhere, pick up a bottle and give it a try.  I'm thinking it could be worth its weight in gold during the late miles of a 100M, when the tummy feels a bit on the fritz.

So, on to week three.  Should be a good one :)

Paige, out.