Dialing It In

I like that phrase for some reason. I got it as a response to something I said last night while wrapping up the final quarter of my 6-miler with my running group (Chicago Beer Runners). Something like, "up until that point, you're just dialing it in." Or roundabouts that. We were talking about how, for new runners, getting over the 5-mile mark is a huge hurdle. For some reason, when you're just starting out, five miles may as well be 10, 15, 20 miles! Gary and I were discussing one of my goals for the year (to turn a non-runner into a runner), and that's how we came to this section of the conversation. Once you've done the 5-miler, it's all pretty much the same until you start getting into the double digits, then you have whole new hurdles to climb over.

**Sidenote: the run last night was amazing! We have a three-mile loop everyone runs together, more or less, and then a two-mile loop for us over-achievers to add on for five. Gary was the only other hearty soul in the group last night, so we just ran the three-mile loop once more for six. The first three were at a great clip...easily nearing sub-8's...and I felt incredible. I took two days off after my double this past weekend, and it paid off. The weather was perfect, in the upper 40's, and hardly any wind to speak of.**

I can distinctly recall my very first 5-miler. It was the Nike Run Hit Wonder 5-miler downtown, in August 2006. Up until that point, I had never ventured beyond the 5k. My friend Dave (a seasoned marathoner), his girlfriend and I ventured down to Grant Park on a super-hot and glorious summer evening for the run. I remember not being entirely intimidated by it, but I also remember feeling like five miles was an almost unthinkable distance for one to run. It wound up being the single most exciting short distance race I've run (even though it was sponsored by Nike...). Strobe lights, bands every mile, disco lights and a smoke machine in the McCormick Place tunnel. Plus I got my first ever finisher's medal. I felt great afterwards, but the next day, I was a useless piece of motionless flesh. I could barely move. Ha! However, in the aftermath, I had this feeling of having overcome this insurmountable obstacle...I was now a 5-mile runner!

In retrospect, I find it pretty amusing, but totally rewarding. It was the beginning of a trend of breaking through barriers and just going for it. Oddly enough, when I was at the Nike Human Race 10k this past August, 2008, doing a marketing stunt for Atayne, I was standing at the back of the pack trying to get to the other side of the street and I ran into Dave. I hadn't seen him since a little after that first 5-miler when life just got in the way. Funny that we ran into each other at the "sister" version of that one race. But, I digress.

I have a friend from high school who has asked me about helping her get into a running 'routine', so perhaps she will be my non-runner-turned-runner for the year :)

It's so strange looking back at my running "career". I just kind of jumped in head first in the last 10 months or so. I was going to hang out in the 10k for a while, and then had hopes to finish a half marthon before 2008 was up. A marathon, however, was completely out of the question. Oh, if I only knew! Of course, then I met Mike and we just kind of fed off each other with distance and now I'm just stuck; I love long distance. It doesn't feel like I'm just 'dialing it in' when I run long. I feel accomplished, and tired (and generally bruised because I kind of have a thing for falling when I run).

Dialing it in...

That brings me to another slightly less related thought. As in, not running-related. Ever feel like you're just kinda dialing it in day-to-day? I know I'm not alone :) In an effort to step gingerly out of the vicious cycle, I sold my condo and moved out to the suburbs, GASP! I know, I know. I only owned it for a year, so I'm sure I'll take some sort of slap on the wrist in the form of taxes next year, but at least now I'm free. I'm just glad I am concious enough to see things for what they are and to not be one of those people who sits back and just waits for stuff to happen. I like to make it happen. So I'm living for much cheaper now so that I can save up for phase two. Haha, that sounds so corny, "phase"... In any event, I do have a purpose for making such a drastic decision and essentially committing social suicide. It's been a week since I moved, and so far so good. However, that will have to wait for explaining :)

Prior to the discussion about getting over the 5-mile hurdle, I voiced my worry about taking this leap as I'm not getting the kind of support I need right now. I am, typically, an eternal optimist, but it's hard when everyone around you is a friggin' negative nelly! Hello, shit happens, we'll get through all this economy/unemployment/mortgage mess. Everything can't be perfect all the time; we have to go through these tough times every so often. It's a part of the cycle of being a member of a high-consumption/greedy society. But, again, I digress. I need some positive reinforcement! And, thank goodness, I got it last night. The speech I got was basically that if I wait another 3, 4, 5 years to do what I want to do, perhaps I won't have time anymore and then I'll look back and think, "why didn't I do it back in my 20's when I had nothing holding me back?" Who knows where I'll be in 3-5 years and who knows if I'll ever have another chance. It's scary though, really scary, but in a good way. Good talk, good talk :)

The winds of change these days are more like hurricane force winds, rather than a leisurely breeze on a tropical beach. And nothing changes one at a time, it's always in big clumps. I hate clumps. But, I am dealing with the clumps because I have to.

Today, I plan to do another six miles, outside hopefully since it's already in the mid-50's! It's T minus 9 days until LBL 60k and I am so ready to get out of town.

Paige, out.

"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together." ~Unknown

Character Building

That was the theme of the weekend for me, in terms of running. I seem to have a lot of these types of runs lately. It's kind of annoying, but at the same time I know it's making me tougher :)

So basically, I had my first ever "double" planned for this past weekend. My only double planned for my current training. I am now very glad for that. Honestly, my body hates me; it's not really made for recurrent torture. Then again, it wasn't all that bad...but still.

Let's see, I needed to drive into the city on Saturday to return my cable box and internet modem to the cable company, so I decided I'd hit the lakefront path for my long run. I parked along Montrose, outside my old condo (which I miss so much now), and ran what has become my "routine" 12-mile route: down the path to Navy Pier, refill water bottle, use the facilities, stretch, eat 3 Shot Bloks, and then turn around and head back north. It wasn't horrid, as I've run in far less ideal conditions, but my goodness my body did not want to deal with the cold this day! On Friday, the City blocked off the path from Grand (pretty much Navy Pier) up to North Ave. because of high waves crashing on the path, which then froze over to a nice sheet of solid ice the entire stretch. When I got the e-mail about it, I thought it was fake for some reason, so I didn't change my plan...until I got to North Avenue and a Park District fella yelled at me to stop and use Inner Drive the rest of the way. Ugh, fiiiiiiiiiiine. Inner Drive (of Lake Shore Drive) is one ginormous wind tunnel, just in case you've never had the pleasure of running down it. It blows...ha! literally. So I rerouted and ended up tacking on an extra 3/10 of a mile, no biggie, but the wind, oh my God! It was unreal! Navy Pier was a beacon of hope and life; I think it had a halo over it on this day. I was that happy to reach it.

After a quick 2-minute stop at the Pier, I headed back. As soon as I stopped I began sweating, which is no fun at all in this weather. I knew I was kind of in for it now. Heading back north, the wind is unrelenting, much worse than heading south for some reason. My hands began to go numb around mile 8 or 9 and I kept switching my bottle between hands so that I could wiggle my fingers and get some blood flowing into them. It got to be incredibly uncomfortable and I really regretted not opting for the second pair of gloves. Once back on the path, I had the sun on my left side which felt amazing, but still not enough to thaw anything out. Other than my hands and face, everything felt pretty good and I was still chugging along. I had only planned on doing 10, but since I really needed the warming station that is Navy Pier I opted for 12. When I got back to my car, I was so cold and my hands so frozen that I couldn't even turn the key in the lock of my trunk to get my bag out. I had to use the lever up front to pop it. I had to look at my hands to make them move, no joke! I changed into dry clothes and had the heat blasting on me for an hour on the drive home and I was still shivering and my fingers were painful. Obviously, not good stuff. But when I got home I was fine. So fine, I went and ate two racks of ribs with my mom and Richard! Yum!!

Lesson learned: wear two pair of gloves when the temp drops below 20 degrees.

Round two: Sunday I met Gary from my running group at Waterfall Glen to do what we had planned on being 14-16 miles, but towards the end of the first loop, we amended that to 10 :) Here's why. It was flipping cold!!

The trail is great: crushed gravel, rolling, more or less deserted at this time of year, and wide open sky. Beautiful. However, it was flipping cold! I was a tad off from my run the day before, but Gary was fresh. We took off and immediately encountered the first of many stretches that were pure solid ice. Hmmm, I should have heeded my own intuition and stuck to the grass on the sides. But I made it through the first few icy patches just fine. Then around mile 4-ish, I was chugging along when suddenly I lost it, BAM! I was down for the count! I fell square on my right knee, then slipped backwards onto my left elbow and was laid out completely. My head banged the ice too, and actually bounced, which really freaked Gary out. I sat up and instantly felt like I just got my ass kicked. Everything hurt. But I was laughing because I know it looked hilarious! I scooted over to the grass so I could get my footing and stand back up. Then we were off again. I knew there was going to be a melon-sized bruise on my knee for sure. I said to let me know if I start slurring or not making any sense (more than usual!) because that could mean some serious stuff. Luckily, all was well.

At about the halfway point we encountered a sign that said something about flooding up ahead, but naturally ignored it. Well, the trail was flooded up ahead. Ha! We approached it slowly and immediately shot up the banks to the railroad tracks alongside the flooded section and ran on the ties until we cleared the area...it was so Stand By Me! I was beginning to feel the effects of my nasty spill and everything was pretty achy, so when we got to just about mile 8 it didn't shock me that I bit it again. This time, I had halted completely and was gingerly negotiating an icy spot to get to the grass and I just went straight down, this time on my right side, but at least I avoided hitting my head again. I sat there, this time not laughing, and huffed and puffed quite a bit. Gary was checking for blood. I smacked the ground like a two-year old and shouted inappropriately. I was pissed! It hurt so much, and now I banged up both knees. Once I finally got up, it was slow going from there. We decided to cut it at 10 miles and call it a day. I probably could have made it another 4-6, but I knew it wouldn't have been a good idea.

My first non-race 22-mile weekend ever! Afterwards, I stopped off in Naperville to check out the prized Naperville Running Company. They always win awards for stuff, so I wanted to see what all the hype was, and I needed to fill up on more Gu, Nuun and Shot Bloks. Really nice people, great selection, but it didn't feel all that different from a Fleet Feet. They had all the stuff I wanted, but none of the flavors, ugh. That meant I needed to be 'open-minded' and try new flavors. Ah well.

Back home, I wrapped four ice packs around my shins and knees, popped some Advil, and continued unpacking. Today, I feel alright, but know that I should take the next couple of days off. My shins feel odd, much in the way they do after a long race. I know I probably won't do another double again for awhile, but I'm glad I tried it out. Even if it was relatively low mileage for a double, it still got the job done. And I built some serious character. Gotta toughen up for the really hard stuff! After weather like this weekend, I may be breaking out the shorts once we hit the 30's!

Lesson(s) learned: Don't run on thick sheets of ice. Two pair of gloves makes all the difference. Monster Trail Mix from Target saves lives. The toliet seats of outhouses, even in sub-20 degree weather, are surprisingly warm. My shins hate doubles.

Recovery the next couple of days/short taper for LBL 60k. Even though I'm a low-mileage-training runner, I still enjoy a good taper :) I might try for a good 12-miler on a trail down in Bloomington this coming weekend, before celebrating my sister's birthday.

Paige, out.

“There are times in our lives when we are drawn uncontrollably to

some dangerous source of misery.”

~Suzi Thibeault, in a letter to David Horton during his conquest of the AT

When in...Kentucky?

Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment. Or, maybe I'm just stubborn? Bored? Perhaps. But, I'm going to go with...determined! Motivated! Prepared :) Ok, so maybe the latter is a bit of a stretch.

Who's Coming to the 6th Annual LBL Trail Runs

60k
Name State Age
Paige Troelstrup IL 27

That's me!! So, yes, I will be pickin' up and headin' down for another taste of some good ol' boy country on March 14th. Hopefully this time I can avoid some of the 'drama' I experienced the last time I ventured down to Kentucky (LLTH 50k), haha. I have taken some preemptive measures...I've asked to borrow my mom's butt-kickin' pickup truck for the weekend, and (Ed will be pleased to know) I purchased a AAA membership! I'm hoping I have myself covered this time :) Now all I need to do is take care of my legs.

I decided to go for the 60k since it's only a hop and a skip up from the 50k and perfect timing in my McNaughton Park 50M training plan. If nothing more, it will be a distance PR for me. No harm in that!

I had been stalking the Western Kentucky Runners Club for a couple of weeks and then while I was running LLTH on Valentine's Day, one of the gals I met was talking up Land Between the Lakes and going on and on about how much fun it is and how beautiful the course is. So that pretty much sealed the deal. It's also great timing for me personally because with all that's going on right now, I could certainly see myself waivering in training if I didn't find another race to work on before April.

The website is nice n' simple and after I registered, Steve, the RD, e-mailed me directly to welcome me and thank me for registering. How cool is that?

From what I've been told, it's a pretty 'easy' course, compared to the two other 50k's I've completed (Stone Steps and LLTH) so I'm very happy about that. It's a 11 mile + change loop run three times (for the 60k) and about 3.5 miles total out-and-back from the start to the Canal Loop, and then to the finish after the final loop. Not too much elevation at all. My right knee is pleased with that.

Here's the course map:
It'll be nice to see some familiar faces at LBL. From the registered runners list, I recognize a number of people that were also at LLTH, so I'm excited about that. It will also be a great distraction for a weekend. Running, trails, fresh air, new place; these things always put the soul at ease :) Plus I totally want a buckle to show off at my running club!

Time to brush off the moving dust (more on this soon!) from my pearls and get them ready to hit the trail again.

Onward!

Paige, out.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love and War in Louisville

"There is no wisdom without love." ~ N. Sri Ram

Well, I finished! And, what's more is I finished strong, smiling and feeling like I could have kept on going. Louisville's Lovin' the Hills 50k was the third time I've completed the distance (2nd race), but the first time I felt really great at the end. It has given me hope for the McNaughton Park 50M in April! My experience down in the Lou is one I will never forget...not just because it was an awesome race, but also because of the chain of events that followed, and the people I met. Wow, what a weekend!

After getting all packed up and everything in the car, I hunkered down, ready for the long roadtrip ahead of me, only to find my battery was completely dead...so, I called my older brother, Tate, and he came right over and jumped my car for me, phew! Bullet dodged. I scooped up my youngest brother/partner in crime for the weekend, Gunny, out in the 'burbs and we finally hit the road. I thought my car troubles were behind me, yea, right. Sitting in some bumper-to-bumper traffic for half an hour just north of Lafayette (there was a nasty accident) I noticed the temperature gauge on my dash was in the red, yikes. So once we got moving again, I exited and went to a gas station to check things out, and fill 'er up. Everything seemed fine, and once we were out of traffic, the car cooled down. Eight hours later (it was supposed to only take us 5.5 hours!) we pulled into the hotel parking lot in Louisville, which was really close to the race start so I was glad to get to sleep in a tad more. Gunny sat down and started working on his writing and I buzzed around the room getting everything together for the morning. Somehow, a Gu exploded in the bag that held all my race food. Gross. That took a nice half hour to clean up and find the culprit Gu. Bed around 12:30.

At 6:00 a.m., we both rolled out of bed (it was easy to wake up Gunny when I told him there was free food in the hotel lobby) and grabbed breakfast. There were a few other runners downstairs and we all looked like zombies :) The directions I printed off the LLTH blog were perfect and got us to the start/finish staging area at the Horine Reservation within the Jefferson Memorial Forest. The sun began to rise around 7:30 a.m. and I ducked inside the warm tent to grab my t-shirt and bib number, then dashed back into my car to keep warm and get ready for the start.
It was already shaping up to be a gorgeous day, which was a surprise to everyone as the weather called for sub-40's and light rain. I had to use the ladies' room before we headed out, so I walked over to the latrines to find that the 'toliet' was a hole raised about 2 inches off the ground surrounded by some wood for privacy. I was laughing so hard coming out of it that I thought I'd fall over. Everyone found them to be pretty funny :)

All set for a nice run through the woods! Starting line is behind me

After a quick speech from the RD's and a big...HUGE...thank you to all the volunteers for rallying in the last couple of weeks to clear the course after a nasty ice storm, followed by a nasty wind storm, we were off! There was also a 15 mile race going on simultaneously and it was obvious who was running it...the ones gunning it from the start! I stayed at the very back and plodded along with a group of women with cute matching bandannas. We were very quickly introduced to the trail's "love", also known as the Hills. The sharp ascents were always followed by identical sharp descents and I quickly decided I preferred going up!

One of the more tame climbs...

In all the course was a very nice surprise. It was clearly very challenging and really tested my training, of which I was incredibly thankful for my one-day-a-week treadmill hill workouts. Some of the climbs, according to my GPS, were at a 30% grade, yikes! And, at LLTH, that means you're getting an equal fall afterwards.

Elevation profile from my GPS

I got into a pretty good groove after the final quick loop before the out-and-back portion. I met a woman who smoked for 33 years, quit, and began running 3 years ago. She was kicking some butt. She said she could really only tell that she used to smoke whenever she had to climb, but I couldn't tell...I was working pretty hard to keep up with her! There was a young-ish guy in front of me for quite a while that I was able to keep pace with after passing the halfway point. He was great on downhills, but I always passed him on the ups. He was hurting and I mentioned he should take in some electrolytes at the next aid station (he was drinking plain water the whole time) and see how he felt. I'm not sure if he did or not, but I passed him heading back to the finish (his mile 20, my mile 27). Hopefully he made out okay! I also met a really nice gal at the turnaround aid station. She headed out before me, but once I realized I was picking off the women I wanted to catch up to her. I finally did and we ran together for awhile. She was from the area and knew the trails well so she was really covering some ground fast. I had a great time matching her stride for stride and she was just so nice and chatty. It was great to have someone to talk to for a bit. At the second to last aid station, she seemed to want to hang around for a bit, but I wanted to get going as the woman keeping track of all the runners said I had really sped up and passed a lot of runners so I had a bit of an energy boost from that news. I said good luck and got back on the trail!

Once I was on my own again, I started getting a little bored with the same song stanza playing over and over in my head so I took some pictures...

Of course when I allow myself to dilly dally, I fall. Luckily, I managed to keep it pretty simple and was up just as fast as I went down. I laughed pretty hard because it hurt but also because I managed to fall into one of the very few wet spots on the whole trail. Go figure. But hey, what's a trail run without a little mud on the face and knees?

I caught up to another woman and her partner and after tailing them for a bit they got caught at a fallen tree that I just hopped over and then I didn't see them again until the finish line. I have to say that I was in one of the best moods I've been in in awhile. It's been a busy and hectic year so far, but I was able to forget about it and just do my thing. I had one negative thought the entire race, and it didn't come until the very end when I caught up to a guy that was having trouble on the ridiculous climb that led to the finish line. He kept looking back at me as I was gaining on him pretty fast and he mumbled something, to which I replied, "go f$#@ing figure they save this climb for the end." He started laughing so hard I was able to pass him and hold it for a couple minutes, but once we reached the top he gunned it for the finish ahead of me.

Woohoo, I made it!! Pain free and completely elated! My official finishing time was 7:15.05, and the distance was a tad more than 50k, 32.4 miles. Gunny was there to see it and he later told me he thought it was pretty cool to see me cross the finish line :) What a sweet brother!

Modeling my newest piece of Atayne-wear...long sleeve 4R's...the verdict: freakin' awesome! After the wind settled up top, I kept my wind shell around my waist the majority of the race and my shirt was perfect for the weather and kept me warm in the wind, and cool when the sun was beating down

I was so happy to be done and ready for a nap, and some serious eating. I grabbed a bowl of spaghetti and some fruit in the tent and talked to some people in there. I met Alan J. who is a big fan of Atayne. He was awesome and had one of the coolest mustaches I've ever seen in person. A couple women sitting at another table commented on how they thought I looked too 'pretty' to have just run 31 miles. I said I felt pretty...disgusting! Then I showed them the pearls I had worn the entire race (of course I had on my lucky race pearls!) and that they must have done the trick :) They loved that; pearls and trails, a match made in heaven! When I got back to the car, I changed into some warm clothes and got all set to go. However, my car had a different plan...it didn't want to go; it was declaring war with me. This was a bullet I wasn't going to be able to dodge. The engine was turning, but it wasn't firing. So, long story short, my car was dead as a doorknob. The guy who had just barely beat me tried jumping it, but clearly it wasn't the battery. Then Ed K. walked over asking if I needed help. Ed, Larry H. (who works for JMF and helped clear the trails for the race) and his coworker, Matt, spent about 2 hours trying to figure out what the problem was. In the end Ed called AAA for me and got me towed into town to a mechanic. Larry gave Gunny and I a ride so we could get my car checked in, and then got us to a hotel. Obviously, these guys went WAY above and beyond any call of duty and I am forever indebted to them. It just really reinforced for me that people are basically good, and that 'ultra' people are angels :)

Ed, Larry and Matt, thank you a million times over; I would have been completely stranded had it not been for you guys. You're the best!

How often do you have your car towed after a race? In Kentucky?

So, another night in KY! We gorged on pizza and cinnamon sticks and watched movies. In the morning we had to walk up the highway to get to the mechanic's where my car was waiting to cost me an arm and a leg :)

"I keep spilling my coffee on my hand!"

"Hahaha, we look like hobos walking down the highway with our bags, and now that there isn't a sidewalk!"

My legs were tired from our little stroll down Preston Highway. I stopped for a break under this sign. Now I realize that it wasn't just a pizza joint...hehehe

An arm and a leg later, I got my car back and I dared it to ever pull that B-S again!

Cool wooden finisher award, a Colorado Blue Spruce, race tee and my bib

So, the morals of the story are: never travel without AAA, moms are usually right ("Paige, you shouldn't drive your car that far right now, take mine."), don't pile heavy stuff on top of a bag full of Gu packets, I have a really awesome baby brother who is an excellent sidekick, Atayne kicks butt on the trail, Clif Shot Bloks are lifesavers, and the trail makes everything better.

I had an excellent race. It was my first solo endurance event and I managed very well without much interaction or my music (which I always thought I had to have). I managed my fluid/electrolytes/carbs and calories very well. I drank often (water with a Nuun tab), ate 3 Cran Razz Clif Shot Bloks or one Gu per hour and ate very little at the aid stations (save for a couple homemade peanut butter cookies, peanut butter pretzels and a large portion of jumbo marshmallows, yum!). My legs, shins and lungs felt great and I managed to keep my hands and feet from swelling, woohoo, success! My right knee was giving me grief on the downhills starting around the halfway point, but it wasn't horrendous. I only fell once, didn't roll either of my ankles (not even once!), I tripped up a few times which somehow coincided with my need to eat (now that should tell you something about the importance of paying attention to race nutrition!). I almost didn't need my timer to tell me when to eat, I could tell when I tripped that it was time. I was in such a good mood the entire time. I high-fived runners, cheered others on as we went along, cracked jokes at aid stations and made sure I smiled as often as possible. I felt fantastic! It was a lovely day for a jaunt in the woods!

One more moral of the story: I will be back. LLTH is officially on my new list of favorite races :)

Paige, out.

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Mud Love

"You stand at the edge of your inner wilderness, and there is no reason you cannot explore it on your own..." ~ Lazarus Lake

The sun is out, the temperature has crept above freezing and that means the snow and ice has finally melted, so...hello mud!

Out for a 12-miler yesterday on the seemingly innocuous lakefront path, to enjoy the break in the weather and shake the legs out after a day off and a deep tissue massage on Thursday. About 3.5 miles into the run I encountered a glorious section of the path that was flooded by the flash-melting of ice and snow and it was nothing but mud and muck for the next mile. There was no tip toeing around it, and no 'safe route'. The only way was straight through it. I stopped at the edge of the mess and pondered for a brief second; a mass of other runners had gathered at the edge as well, likely considering turning around, but then I said, "Woohoo! Mud!" and jumped right in splashing and laughing as I pounded my way through it. It was so much fun, more than I anticipated...it's just mud, afterall. But after a long, freezing winter (which there is surely more of in the coming month) it was so nice to see gooey disgusting mud...I felt as if I were on a trail somewhere far away :)

My feet were soaked completely and I had mud up to the hem of my running skirt, and with 8.5 more miles to go (and another run through the mud pit on the way back north) most would probably have been pretty miffed, but I was just eatin' it all up! It beat the hell out of sitting at home watching crappy TV, or shopping, or doing anything that requires one to be stuck inside. There were tons of huge path-wide puddles all along the path so my legs got rinsed off pretty well, but I managed to keep some filth on so I could show my doorman. The doorman on duty when I usually head out for my long runs on the weekend is in awe of what I do (he's not a runner by any measure) and loves to hear my stories. My muddy legs were a source of endless entertainment yesterday.

It was so wonderful to get out and get some sun and fresh air on my legs and to be able to take a deep breath without feeling like my lungs are getting frost bitten. This is what I enjoy most about running. I can't wait to hit the trails next weekend in Louisville...I bet there will be plenty of mud if all the remnants of the recent ice storm there have melted.

Here's to many more miles and lots more mud as the spring slowly begins to creep in and take over.

Paige, out.

Louie, Louie!

Well, I've gone and done it now :) I've committed to a race, again, that I have never done before without an inkling of what to expect...and it's one week away. I love the smaller races, especially because the smaller the race the more likely it is I can wait until the last minute to register for it, but also because the hospitality is most likely going to rock the party.

Louisville Love'n the Hills, here I come! The race is next weekend, on Valentine's Day.

This will be my first ultra distance without Mike, which will be totally weird. However, I've managed to convince my wonderful youngest brother, Gunny, to join me. I think this will be an awesome opportunity to spend time with my little brother, whom I rarely see these days, and a cool way to introduce him to what it is I'm always talking about. He'll be the first member of my family to witness the ultra madness firsthand! I'm so excited to have him along, I just hope he's not too bored waiting for my tortoise butt to cross the finish line :)

Mike and I were supposed to do Holiday Lake 50k on the 14th, but lots has come up and neither of us were going to be able to make it this time around. So, I'm hoping the LLTH 50k will be a nice substitute for me since I'm all trained up and ready for another 50k now. It'll be about a 5-hour drive, which isn't bad and a hella cheaper than airfare. Hopefully, Gunny will be able to tolerate my penchant for singing outloud in the car on long roadtrips, and my ability to get lost in a 10x8 room, let alone on the road...going somewhere I've never been before :)

I solicited the List for thoughts on the race, and those who got back to me said it is a well organized event and a lot of fun, but challenging and, well, hilly. Here is the elevation profile for the first 13 miles:
And here's a little description of the course, from Brenda Gutmann:

"The course consists of a 5 mile loop, a 7 mile loop, and an 18 mile out and back which brings the runners up around a lovely little lake to the finish. All of the different loops include little bits of “love” that some call mountains, some call climbs, and some call ladders, depending on where they usually train. We have heard that there are 17 of these lovely contours, and we advertise this, but no one knows for sure if this number is correct. We do know they are spaced out nicely and provide for beautiful vistas when the person being loved gets to the top."

Stone Steps was a killer with constant climbs, but I made it out alive, so maybe I stand a chance next week. I'm one of eight ladies so far, and the rest of the 52 registered 50k runners are male. Pretty typical in an ultra I think. I've put together my list of stuff to bring and now I'm getting excited...a race! I'm undecided on doing drop bags, but not even sure we're allowed to do those. It sounds like weather conditions are pretty unpredictable down there, from reading past race reports, and they've had a recent ice storm that could make things interesting on the trail.

As usual, stay tuned for pictures and a race report...hopefully it'll all be good :) I'll be trail-testing for the first time my new long-sleeve Atayne ladies top. It'll be fun to get back out on the trail again, stretching out the legs, pushing the limits and getting pissed at the hills like I love to do; it's been soooooo long! This time, I'll have to either talk to myself as I quietly curse the trail, or find some unsuspecting soul to help pass the time. I'm so used to having Mike at my side on the trail, giving me positive feedback and laughing at my trail-isms (and wipeouts). It'll be a test of will and determination for sure...a character-building race!

Gotta ice the legs from today's 12-miler so I'm not a wreck for tomorrow's 10-miler.

Paige, out.

Race Happy

It's that time of year...the time when I begin putting together my race calendar, however tentative it may be. I just like having it all in one place so I can pick and choose as I go. Talking to Mike last night, we were discussing a couple upcoming races (one we both signed up for, and another that just he signed up for) and how we'll probably have to miss them. Stuff changes and it's hard to predict what's going to happen from one day to the next (especially in our case!).

That's what sucks about races, specifically ultras: you have to roll the die and hope that you'll still be available/prepared for a race that you need to sign up for months and months in advance because of how quickly trail races fill up these days. Inevitably, a few of my races will become what I think is called a 'sunk cost'. With the way things are these days, it's hard to shell out the pricey entry fees without thinking of a better way to use that money, especially when it's very likely that the race will somehow become inconvenient once it rolls around. And yet, I still choose to gamble :)

That said, my race calendar has filled up pretty quickly! Since one of my goals for 2009 is to come under 1:50 for a 1/2 marathon, I have four halfathons lined up already: 13.1 Chicago Marathon, Rock N' Roll 1/2 Chicago, Batavia Half Madness and the Chicago Half Marathon. I figure they'll at the very least serve as a good long run. If I'm really feeling spicy, I could turn around at the finish and run back to the start to get in a full for the day. Plus, I'd be lying if I said I hate finisher medals :)

I really want to get in a few 50k's this year and a few 50-milers, but there's not a whole lot around here so I have to consider travel expenses when I'm picking my races. I wish I could race every weekend; that would be my perfect world...along with an endless supply of Brooks Cascadias, fruit punch Accelerade, gummy bears and PB&J wheat wraps.

In ORN: I'm coming along in my training, better than expected. I had a long-overdue physical yesterday (I'm talkin' at least three years overdue) and all is well. My sports doc is also my general practice doc so he also checked out things like balance, gait, leg and hip strength and poked around on my shins. He said I am "clearly a lot stronger than last time!" And, my balance has "improved remarkably." Woohoo! I like to hear these things. We discussed my training plan and he was impressed with what I've done and especially liked hearing that I did a base-building phase this time around (something I have failed to do since my high school track days). He also suggested I start doing yoga...for stress, but also to bolster my training.

I had a great long run last Saturday. It was another one of those runs that served more as a means to toughen me up than to give me time on my feet. I got in just shy of 12 miles (wanted to do 16, but amended that goal at mile 6). It was unfathomably cold! I hit the pavement at 7:30 a.m. as planned and after the first few minutes my body began to register the cold for what it was. It was a frigid 6 degrees, but at least the sun was out in full force; the only saving grace. I had a bottle of orange Accelerade (which became a slushy by mile 5, and was solid by the time I got home) and two Clif Shots. Navy Pier became the turn around and was a welcome respite from the cold (and a warm bathroom!). The wind picked up a tad on the way back north, but it wasn't all bad. I felt good the entire run, and my shins kept quiet. I'm thinking maybe 13.1 is my fatigue threshold...anything below I'm fine for the day, but anything above I feel incredibly tired and usually end up taking extended naps on those days.

So far I'm on par for the week and I'm shooting for 18 on Saturday. It's looking promising though; the weather looks awesome right now...partly sunny and 31. Just right. Maybe my water bottle won't freeze this time...

I did a tough hill workout on the treadmill last night; it kicked my butt, but it was still fun. Running a 10 minute mile on a 10% incline is mighty tough, but I think I'll be able to get it up to a full mile without walking pretty soon :) McNaughton Park is scaring me into hill training!

Paige, out.

A little something I thought was kind of funny...and I amended it slightly in the brackets so that it was more apropos :-)

If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the [Ultra] must have taken Him completely by surprise. ~P.Z. Pearce