"Race" Report

I use the term loosely, but I felt a "race" report was in order after the adventure that I had Sunday in the 100K at Rocky Hill Ranch, Smithville, Texas.  First, my alarm went off at 2:15am.  When my friend picked me up at 3am I heard neighbors out still drinking and having fun from the night before…Wow, have my priorities changed.  After picking up another friend, we hit the road to Smithville.  The website said check in was at 4am.  We arrived at the ranch and there was ONE car there…seriously, we thought we had the day wrong.  When a few people finally showed up we went to check in and I asked how many people were in the 100K….only 20 had signed up!  Geez, this was going to be brutal.  

On the up side, the weather was great - mid-40s.  We got our gear and got back in the car until 3 minutes before the start.  The gun went off at 5am and we began our trek through the dark woods.  I have to say, there are so many things I hate about running in the dark (especially on a trail), but so many things that I like - like not being able to see what is coming next and just putting one foot in front of the other until you are back around.  That's right - back around - FOUR loops….this seemed fine in my mind originally, but turns out that loops with no other runners around is not that exciting in a race situation.  The course was actually really nice and very runable and very fast - if you don't run you will think that is silly - shouldn't a course be runable?  But if you run trails at all you know that one of the bonuses is a trail that is not SO runable, one where you have a good, plausible reason to hike or walk or just stop running for a section.  I think there was only about 1300 feet of elevation on each loop and hardly any plausible reasons not to run every section.  

So, it's dark, I am enjoying the weather and the trail, an hour has passed and it happens….My first fall….usually my falls are really bad.  For perspective, I have fallen 4 times just this month.  I have serious problems with staying upright on a trail.  I may need to re-think my hobby.  I was grateful this one didn't completely rip up my knees.  It did, however, tweak my ankle and shin.  I decided to just go with it.  It bothered me and I wasn't used to being bothered, because short of ripped knees, I generally stay pretty healthy and injury free.  I met up with my friend around 10 miles and we ran in the first loop together - 2:22ish…pretty solid.  Fast forward to loop 2 - I put my music on, make a pact with myself to not fast forward through any songs (distraction = falling) and settle in.  The sun has come up and now I can see how beautiful the course really is - the bluebonnets and other wildflowers are amazing.  That alone may have been worth getting up.  Around mile 29, I completely bust it.  I am bleeding from knee to toe - both knees and both toes.  I can tell I not only ripped the skin, but there are serious contusions  forming below all the blood and dirt.  The good thing is that now I cannot feel my ankle/shin that had been bothering me for the last 21 miles….glass half full!  The bad news is that I really banged myself up and now I am kind of half hobble running….always a good look.  By this point, my friend has pointed out that she tweaked her knee and is having a hard time too.  We get back around another loop in 2:30 - still a solid effort for all of the stopping, falling, etc. that was taking place.  We both grab some food…OH that was another thing - there was ONE aid station….at the END of the loop.  Both of my friends showed up with nothing thinking they would just eat in the aid stations….ummm, yeah, no that was not happening.  So, we hobble out for our third loop, getting about 2 1/2 miles in and we both just look at each other and decide to call it a day.  We turn around and run back, passing the 3 other runners on the trail (only 14 actually showed up).  This was never on the calendar as a race for either of us and we didn't need to beat ourselves up in a training run when there are other races that we would like to actually do well in later in the season.  This is what I call maturity!  I would have never called a race 4 years ago….but this week I did and I don't feel the least bit guilty about it.  I was home by noon, hung out with my family and friends and enjoyed a day in the sun…..AND I still got 34 miles in.  

So, I will take this as a successful training day and as the kick off to training for the next real race…which apparently is no joke and is in 7 weeks…Jemez 50 Miler, Los Alamos, New Mexico…..time to train!

I Signed Up for What?

So, in keeping with the theme of consistency this year and one of my concrete rules of not missing a race that I have signed up for, I find myself preparing to "run" a 100K outside of Austin this Sunday.  To say I am undertrained is an understatement (pun intended).  How did this happen?  Well, one night after a little too much wine (yes, there is a theme developing here), I got online and thought, what the heck, I am sure I will need a long run that weekend.  This seems like a great way to satisfy that requirement for the week.  Fast forward 4 weeks and while I have been "consistent," I am in no way ready to take on a 62 mile race.  I have done a few greenbelt runs of 16-17 miles and pretty much the only other distances since the Austin Marathon (uh, that was a loooonnnng time ago) have been 7-10 miles.  I have focused on strength training and hill work, but let's face it, that stuff doesn't make or break you in a race in Texas.  Plus, I had the brilliant idea of calendaring two of my strength training workouts back to back this Thursday and Friday....I am "sure" I will recover nicely by 5am Sunday. And Hell actually WILL freeze over......Not only am I extremely undertrained, but my "race" nutrition plan is a disaster....in that I: 1) have no plan and 2) have not been training with food at all this year.  Add the fact that I actually don't even have a pair of trail shoes that would cut it in this race and the last time I used my headlamp was when I paced a friend at Leadville in 2012....this sounds like a horrible idea.  So, I am undertrained, nutritionally challenged and have some equipment issues for lack of a better word.  Nevertheless, I plan on waking up at 2am this Sunday - yes, 2 FLIPPING AM.....because the race starts at 5am and is about an hour from my house.  I must say, I have not missed the ridiculousness of waking at such obscene hours to run.  While I am up drinking coffee and stumbling in the dark around my house, my sweet husband and three kids will be sound asleep and for the first time in months, there is nothing on the family agenda this Sunday, so they will wake and leisurely enjoy their day....a rarity in our house.  I will go out and run because I committed to myself to do it.  It will most inevitably suck at some point - hopefully later rather than sooner in the day.  However, the irony is, I actually do these races because of that point during the race when it does suck - when you are done - when you can't run or walk one more step -- and yet, you do.  We all have busy lives - work, family, relationships, commitments - being on the trail is an opportunity to focus on one thing...putting one foot in front of the other.  Having a good race means leaving everything out on the course....whether you are walking, running or crawling.   There is something very cathardic about the entire process.  At the end of a good race you may be beat up, but you feel renewed.  So, I will line up on Sunday, and I can't say that I will finish all five loops, but I plan to do as much as I can and push forward to renewal.  If nothing else it's just a damn good way to start a week.

Running in Guatemala…Not So Much

One of my best friends invited me to join her and others on a trip to Guatemala for her 40th birthday.  I was more than happy to help her celebrate in a country that I had not traveled to yet.  I told her and the other girls that were going to be sure to pack their running clothes, because we would be getting in at least 3 runs while we were there.  As an aside, I always pack my running clothes when I travel and I use them less than 1% of the time….I just can't seem to wake up early to get the work in when I am on vacation….I'd rather leisurely drink my coffee and plan the day's activities.  BUT, I was re-committed, surely this was going to be my time to make this happen!  As usual, I was indeed overestimating myself and this time my schedule for this vacation.  Did I run?  Not one single time in the 5 days that I was gone.  However, after a little reflection on my activities on this particular trip, I don't feel guilty at all…..  

Day 1: My alarm went off at 3:45am last Thursday for my 6am flight.  I was determined not to check a bag so that I could get in and out of the airport quickly, so my carryon weighed about 50 pounds.  Arm workout - check.  When we arrived in Guatemala, we immediately set off for a "walking" tour of Antigua.  Our guide was very informative and was a fast walker.  We followed him around the city for a few hours.  Cardio - check.  When we arrived back at our hotel, one of the girls traveling with us said she had to plank for 8 minutes because it was part of a 30 day challenge she was doing.  I decided to join.  Core workout - check.  Day 2: Wake up, have coffee - plank.  Core - check.  Hike an active volcano outside of Antigua ("Paycaya").  Hill work - check.  Walk to and from dinner in the rain.  Cardio - check.  Day 3: Hour+ bike ride through several villages outside of Antigua on cobble streets for 3/4 of the trip and on the highway/dirt roads for 1/4 of the trip.  Arm/Leg/Cardio - check.  We then set out for our next destination on Lake Atitlan.  After arriving by boat to our hotel we encountered a sign that said: "350 steps to the entrance of hotel."  Hill work - check.  Day 4: Hike Cerro de Oro in small village on Lake Atitlan.  When we arrived at the top of Cerro de Oro, our native guide told us to wait while he asked the gods if we could go to the top.  Apparently we passed the test and were allowed up.  (This little town is made up of the Maya people - we encountered a Maya ceremony on the way up Cerro de Oro where several Maya "priests" were making a fire and later in the day villagers would arrive at the fire to ask the priests for things they needed….super cool).  After arriving at the top, we asked our guide if the gods would mind if we planked - so, on the top of a mountain on the side of a lake in Guatemala, we dropped down for a plank.  Cardio - check.    Hill work - check.  Core - check.  Cool factor - check.  We then headed over to the zip line in Panajachel.  I had never really done a zip line like this before…..another hike, 8 different zip lines down and then an obstacle course of swinging rope ladders and swings to top it off.  Cardio - check.  Arms - check.  Arrive back at our hotel for another 350 steps up to the entrance.  Hill work - check.  Day 5: travel back to the States.

So, no running, but pretty sure no fitness was lost on this vacation.  Happy Birthday Heather Sasser…it was quite an adventure!!

Thank Goodness for Hot Sauce...

As with most type-A, OCD personalities, having one goal at a time is just simply insufficient.  So, as it goes, I have not only committed myself to at least five days of running, but I also decided somewhere along the way to try to re-vamp my "diet."  I use that term as in "what I eat everyday" and not in the context of I am on a "diet" - see prior entry on "juice cleanse" if you want to see how well those attempts go for me.  This process came about after my trainer challenged me to enter ALL of my food and more importantly my drinks into a little app that calculates your calories and breaks down your food into categories.  Well, I thought I had this, no problem...in my mind, I eat healthy pretty much under the 80/20 rule...that is, I eat healthy Monday-Thursday (maybe Friday, but unlikely) and then I do what I want on the weekend, still keeping in mind what I thought were key points.  I don't eat pasta, I thought I had a pretty high protein based diet - which would be good for rebuilding muscle after workouts and runs - I knew I drank too much wine which is just empty calories, but frankly every single runner I know is a power drinker...this seemed of no consequence to me.  Well, well, a day of entering my time into that forsaken app and WOW I was waaaay off base.  Apparently the protein I like (e.g. nuts, nut butter, red meat, olive oil, eggs, avocados) while good fat was making up around 50% of my calories in the day!  Whoa!  All of a sudden I felt completely frozen in my food choices - I really wanted a steak topped with a fried egg :) - did I have to eat grilled chicken everyday - or most of the time.  Surely there was shortcut... After about 2 weeks of denial and a large Costco bag of pistachios later, I accepted it...if I want to see changes in my workouts and how my body handles that, I have to make food changes.  As the saying goes, you can out-eat any good workout.  Food does matter.  So, with a heavy heart and very little enthusiasm I made myself a broccoli, egg white (oh I missed those butter yellows) scramble this morning.....all I can say is, everything tastes better with hot sauce!

Turning a Corner....

I heard my kids at 5:45 this morning, they were convinced it was another snow day.  I told them no way, it's not even sprinkling outside, much less snowing.  Then, I checked my phone...yes, indeed school was delayed for 2 hours and it was about 27 degrees outside, but apparently felt like the teens.  So, why on earth was I dying to get my run in?  I HATE the cold.  I didn't even own a real coat until I went to Chicago in law school in March, thinking it would be balmy there, and had to buy one when I quickly got a taste of "winter."  I would never survive in the Dakotas, Siberia, Antarctica...you get the idea.  On top of this serious disdain for the cold, I had an entire 2 extra hours to sit around, drink coffee, watch the news, take a nap, you name it, until I had to "officially" start my day, at least according to the school authorities that be.  A month ago, this would have been a no-brainer...a fool-proof excuse not to run...people aren't even out driving.  No one would expect me to stick to my "resolutions" today.  Instead of dreading gearing up for a cold run, I couldn't wait to get outside.  Am I ready to move up North?  Uh, no.  But, as I ran this morning it hit me -- it wasn't that I suddenly embraced the cold.  I had turned a corner.  For the first time in a very long time, I looked forward to my run and it did not disappoint.  

Gloves

I headed out for my first long run in a year completely unprepared for the weather.  Although I looked at my "weather" app, all I saw was mid-forties and maybe a little sprinkling of rain.  So, I left my gloves behind.  It only took about 3 minutes for me to realize that this was going to be a l-o-n-g 20 miles without gloves as the wind began howling and the "sprinkles" of rain sheeting across my now red hands.  Thank goodness I at least had some company for 17 miles of the run.  I met one friend about 1.5 miles in and then we picked up another friend on the road around mile 4 and met a big group down at the Lake for the 7 mile loop.  Having good friends to rag on you while you are in misery always keeps your mind off the running part.  In fact, staying on topic, it seems that I have been the butt of a few jokes because I lost a pair of gloves of a very good friend of mine and I am a complete idiot and instead of asking her how much they cost made an assumption and that assumption was so wrong!!  Yikes!!  This is why I love these people - they will call you out in a flash...you cannot get away with anything...whether you are trying or not!  They are like family with all the good and bad that comes with being family.  If you don't have a group like this to run with, I highly recommend finding one.  The key is that they can't be too nice or too mean - just the right amount of each seems to keep the motivation (and friendships) strong.  So, here are the lessons learned on this cold, rainy, windy Super Bowl Sunday morning:  1) if it is below 50 degrees OR windy, wear your gloves...PERIOD; and 2) if you borrow a pair of gloves, make sure to find out how much they actually cost before you write the check!  

The Polar Vortex - SABOTAGE!

Sabotage!  So, the Polar Vortex continues in Austin and it is really putting a kink in my "nutritional" aspirations.  That is, I have a desire and longing to "eat clean" (I feel healthier just using that phrase), but everything in me just wants to bake and eat cookies!  With a sudden change in the weather from pleasant winter days to hail, sleet and even a little snow, my inner Barefoot Contessa immediately came out (not that I can cook like her, but I like to eat like she cooks).  So, the cooking and eating began yesterday after I picked up my kids from school.  First, we baked my grandmother's famous "tea cakes."  These are yummy little delights that are somewhere between a shortbread cookie and a biscuit. When I was in grade school I actually didn't like really sweet things (I would much rather just have seconds on mashed potatoes!), so my grandmother would make these for me.  She would pick me up from school and when I got back to her house there they would be on the kitchen counter waiting on me.  When we made these yesterday I limited my kids (not myself unfortunately) to 2 cookies - no matter how much they whined for more, I said no.  There were no such limits when I ate these in my grandmother's kitchen as a child.  I made a pot of coffee at 5pm and enjoyed several of these little beauties...later, I enjoyed a glass (ok, maybe 2) of wine and a few more.  My plan was to do my long run today so I wasn't hugely concerned, but then my husband called and said he was stuck out of town.  So, the next day did not start with a nice long 20 miler as intended, instead, it started with cinnamon rolls!    School was cancelled after all and there were 7 kids running around my yard.  It's really about the kids.  I tried not to eat one, but seriously, it's a "snow day" I can't be expected to eat like a bird.  What if we are snowed in for days and I can't get to the store?  I better bulk up now - survival. Some days you just have to roll with it....I just got a call from my neighbor who invited us over for "comfort food" - there may have been a mention of homemade french onion soup...looks like today (and yesterday) are going to be my days to let it roll!  

Mamaw's Tea Cakes

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Shortening (yes, for real....but luckily you can use butter as alternative)

1 Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Milk

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1/2 Tsp Cream of Tarter

1/4 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

Cream shortening/butter and sugar; then mix in egg, milk and vanilla until smooth.  Sift together all dry ingredients into a large bowl then slowly add dry mixture to the sugar/butter mix.  Mix all well.  Roll out dough onto lightly floured surface or between sheets of wax paper to about 1/8 thickness.  Cut with large round cookie cutter or large glass cup.  Bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.