Forgive me...

Ya know, if I seem more out of it than normal. It was a big weekend. And I'm exhausted. I may have blacked out while sitting at my desk today...

Saturday was the Frosty 14 mile trail race. I was really nervous because I haven't run a trail since tecumseh Trail marathon in early December...and my runs haven't been overly long. And I was coming off the second of three hard training weeks. I went out and just decided to stay on the heels of the girl who won Tecumseh. There was a whole line of folks behind us. I stayed with her until about the six mile mark, when I got impatient and went for a pass on an uphill. And I ran scared for the next eight miles. One other guy and i were going back and forth for a bit...and wouldn't ya know, dude outsprinted me in the last 5 meters. I couldn't hear him coming (or my heavy breathing the whole race) because I had some Kanye blasting in my ears.

I ended up 2nd female. And I was really happy with it. It was sooo muddy! It had rained the week leading up to and the course was out and back, so it was slippy, slidey, grab some trees to get up hills kinda running.

And then I went to work at the shop for a few hours.

And Sunday was a nice long ride in preparation for HOS, the crazy 200 miler next month. I set out from home and got in almost 20 miles before meeting up with the Bishops crew for a about 52 miles...and lots of climbs. I'm racing for these guys this year, so it was nice to get out and ride with them. Then, Ack and I went out and did another 20 something miles...before we got dumped on with some big ass rain drops.

Luckily, he has a very awesome wife who came and picked our wet asses up. And I got home, only to devour some food and get some sleep.

More storms ensued in the night and I was awoken by tornado sirens at 5am...

So, yes, I'm tired. And I'm taking the evening off because there are 21 hours on the schedule this week. And I can't wait!

Ouch! My Tecumseh Trail Experience

As you know, I've been sick all week with...I dunno. Sickness. Sore throat, congestion, major fatigue. So, my expectations going into this race were low, as in, FINISH.

We drove to Bloomington Friday evening and picked up our packets just a few moments before 8pm. We checked into our hotel, discussed race strategy, visited friends, debated over what to wear in the morning and went to bed.

And awoke Saturday morning to three inches of snow!!! I had coffee, a pumpkin pancake with honey and an apple and we cleaned off the car and headed to the race.

This is supposed to be a point to point marathon in which you park at the end and take a 50 min bus ride to the start. Well, due to road conditions, they announced that it was to be an out and back course, starting at the finish, turning and returning the way we came. This meant lots of traffic on single track course.

Four of us piled in a big SUV to stay warm and at about 5 til 10, we piled out to the start line. The first 3/4 mile or so is on fire road, so that was all about gaining position going into the woods. My goal was to just take it easy for the first half and if I felt good at the turnaround, take it in strong. i settled in with a nice group, including a few first timers, and my buddy, Grafton. the first few miles were full of laughs. And I think that's when I took my first and only spill in the snow. Before I knew it, we could hear the first aid station BLARING Christmas songs. I ran through that station since I was sportin' my camelback. (I figured it was better to be safe than sorry with as much fluid i would lose through snot, spit and sweat).

We then entered a beautiful pine forest. It looked like someone dimmed the lights and there were lots of roots, but it was beautifuL!!! The second aid station came quick. I stopped there, told Grafton I was feeling nauseas and thought "oh dear. this is gonna be a long day if I'm already feeling sick". But, I took off to catch Grafton and the gang. We went pretty easy for the long stretch to the next aid station, which proved very beneficial. And I knew it would. We walked the steeper uphills. I knew it wasn't worth the seconds of time compared to the energy output required.

Somewhere in there, I chewed a couple shot blocks. And I perked up again. I hit the third aid station and didn't stop. This is where we hit some fire road and I found some footing and took advantage to find a new group to run with. This section was a blur as I was starting to feel good. I hit the fourth aid station and grabbed a Gu. It was then that some guy mentioned that we were 11 miles in. WHAT??! I thought we were about 8 in, so I was relieved.

It was in this final little section that the leaders started coming back toward us. They were flying! We hit the turnaround and for the first time, my hammies started feeling kinda tight. i bent over to stretch and eek! BUT, there was downhill ahead, so I trudged on.

I hit that aid station and went right through, traveled on fire road again and cheered everyone on that was going the opposite way. People kept telling me I was sitting in 5th female position.

Aid station #6, I stopped and took a pee behind a tarp, ate a chocolate chip cookie, wanted to throw up, heard someone say we were 18.5 miles in and took off running again. At this point, I could tell the affect of sugar on my mood and run feel. When blood sugar was low, I'd wonder if I would finish, every body part screaming at me. i would focus on the pain in my toes, quads, the bouncing of my camelback creating hicky-looking chafe on my neck, the tightness of my hanstrings...uhhhh....

After a mile or two, I stopped, bent over, cheered another girl as she passed me, regained my composure, and went trucking along again, alone.

The second to last aid station, I stopped, got some gatorade, chatted with the volunteers and heard the first place person had just come through in 3:23!!! Another girl came up from behind me, looks me in the eye and says "This shit is HARD!! I've done 8 Ironmans and this tops them all." We exchanged (un)pleasantries for a moment and i took off again. Just 4.5 miles left. And the Christmas song aid station was coming up quick. I flew, solo, to that one, grabbed a water, a cookie, said thanks and headed to the finish.

I'd been told that last three miles was tough. And would feel like five. So, I just kept telling myself it would take longer than expected. I passed a few guys walking, I focused on the beauty of the lake we were rounding, the snow, and tried to block out the building nausea.

Suddenly, I was back on the uphill fire road. A guy came flying by, obviously feeling spry and said he couldn't wait to get some hot chocolate, which made me gag.

I saw the flags for the finish and was almost never more happy to finish a race. One of the biggest things that kept me running was fear of getting cold. I knew I was sweaty. And stopping would make me freeze. Plus, I hurt less running than walking. go figure.

My official time is 4:14.02. WAY better than I expected, even without being sick. It's a tough course. And that snow didn't exactly make things faster.

Afterward, I felt like throwing up. All night! And even today, I'm not feeling quite right. Thankfully, after hacking up pieces of lung the first few miles, my sinuses cleared out pretty well. I'm sore today, but I've felt worse. The tummy is what's more annoying.

Overall, amazing experience!!!! Beautiful, challenging course. And trail runners are tough ass people, I gotta tell ya that.

did ya really mean it when you said "talk to ya soon, Amanda"?

it's cold and rainy today. and i have a belly full of black beans and rice spiced with some home grown chili peppers. and a bloody knee. a nearly dead telephone. a half read copy of The Celestine Prophecy. a little black pug snoring on my lap.

i can hear cars passing. the tick of a clock. and the rain.

the clock now reads 4:14. i intended to go for another run at 4. i declined an invite to a winter beer tasting this evening. so at least the run can occur later. maybe when the rain lets up.

but truth is, i'm kinda comfy right here on the couch with a book. i mean, it's not like i've done nothing today.

swim practice was awesome. per usual. i've said it a million times, but that group is just fun. and when i don't psych myself out, i usually surprise myself with what i'm capable of obtaining. it's strange really. i thought for sure there was no way i could do 5x100 on 1:30 where one of the 25s was breast stroke. but wouldn't ya know, it was done! and then there was a massive kick set. and then the real test. 4x500 on 7:00. i can do one 500 on 7:00, but 4?!? so, i went easy, stay relaxed for the first one. and nailed it. and then the second one, i started to panic. and the self-doubt crept in like you wouldn't believe. and i just let it go down the toilet and that one was like 7:14. i began to really envy those two lanes down doing 400 on 7:00. or even those four lanes down doing 300s. i remembered when a 300 on 7:00 would've been a challenge for me. it really wasn't so long ago. two and a half years ago... and then i don't even know what happened. but i think the whole lane fell apart. i sat out a 50. and tried to hang on. and the last 400 was definitely back to a relaxed pace. and we finished up with fast 50s.

that was before i hit the trails today. and took a beating. i ran into an old co-worker at the trail head. strangely. and then headed out on a familiar loop. i was a couple miles in when my foot snagged a root and i went skidding. i had leaves stuffed down my shorts and up the sleeves of my fleece. my left knee was dripping blood. my right hip and leg were covered in dirt and scratched. and i sat there, motionless, pain receptors firing like crazy. and i may have whimpered a little before hoisting myself up and dusting myself off. i momentarily considered cutting the run short and going back to my car. but everything loosened up again and i was content, dripping sweat from my forehead and breathing cool air.

now my knee is bandaged. and my head is groggy. and mine eyes want sleep. and i'll dream of that phone call. before i go for that next run.

I can't believe...

 - I actually went out for a ride on the mtb and didn't crash! I had a lot of fun. And I went alone. I got incredibly muddy and I slipped on ice a couple times. I found out that mtb tires have no traction when caked in mud. And even Marines will laugh at a chic in spandex who has mud streaks up her crack.
 - I opted to run on the treadmill instead of the road yesterday. It had been raining for about 12 hours. It was dark and dreary. I was cold. I wanted to sweat. So to the gym, I dragged my ass. And I got sweaty. And it was glorious.
 - They will hire anyone willing to work for minimum wage at the new Kroger Marketplace in Newport, KY. Wow. Did I just state the obvious? All of northern KY decided to visit this place on Sunday around noon. It took over a half hour to get through the check out line. And every lane was open. There are three cart corrals in the entire parking lot. Fucking genius.
 - A good friend of mine told me I'm intimidating. I've gotten this in the past, but I honestly thought that perception might have changed. I'm so not that girl. I mean, I'm a total softy. I don't get it. I'm totally approachable. In fact, I'll probably approach you. I'm just a clutzy goof. With an obnoxiously loud laugh.
 - I watched two movies this weekend. And two last weekend. And one before that. I rarely watch movies. And I just signed up for Netflix. I fugured I need something to do for these trainer rides during the week because...
 - The "off season base training plan" starts today. I have a schedule. Here we go!
 - As I sit here eating carrots and broccoli, my coworkers are ordering "Five Guys Burger and Fries". Just for shits and giggles, I pulled up the website. And the nutritional info. I decided not to ruin their fun and inform them of nutritional monstrosities they are about to comsume.

First time for everything!

I won my very first race on Saturday. I've come in second in a lot of races. But this was my first win. 

It was a small field, just 174 runners. A 10 mile trail race at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, OH. And it was cold. All of 22 degrees.

My feet were numb for the first three miles. That's pretty miserable when attempting to not kill yourself while running through rocks and ice... I'd opted to NOT warm up since I was told the first few miles are very technical. I figured I could use that as a warm-up. Plus, I wasn't willing to get rid of any layers any earlier than I had to.

I stayed with Coach and his daughter and a couple guys I train with for the first couple miles. Then we hit an opening after an uphill and I decided to take the opportunity to go ahead and move at a faster pace.

I saw a guy in blue ahead and focused on him. Pretty soon, there was a line of four of us with Blue Boy pacing us in the lead. The guy behind me sounded like he was about to lose a lung and I wanted to tell him to ease up, but who am I to tell some dude I don't know that his breathing was frightening me?

At a about the half way mark, we exited the woods and hit some grass where there was a picnic table with jugs of water and Gatorade. I opted for the Gatorade and went on my way...again behind Blue. But we'd picked up another runner. Another mile and I decided to make another move and pass the two guys in front of me. The new guy tagged along, but I dropped him pretty soon too.

There were volunteers out on the course at random spots and one yelled "Shoot it in. You're almost there". I figured this meant we had a mile or less. Um, wrong. I guess he was just trying to be nice. Or encouraging. But he was completely misleading. I kept seeing a woman ahead of me. Through the switchbacks, I'd catch a glimpse of her orange fleece. I just focused on my footing and not burning myself out.

A couple miles later, I was right on her tail as we came to a widening in the trail. I figured we had to be close to the finish, so I picked up the pace again and passed her just before we came out of the woods again and into the grass, about a half mile from the finish.

Finish time was 1:20:11. And when I crossed the line, they told me I was first female! I hadn't even known. I got a ribbon. And two cookies.

I dropped off Tom, who had joined me for the trek up to Dayton, went home and thawed out and watched Funny People with Clubber. Good movie. I laughed out loud a couple times. And it really made me think about some things. I was feeling pretty nauseas and figured it was just from the cold, so I took it easy the rest of the day and stayed warm so I could get up and go to Judi's cross race with her in the morning.

She picked me up at 6:30am and we headed down to Louisville. Again, very cold outside. I was happy to make the trip. And even happier it wasn't me racing this time. Sometimes, it's just really nice to be the one cheering and taking pictures.

Doesn't it even look cold?? EEk!

The course looked fun. And Judi did great! Check out her RR here.

After a long hot shower and warming up again upon arriving back home, the nausea set in again. And it was suggested that I treat myself to a day of rest. So that's what I did. And today we have snow!!! So, if I can kick the nausea, I'll be making the trip home in my tights and running shoes!

sometimes, there's nothing better than...

...the sound of pebbles and fallen leaves crunch with every foot strike.
...hearing the sound of your own breath.
...sweating in 30 degree weather.
...the way the sun breaks through the trees, casting shadows on the dirt floor.
...the smell of deer piss early in the morning.
...running at your own pace.
...crossing a stream and not getting wet.
...falling and having no one else witness.
...watching deer watching you.
...seeing the steam rise off your shoulders.
...feeling that grumbling hunger in your belly.
...seeing the lake from 100 feet up.
...fearing you've lost your way and suddenly coming upon the trail head.
...running trails for two hours all alone and then meeting up with a friend to blaze some new ones.