Shining's Ultra Blog

A look back

2012-01-02T12:27:00.000-05:00

My husband and I have a New Years Eve tradition where we go to our favorite restaurant, sit at the bar, and while eating delicious tapas and drinking sangria, share our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year as well as reflect back on the one we are leaving behind.

The hubz and me at our fave post-hike joint, Blue Mountain Brewery

Rusty, a mountain biker, wants "to do something epic. This is the year to do something big and not be a chicken." I want to build on my 2011 ultra season, and the lessons learned off the trail as well. Last year at this time, I decided that my mantra for 2011 was, "Welcome change, seek out adventure, take a risk at failure." As the months went by, I found myself going back to that mantra many times---as a wife, mother, daughter, and sister, as a teacher and coach, and as a runner. There were many changes to adjust to: the death of my father, a new boss, work stressors, and the fact that my children were growing more independent and relying less on me. I sought out new adventures---the 111 mile journey through Shenandoah National Park and the Lynchburg Ultra Series were the big ones--and accepted that failure was an important part of growth and something not to fear.

At the risk of sounding like a total self-aggrandizing idiot, let's just say that 2011 was my best year as an ultrarunner, as far as race results go. Not bad for an old lady. I set three personal best (PR) times at three distances: the 50K, 50 mile, and 100K++. I was really stoked about doing this because I was coaching myself and weaving together everything I have learned in ten years of running ultras. This gives me a lot of confidence as I stare down my 2012 race and adventure plans.

OK, enough about me. Let's talk about...me. Here are a few lessons from 2011 that I want to carry into 2012's big challenges, and that might also prove helpful to others who are seeking their own new adventures:

1. Less mileage is More (at least for me). I am 49 years old and this year proved to me that I could run fast and go long with an average of 55-60 miles per week. Granted, I am working on ten years of an ultra base, but it is nice to know that I don't have to crank out huge miles to run faster.

2. Hill repeats are the bread and butter. I ran a lot of 1:00-4:00 hill repeats on a runnable slope at least once every two weeks. These workouts gave me a ton of confidence and strength without spending a lot of time in the weight room.

3. The weight room is my friend. That said, I did go to the weight room at least twice a week for about 25 minutes. There I did classic core and balancing workouts with the Bosu ball, Swiss ball, kettlebells and planks. I know a lot of friends swear by Crossfit, Pilates, Yoga...but this works for me, and is all I really have time for.

4. Swimming and pool running keep me sane and healthy. I am not a running streaker, nor can I ever envision myself running more than 4 days in a row. I would get terribly bored and burnt out. To break things up, I spend my 25 minutes in the weight room, then I go to the pool (in the same building, very convenient), swim about 1,000 yards easy, then pool run with a flotation belt. I don't do this for long (about 15 minutes is all I can handle) but I can solve many of my problems of the day by running up and down the lap lanes in the pool. Plus, it's very relaxing and stretches out my hips.

5. I don't need a track to run faster. For years I have been doing speed work on the UVA track. This year the track has been closed for a multi-million dollar upgrade, so instead I relied on tempo runs on hilly gravel roads, fartleks such as 1:00 hard, 1:00 easy x 10, and the aforementioned hill repeats on trails and dirt roads.

6. Inov-8 shoes make me run faster. Call it a coincidence, but ever since I started running in my inov-8 Roclite 268s, my turnover has been quicker and I have been running faster times. I really think they help me run more efficiently with a mid-foot strike. Plus they are comfortable as heck.

7. Running with a group a friends also makes me faster---and it is way fun. In 2011 the Charlottesville Area Trail Runners (CATs) became an organized, inclusive group that trained together and supported one another at races by crewing and pacing. One of my key workouts for Hellgate was a "Skinny B" workout with the fastest guys in the club. We ran in the dark for 1.5 hours at my tempo pace on rooty, muddy trails and then did a bunch of tough 2:00 hill repeats. It kicked my butt but delivered two weeks later with a Hellgate PR. Thanks, boys.

CATs at Mountain Masochist 50

8. Rest and recovery are the most essential part of the training cycle. This is a really hard concept for many ultrarunners to accept, but it is so true. In 2011, I took at least one and sometimes two full days off per week---that means no running, hiking, swimming or lifting. Nada. As a result I was able to train harder on my hard days without feeling tired or dead (except at the end of the workout).

9. Less racing is more--for me. My 2011 racing season was split into two: a spring season with the three LUS 50Ks, each a month apart; and a fall season starting with the SNP run over Labor Day (not a race, but a hugely beneficial training weekend), and including Mountain Masochist in November and Hellgate in December. I did not race from the end of April until the beginning of November, but instead rested a ton, ran for fun, trained with friends, and spent time with my family. Racing from November through March seems to suit me best, and will be my routine for the next few years.

10. Remember always: Being able to run is a privilege. This is the greatest lesson. Thank you, David Horton, for reminding us all at the start of the Grindstone 100 this year, and every time we see you ride your mountain bike. Thank you, my wonderful family, for accepting my passion and supporting it. Thank you, dear friends, for your companionship on the trail and roads. Thank you for reminding me to never take running for granted.

The epitome of privilege: on the WS100 course above Lake Tahoe with good friends, 2006

What does 2012 hold in store? Stay tuned.

Happy New Year!

Time falls away at Hellgate 100K

2011-12-13T11:32:00.001-05:00

I have been an ultrarunner for ten years now. It has been an amazing ride, filled with peaks and valleys of adventure, disappointment, satisfaction, fear, and lessons learned. The threads that weave the ultra community together are the shared experiences and bonds forged during training runs and races. We spend hours on the trail and during the post-run parties hashing the details of our favorites trails and adventures, and planning for the next one. Not surprisingly, many of my ultrarunning friends have a particular race that defines them, that they obsess over and look forward to more than any other. AJW has Western States, Gary Knipling has MMT, Keith Knipling has Cascade Crest, Steve and Deb Pero have Hardrock, Mike Bur has The Barkley, and I have Hellgate 100K.

I have run Hellgate six times, more than any other ultra in my career. For the first five, I became obsessed with breaking the 15-hour mark. In 2005, the "snow year", we ran on sheets of ice and over 6" of powder, and I finished in 15:56. In 2006, the "Leaf Year" we got to see the trail that was hidden from the snow...and there were leaves, piles and piles of them. I ran a bit faster, in 15:16. In 2007, the "Warm Year" I raced Rebekah Trittipoe for the last 6 miles and second place (my highest finish) in 15:36. In 2008 we had a full moon and excellent weather, and I just missed my goal with a 15:03. Finally, in 2009, I came rested and determined to break the barrier I had set before me and did just that in 14:58, but it took everything I had.

After that race, I took a break from running the 2010 event. I wanted to jump off the intense cycle of focusing on time and splits and instead be part of the event in another, more relaxed way. I drove down on race morning to help my friend Stephanie Wilson achieve her goal of finishing, which she did in strong fashion in 17:01. I took photos, ran the last six miles, and hung out at the finish helping runners get food and showers. I loved being on the other side, but I missed being "out there," and knew that in 2011 I would be back.

My CAT friends Jen Nichols, Mike Stadnisky, and Christian Dalhausen were entered in the 2011 race and their energy and enthusiasm about the event got me fired up. There is nothing like being a Hellgate newbie, and I had a blast training with them, answering questions about the race, the trail, and what to wear and eat. I knew the special adventure that awaited them, and it was so much fun to be part of their preparation---perhaps that is the teacher and coach in me. We decided to start together, to run easy to Camping Gap (mile 13, about 3 hours in), and then go our separate ways if needed. Most importantly, I decided to not look at my watch for the entire race, and to just run on feel (aka "perceived effort"). This would be a huge challenge for me, as my watch has always been an integral part of my racing plan---I needed to know my splits so I could adjust accordingly...or so I thought.

The day before the race, I went into Ragged Mountain Running Shop for my ritualistic, pre-race purchase of Hammergel and Clif Bloks and Shots. Mark Lorenzoni, RMRS's owner, an esteemed marathon coach and my good friend, was there to talk up my race plan, and when I told him that I was ignoring the watch, he looked at me and smiled, "perceived effort, all the way." After years of racing with a plan I was happy to have no race plan at all, just to run by feel, eat a ton, and enjoy the night and day on my favorite trails in my favorite race, under a full moon...bliss!And bliss it was.

After we sang "Oh, Canada" and "The Star Spangled Banner" we were off at 12:01 am. Jen, Mike and I maneuvered through the pack with Christian not far behind, and soon we were climbing together up to AS 2, Petites Gap. The moon was out, there was no wind, and the long climb up the mountain warmed us up. In and out of the aid station, we bombed down the single track of the Terrapin Mountain course and soon were climbing up to Camping Gap. Jenny had fallen behind a train of runners, and Mike was pulling me up the mountain. We turned off the lights and enjoyed the moonlight. It felt easy. I wondered what time it was and then told myself to let it go, and we ran down the Promise Land section where Mike pulled away and I was alone.

Sunrise over Headforemost Mountain, mile 25

Since I didn't have my watch, I used the moon and the sun to help me predict my pace. I knew that if I came into Jennings Creek (AS 5) in the dark, then I was moving well. I saw our super crew Bob Clouston and Drew Kreuger and they looked surprised to see me: "Don't tell me what time it is!" I laughed/pleaded. And, they didn't, instead directing me to the pancakes and eggs and wishing me well. After Little Cove Mountain (AS 6), Kristen Eddy passed me with a smile and a greeting, so I knew I must be moving well (Kristen is a national class adventure racer and very fast trail runner). Hmmm, I thought. If I am near Kristen, then I bet I am in the top 5! This was exciting given the strength of the womens field this year. So, I made a little deal: I could look at my watch at mile 40 (just once) so I could get a sense of where I was. I would be absolutely thrilled to be near 10:10 am (my fastest split to that AS). Just as I was entering the AS, I looked down and the time read: 9:53. YOWZA!

Horty greeted me with a shout,"Fourth Woman!" and I was in and out in a flash. Bob had a delicious burger waiting as well as a full bottle of Perp, and then I was off. No more checking of splits, no more looking at the watch...just run! And run I did, as well as think about why I had been able to run the first 40 in such a fast time. I believe it was a combination of Masochist fitness, trail knowledge, nutrition (I ate and drank almost 4,000 calories for the 66 miles), and most importantly, letting go. Letting go of pressure, of time, of stress, of the past...and being fully present. Letting go.

The rest of the race went by in a blur. I was thrilled beyond belief that I would be able to run in the solid 14s for the first time in my Hellgate career. Alyssa Godesky passed me on the last climb looking really strong, and I wished her well as we hoofed it up and over the parkway for the final downhill. The sun was higher in the sky than it had ever been before on this downhill, and I took it all in as I approached Camp Bethel and the finish: 14:41, fifth woman, and a 17-minute PR. But who's counting? Not me.

This is a retrospective I made of Hellgate in photographs and video, from 2005-2008. Take a look. You might recognize West Coasters, elites, VHTRC buddies, and long, lost friends. I watch this every year as I get ready for the race, as it reminds me of why I love it so: the people, the trail, and the adventure. And the music says it all.

Thank you, David Horton, and all the Hellgate volunteers who make this event possible and so very special.

"Let it slide
let your troubles fall behind you
let it shine'til you feel it all around you
and I don't mind
if it's me you need to turn to
we'll get by
it's the heart that really matters in the end..."

-Rob Thomas, "Little Wonders".

A Race Within a Race: Masochists 2011

2011-11-07T22:31:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I ran the Mountain Masochist 50 for the fifth time. I love this race for many reasons: the gorgeous fall foliage and views from the ridges; a course that has been more or less the same for 29 years; a great mix of technical trail, jeep roads, and lots of climbing (over 8,000 feet); and the wonderful friends and memories I have made over the years as a runner or crew member.

In 2003, "Masochists" (as it is known by the old guard) was my first 50 and I suffered greatly in the second half to finish in 10:25. I was injured in 2004 but was able to crew for my friend Mike Broderick and join many of my VHTRC brethren for a great reunion, which Anstr Davidson documented with an entertaining reflection on the race, its history, and David Horton. I came back in 2006 with more experience and proper training to run a 9:40, but felt horrible at the finish with toasted quads, and in 2007, I trained all year for a PR and was able to get it on a perfect day in 9:34:18. I then took a few years off from the race to run Grindstone 100 before venturing back in 2010.

Mike Broderick on the Wild Oak Trail, 2004

Last year's race was bittersweet. We lost Mike to stage 4 lung cancer the day before the race (and his 53rd birthday) and I was determined to run as he would have wanted me to---within myself, smart, and patient. Mike was a beloved ultra and marathon coach who had trained hundreds of runners with that same philosophy, so with Mike's voice inside my head and spirit urging me on, I ran a 9:34:41, close to a PR but off by 23 seconds. I was thrilled to have come so close, but also emotionally drained and not in a huge celebratory mood, so Rusty met me at the finish line and took me back home...with a stop at Blue Mountain Brewery just a few miles away, of course...

This year, Masochists presented a new challenge: the final race of the Lynchburg Ultra Series (LUS). I had never been able to run the LUS due to schedule conflicts, so I was excited when the race dates worked out in my favor. I wrote on this blog in January that I wanted to "welcome change, seek out adventure, and take a chance at failure" in 2011, and this mantra has guided my training and racing decisions all year. The first three races in the LUS, Holiday Lake 50K, Terrapin Mountain 50K, and Promise Land 50K reward leg speed and turnover, while Masochists favors strong climbing and overall endurance, so I knew I had my work cut out for me. By the end of the spring season, I sat in second place among the women in the LUS standings, just 13:14 behind 22-year-old Jamie Darling, an up-and-coming LU graduate.

The concept of running a race-within-a race is really fun and satisfying, as many of my ultra buddies can attest. The challenge of going for an age group or overall masters win keeps training interesting and fuels motivation on cold dark mornings in the winter. Being only 13:14 away from the overall LUS title gave this year's Masochists training a little more of a focus on developing speed and strength for the the last miles when I seem to fade. My SNP adventure run in September gave me a huge confidence boost, as did a hard run on the Wild Oak Trail, the Buck Mountain Half Marathon as part of a 23 miler, and pacing Rob Colenso at Grindstone, where I was on my feet for eight hours. I also ran a lot of long runs incorporating marathon and tempo pace, and lifted at least twice a week, focusing on core and upper body strength.

CAT members Harry, Drew, and Cristina Krueger

However, the best decision I made was enlisting Harry Landers as my "handler" (another old-school ultra term for "crew"---a throwback to the 100 mile endurance horse races). Harry volunteered to help me on a whim about two weeks before the race, and I gave him my instructions for getting me in and out of the aid stations quickly. When I arrived at Long Mountain aid station (about 27 miles into the race), Harry told me where I was among the women (ninth), that there were two ladies just ahead, and that I was gaining on them. Perfect! I love climbing, and particularly love climbing the next section, Buck Mountain. The theme from "Rocky" plays on an endless loop from the aid station 3 miles away, and there are motivational scripture passages that greet the runners as they climb. Just like last year, I found myself getting very emotional as I ran by, thinking of both Mike and of my father, who had passed away in October after fighting pulmonary fibrosis for over six years. Regis Shivers, Jr. was on the trail just ahead and it was comforting to talk with him, as his father had died six years ago after struggling with cancer.

Leaving the Loop

The next section after Buck Mountain was rolling, runnable trail and jeep road, with leaves falling all around and the sun shining, so with two Angels on my shoulder, I wiped away the tears and went to work! I eventually came upon Jamie and my friend Meredith Terranova, whom I met at Masochists in 2007, and both seemed to be having a tough day, so after chatting a bit I made my way up the mountain. I was feeling great and climbing well, and looked forward to seeing Harry again at the entrance to the Loop at mile 35. The Loop gets a bad rap, and I can see why. The first few miles were great running, and then it got rocky and technical. This would be the first technical trail of the day, and I found myself cramping a bit as I descended some slippery scree. It was the highest point of the race, so more climbing was involved, often over slippery leaves. My experience has been if you are on the edge of having a tough day, the Loop will either make or break your race. Fortunately, I managed to run it in under an hour and pass two more women as I was leaving, so I got a shot of adrenaline when I saw Harry and grabbed my bottle of Perpetuem. He told me that I had gained 4 minutes on Jamie, but this meant I still needed to run hard all the way to the finish to get beyond the 13 minute spread. Time to hammer!

The last 10+ miles of the race are a mix of long downhills and steep climbs on dirt road, and then a long, tough section on leafy trail. This is traditionally another place where MMTR races turn ugly, and I had prepared for this in my training. I knew that keeping my pace strong and close to my PR splits would be the only way I could make good time. I cranked up the iPod shuffle and the songs that popped up were great omens..."Clocks" by Coldplay, "Almost Home" by MCC, and "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas (and my ultra anthem) came up 1-2-3 and I was hammering (at least it felt like it). I hit the last AS right on PR pace and thought, "Hmmm...I may have another chance at breaking 9:34:18 this time..." but then I told myself, "Shut up and run!" This became the mantra for the last, long 3+ miles to the finish. I hit the one-mile-to-go mark in 9:25ish, knowing that I just needed to run marathon pace to get the PR, and 7:45 later, that's exactly what happened, in 9:33:31!

At the finish, with Horton and Ashley double-checking my time

Horton yelled and pointed at me at the finish, most likely thinking, "I can't believe she is running as sixth woman when I/Clark seeded her 11th!" HA! I pointed right back at him, thanked Clark, and promptly lay on the grass, waiting for the rest of the field to arrive. This was the best part of the day: cheering for friends as they made their way down the road, digging deep for the PR, the top-10 placing or the final cut-off time. Everyone had a story and you could see it on their faces, in the way they ran, sprinted, or cried at the finish. Meredith arrived with her huge trademark smile, and Jenny Nichols, who came up to train many times with the CATs and VHTRCers, cruised in with a huge PR and for the final top-10 spot with the biggest grin on her face. I was so happy for her!

Jenny and me

When Jamie arrived just a few minutes later, Horty and Clark went to work adding up our final LUS times, and when it was over, I had crept ahead by just 1:08. Jamie had worked incredibly hard and was visibly drained, and I am sure bummed that this "old lady" (as Horty likes to call me) was able to pass her in the standings. But she was very impressive with her 1:30 Masochists PR despite having a tough day, and she made me work for every minute of my race. I have written before that I relish the opportunity to race with other women as they always make me bring out my best, and this was no exception.

The rest of the evening was spent cheering the final finishers, road-tripping back to Lynchburg and the awards dinner with CAT friends Q, Bob and Joey, and enjoying the camaraderie that comes after a race like Masochists. Clark had told us at the pre-race meeting that 2011 may be the last iteration of this particular Masochists course due to Park Service pressure, so next year we could have a slightly altered course or something dramatically different. But what will remain the same? Running 50+ miles in the Blue Ridge mountains in November, chasing PRs and cut-off times, sharing race stories at the finish line, and being part of another Mountain Masochist with good friends, new and old.


Charlottesville Area Trail Runners (CATS) at the finish

Happy Trails!

Photos by Brock Nichols and Christian Dalhausen

Privilege

2011-10-09T15:54:00.001-04:00


Runners await the start of the 2011 Grindstone 100

At the start of the fourth annual Grindstone 100, David Horton said a prayer that set the tone for the entire weekend. He prayed for the safety of the runners and crews, and then gave thanks for the privilege of being able to run this race.

Privilege.

For those who can run long distances in the mountains over trails, in beautiful weather surrounded by the support of family and friends, it is truly a privilege.


With Drew and his pacer Bob. Grindstone was Drew's first 100

To share training runs and racing plans, give advice and tips, offer pacing and crew help to newcomers...


Clark Zealand, David Horton, Andy Jones-Wilkins

To befriend some of the greatest runners in the sport (who are humbled by the same injuries that plague the rest of us)...


Dowells Draft, mile 20/80

To spend the day in the mountains with nothing to do but run, hydrate, eat, and enjoy the views...

View towards Elliott's Knob

To pace a friend in his second 100 miler, sharing news of the race, reminding him to eat and drink, and joining in as he hammers past at least 15 runners...


Rob Colenso at Lookout Mountain aid station, mile 72

More than a privilege. An honor.

Congratulations to all the Grindstone runners and finishers, especially Drew Krueger and Rob Colenso!

SNP Adventure Run!

2011-09-10T21:04:00.001-04:00

Joe and me coming into Beagle Gap, Day Three

I have always wanted to try a multi-day run in the mountains. The idea of running with a goal destination each day in a beautiful place, with yummy food and good friends to celebrate with each night, and no real time goal except to finish, seemed like a great way to celebrate ten years of ultrarunning and to put those lessons learned to good use! So, inspired by the Tough Dirt Chicks and by stories from the VHTRC archives of multi day adventures in Shenandoah National Park (SNP), I asked my husband for crewing and parenting support (a critical ingredient), and when that was all set, I invited friends to join me for a 2011 Labor Day weekend trek from the northern boundary of the SNP in Front Royal to the southern boundary at Rockfish Gap, a total of 111 miles of trail.

Shenandoah National Park

As I researched the logistics of this adventure, I learned that there have been variations on the SNP multi day theme over the years. There is a crew that organizes an annual "leapfrog" run, with a U-Haul truck, aid, and alternating runners and drivers. One year, as a birthday celebration, another group ran from the finish line of Masochist in Montebello, hopped on the AT near the Priest and headed north to the SNP for a 4-day trek to Front Royal. More recently, Kevin Smith ran south to north with his wife and family crewing and camping along the way. Our group, comprised of Joe Clapper, Michelle Harmon, Marlin Yoder, Ragan Petrie and I, kept it simple: we would enjoy crew help from friends and family, utilize SNP water sources and wayside food stops, and bunk down at Skyland Lodge and Loft Mountain Campground. Through multiple Facebook threads we hammered out the logistics, set the day's mileages, reserved the rooms and campsites, and eagerly anticipated our long weekend of fun!

Ragan, Michelle, Joe, Marlin and me at Dickey Ridge trailhead

Day One: Saturday, September 3rd~ Dickey Ridge trailhead, Front Royal, VA
Weather: partly cloudy, humid, highs in mid-80s
Mileage: 41 miles (Dickey Ridge trail to Compton Gap, 10 miles; Appalachian Trail (AT) from Compton Gap to Skyland Lodge, 31 miles)

A successful ultra runner must learn to be flexible, and we learned the importance of this concept before we ever stepped on the trail on Saturday. It turned out that Michelle would not be running because of a nagging foot injury, and Ragan could only join us for one day. Tweaking the plans, it was decided that Michelle would crew for us while Joe and I went the distance. Ragan and Marlin would run on Saturday, and Marlin would crew on Sunday. My husband (aka The Saint) would drive me up to the start at 4:00am on Saturday and pick me up at the finish on Monday. VHTRC friends Kirstin and Tom Corris would join us Sunday for running companionship and crew help as well.

Michelle Harmon, crew extraordinaire

After bidding farewell to The Saint, we cruised along the Dickey Ridge trail towards the AT. It was humid and sticky in the hollows and we didn't feel a breeze except on the ridges. Joe told me later that he knew we were in for a long day when he started sweating about five minutes down the trail, and knowing we were going for three days straight, it was important to take the pace very easy. We reached our first aid station at Compton Gap totally drenched with sweat but moving well at about 4-5 miles per hour.

At Compton Gap, comparing "AT miles" to "Skyline Drive Miles"

The next section to Elkwallow Wayside, mile 25, was brutal. Humid, hot, no breeze, and slippery rocks made for some serious suffering, and when we got to the Wayside at 1:30, I was craving ice and a popsicle. Fortunately, you can get everything at SNP waysides---burgers cooked to order, blackberry milkshakes, beer---whatever you need, they have. We fueled up at the car and headed towards Thornton Gap, mile 31, and the biggest climb of the day to Mary's Rock.

Joe suffering on the climb up to Mary's Rock

The trail between Elkwallow and Thornton Gap is lovely, undulating single track and a few short climbs. Ragan and Marlin ran ahead, while Joe and I stayed together. After meeting Michelle at Thornton Gap for the most delicious ice-cold Coke I have ever drank, we took fifty minutes to slog the 1.7 miles to Mary's Rock. However, it was worth the (partially obscured by fog) view, and once on the ridges we began to make good time to Skyland.

Joe atop Mary's Rock

What drew me to the multi-day run was the chance to spend the entire day outside. I savored the notion of running from dawn to dusk to my room at the lodge,with a cold shower and a hot meal waiting! As we approached Stony Man at mile 41, daylight was waning, and the forest was filled with the sounds of the evening peepers and the Stony Man raven's call. It was heavenly. We arrived at Skyland at 7:12pm, found Michelle and Marlin, and we were treated to the sight of a bear hanging out in a tree right next to the room.After showers, we had a delicious dinner at Skyland Lodge. I ordered crab fritters, sweet potato fries and French onion soup...as my appetizer. Then I ordered the wild salmon over angel hair pasta and a glass of wine. Joe called me an "eating machine" but that is what you have to be on multi-day runs. The food at the lodge was excellent, and we had a great time re-hashing the highlights of the day and planning the itinerary for the next one.

This bear hung out in the tree for hours at Skyland Lodge

Day Two: Sunday, September 4th~Skyland Lodge to Pinefield gap
Weather: partly cloudy, humid, highs in mid-80s
Mileage: 35.5 miles on the AT

The next morning, Marlin drove ahead to Big Meadows while Joe and I were up and climbing Hawksbill, the highest point in the SNP, by 7:15. Once again the views were blocked by haze and clouds, but the air *felt* cooler and we were optimistic that we would have an easier day. Hmmm... but as we made our way to Big Meadows Wayside to meet up with Tom and Kirstin, it became clear that we were looking at another hot one.

Joe on top of Hawksbill with the sun rising behind Old Rag

We ordered a large breakfast at Big Meadows (egg sandwich on whole wheat toast and bacon for me), met up with Marlin, Kir and Tom, and headed down the trail toward South River Picnic area where we would meet Michelle. The sun started to shine and we started to sweat---a lot. The trail was lovely, smooth and often a net downhill, making for some easy running and lots of chatter.

Marlin, me, Kir and Joe at Big Meadows

After what seemed like forever, we finally hooked up with Michelle and the green Element aid station (and another ice cold Coke!) well after our predicted time of arrival. I was happy to stay with Michelle and have her pamper me, and was enjoying the non-race feeling of the run...no urgent feelings of time limits or splits or cut-offs. However, I also knew we needed to make up some time to get off the trail by dark, so we couldn't hang out for long.

looking happy, feeling crappy

Eight miles later, at Swift Run Gap, we met up with the crew and I proceeded to have a meltdown. I was feeling hot, discouraged, confused by the disparity between AT miles and Skyline miles, and was NOT interested in another slogfest up to the Loft Mountain campground (our Sunday lodging), about 12 miles and 4-5 hours away. I don't know who suggested it, but the idea of going for another 2+ hours and 8 miles, and then finding a hotel and Pizza Hut, quickly got me out of my Pity Party and I had a new attitude and energy.

The view from Hightop towards Simmons Gap

"Let's get this thing done!" was all I could think about as we cruised up Hightop Mountain. Michelle met us at the next gap with mileages clearly mapped out. She told me, "You only have two more miles" and I was stoked. All I can say is that I felt like a total wimp compared to Jen Davis. I have no idea how she managed to average 47 miles a day on the AT, when I couldn't even run 35 one day without losing it.

We finished Day Two coming into Pinefield Gap, where Michelle was waiting with clean clothes, recovery drinks (Ultragen for me, beer for Joe) and we took off for Pizza Hut, a shower, and a comfy bed just as the rain started to fall. Day Two had taken us 12 hours for 35.5 miles, and we were feeling it!

Joe finishing of the pizza while I obsess over maps

Day Three: Monday, September 5th~ Pinefield Gap to Rockfish Gap
Weather: cloudy, cooler, light rain, highs in mid-70s
Mileage: 34.5 miles on the AT

Day Three began with the threat of heavy rain and flash flooding, but in fact we had the most enjoyable weather of the weekend! It was cloudy and cool, and after stopping at McDonald's for sausage and egg biscuits, Joe and I were chomping at the bit ready to roll. I knew this section like the back of my hand, and knew that we would be treated to a lot of ridge running and gorgeous trail. We were able to average 4-5 mph the entire day, and spent the day chatting, wooping, and taking lots of photos. I loved the feeling that I was "running home!"


Joe and me at the start of Day Three

The view looking west from Blackrock

It was also amazing how good I felt with the cooler temperatures. My legs were not sore at all, and I had a ton of energy. Michelle was able to spend more time hanging out and less time driving, as we met her every 8-9 miles. The trail was runnable, rolling singletrack, and as we got closer to my house, the faster and easier I ran. I told Joe, a veteran of many multiday runs, that the 3-day was my new favorite way to run 100 miles. I couldn't believe how well my body responded after two days of big miles, humidity, and high temperatures. I was very pleased with my nutrition and credited Michelle with every step!

The rain came and went in spurts, and we ran a ton. We passed my favorite SNP landmarks: Doyles River, Jones Falls, Blackrock, Rip Rap/Wildcat Ridge, Turk Branch, and Beagle Gap. I texted Rusty to give him an ETA and we hit it on the nose: 4:08 pm, about 9 hours after leaving Pinefield Gap. We arrived at the southern boundary of the SNP just as the rain really began to fall hard. Woop! Rusty took our photo and we scrambled to the car for the drive down the foggy mountain to celebrate at Blue Mountain Brewery!


Joe, Michelle and me at Rockfish Gap!

What an amazing three days! In the end, as disappointed as I was that Michelle couldn't join us, it became clear that her expert crewing, calming influence, sense of humor, and ultra experience was the key to our successful finish. Joe was an awesome running partner who kept me highly entertained throughout the weekend. I am so grateful to them both, as well as to Marlin, Kirstin, Tom, and Ragan for their help and companionship throughout the weekend.

As we enjoyed eating delicious veggie pizza and sampling the brews at Blue Mountain, I thought about of the most important lessons of the multi-day run: keep the group small (and within your trail pace), have a solid itinerary plan with a few back-ups just in case; don't underestimate the importance of a good crew, a comfortable bed, and a hearty dinner each night; and be sure to count your blessings that you have friends and family who want to help you succeed.

SNP Three-Day Gear:

Inov-8 Roclite 268s (right out of the box!)
Inov-8 team tank (Louis Garneau)
Patagonia skirt
Patagonia shorts
Injinji socks
Headsweat/Nuun visor
Nathan Intensity hydration pack
Nathan handheld bottle

Fuel/Electrolytes for the 3 days:

2 Hammergel flasks ( 5 servings each)
5 Clif Bloks packages
10 bottles of Cafe Latte Perpetuem
5 bottles of Lemon Tea Nuun
10 S caps
3 Cokes
1 Egg sandwich with bacon
1 sausage and egg biscuit
1 Popsicle
lots of Fritos
3 bottles of Cappuccino Ultragen recovery drink
plus huge amounts of appetizers, pasta, and pizza each night post -run

Photos by Michelle Harmon on Flickr here.

Tough Dirt Chicks

2011-08-23T21:12:00.022-04:00

This is the year of the tough dirt chicks.

First, in late February, it was Jenny Anderson, mother of three and Spanish teacher, who took on the 506.8 mile Camino Del Santiago in Spain. With the support of her family and school, she took two weeks away to run/hike and experience the rich history of the trail and set a women's speed record in the process. She endured snow storms, rain, cold, no sleep, and injury to complete her pilgrimage in 9 days, 5 hours, and 29 minutes.

Jenny at White River 50

Then it was Anne Lundblad. Anne is a mom and full-time counselor at Warren-Wilson College, and a previous JFK 50 course record holder and World Cup 100K podium finisher. She took on the 77-mile Foothills Trail in South Carolina in April and set the women's Fastest Known Time (FKT) in 20 hours and 47 minutes.

Jenny, the legendary Rebekah Trittipoe, and Anne after setting the women's FKT on the South Beyond 6000 summits in 2009

Next, it was Jennifer Pharr Davis. I followed Jen on her quest to set the FKT on the Appalachian Trail this summer by reading excellent blog updates written by her hubby, Brew. Jen had previously set the AT women's speed record of 57 days in 2008, and this time she beat Andrew Thompson's 2005 record by a day to finish in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes. Jen sums it all up in a very moving and personal tribute to the trail and her husband here.

Jen and me (with Rebekah in the background) at Holiday Lake 50K, 2011

Finally, just last Saturday, my blogger buddy Ronda Sundermeier (also a mom) fulfilled her dream of becoming a Leadwoman, which means she completed both the Leadville 100 Trail Race AND Mountain Bike Race, as well as the Leadville Marathon, 50 Mile trail Race and the Leadville 10K, all within a span of 7 weeks. And did I mention this was all at altitude? What is really impressive is that Ronda had no previous endurance biking experience, so she went way out of her comfort zone to learn the basics of endurance biking in order to achieve her goal.

Ronda, all smiles at the Leadville 50

I am in awe of these women. They looked their respective challenges in the eye and took them on with grit, grace, and guts. One of my goals for 2011 is to take a chance at failure, and these women took that risk, and then some. In fact, I was so inspired by their feats that I decided to take on a little multi-day challenge of my own in the next few weeks, just to see if I had a fraction of what they have in guts and perseverance.

My next blog post will report the answer!

p.s. It is fitting that Rebekah Trittipoe shows up in two of the pics. Rebekah is one of the toughest dirt chicks I know. She is a previous FKT owner of the Allegheny Trail and SB6000, as well as being a consistent source of wisdom for female ultrarunners as well as her high school cross country runners.

photos from the blogs of Jenny Anderson, Ronda Sundermeier, and SB6000

Summer training

2011-07-24T14:18:00.007-04:00

Yesterday was the annual Catherine's Fat Ass 50K, which is run on parts of the MMT 100 course as well as on lesser known trails and gravel roads in the southern Massanutten mountains. "Cat's" is a favorite summer training run for the VHTRC folks and friends. You get a free, fully supported run and a festive party in the parking lot organized by Jeff Reed with the help of many volunteers. For me, it is a fun reunion of friends and a great training run in the "cooler" environs of the mountains.

"Cooler" is a relative term, of course. Keith Knipling told me that the thermometer at his house in Alexandria read 90 degrees at 5:00am. Jeff told the runners that it was "cooler" on Friday as he was marking trail than it was last year at the same time, when Cat's was held in 105 degree temps. With heat advisory warnings blasting the print media and airwaves, and knowing that running a 50K in this heat and humidity was basically stupid, I was curious to find out how I could minimize any heat-related issues. I had read about an Australian study that proposed a simple method for increasing running endurance on a hot day: drinking a slushie (or, in 7-11 parlance, a Slurpee). So, as I drove the Charlottesville gang up to the mountains yesterday, we stopped off at the Elkton 7-11 where I got a large Fanta grape Slurpee. No one else in the car was interested in participating in my little experiment, so I had a control group of one. Not very scientific. Whatever.

We arrived at Cat's with plenty of time to meet and greet in the parking lot. I was actually a little chilly after slurping down the Slurpee, and gathered my frozen bottle of Perp and hydration pack for the run. Given the heat, I decided to run my version of Cat's again this year, which was a 25-ish mile version of the course that included the pink trail, which is my favorite. Every aid station had plenty of ice and water, and we had special trail magic in the form of Jack Kurisky's ice pops and Dave Yeakel's electric fan and watermelon. So as I ran along, I felt surprisingly cool and comfortable. We had lots of shade and a nice breeze, and took a lovely dip in Cub Run before heading up the Purple Trail.

Gary Knipling climbing the Purple Trail

The Purple Trail is the stuff of legend among the VHTRC. It has claimed many victims with its long, exposed climbs, dead air in the hollows, lack of water, and never-ending switchbacks amidst the rocks. It came at about 18 miles and 4 hours into the run for us, so we all needed to tank up well. I started the climb with Gary Knipling, and new friends Jim and Chris after indulging in ice cold water provided by trail angels at the trailhead. I was climbing well and feeling really good after the dip in the river, and loved bombing down the pink trail. Hmmm...was the Slurpee making a difference in my attitude? Perhaps. I do know that I totally suck in the heat but was moving well. The overcast skies and taking the time to get wet and hydrate well at each AS certainly helped, and knowing that the party was waiting in the parking lot didn't hurt either...

C'Ville gang...me, Drew, Mike, Chris, Christian, and Joey

The fast guys in the Charlottesville gang are making a name for themselves...despite the heat, Drew, Mike, and Joey all finished the 50K in the 5:30s or faster. It was a great day in the mountains!

Running through history

2011-06-21T17:04:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I dropped off son #2 at a lacrosse recruiting camp at Gettysburg College. Since the middle of May, daughter and son have been either studying for exams, traveling to and from Richmond for lacrosse practice, or attending lacrosse tournaments and/or camps in Baltimore, Virginia Beach or Gettysburg. Mom has been either working, writing comments, or driving said children back and forth from their respective activities. And training has taken a well-timed back seat...but now it's time to get back at it!

After dropping off son #2 and making sure he and his roommate had plenty of Gatorade and water in the fridge, I was off. I had not run much in the month of June and was feeling itchy to do something new and cool...but I was also not psyched to run alone in the Catoctin Mountain woods or SNP on the way home...guess I just don't like looking over my shoulder for ax murderers or bears too much. But I was intrigued by the idea of running through the Gettysburg Battlefield (officially known as the "Gettysburg National Military Park") and was eager to get a history lesson along with my endorphin fix. I parked at the visitor's center, picked up a map, and noted the "trail" that wove in and out of the park---a horse trail used by the Gettysburg Equestrian Club and open to walkers and runners as well. Sweet!

Early on the the run I was overcome by the memorials to the various armies, infantries, and regiments.

The weather was perfect---overcast, cool, and breezy. The gray sky added to the mystique of the day...I had heard about the "ghosts" of Gettysburg and it twas a bit spooky in places. The horse trail wound through fields and woods, and at one point passed a barn with a hole in the side of it---a hole caused by a Confederate cannon ball 150 years ago (according to the history marker in front). I ran by places with famous (to Civil War buffs) names such as Devils Den, Big Round Top, and Little Round Top. Nothing seems to have changed here, except for instead of tens of thousands of dead and wounded soldiers and animals, all that is left here are the (preserved) remains of houses and barns, many memorials, and the sound of the wind blowing across the fields.

I ran the entire horse trail loop in about two hours, and saw one runner and one equestrienne. Both were polite and friendly. When I got back to the visitor center, I was rather pleased with my choice: instead of worrying about ax murderers and bears, I had plenty of reminders of the brave young men who died a century and a half ago... and I never felt alone.

If you build it...

2011-06-01T11:05:00.007-04:00

...many will come!

Harry Landers is my Charlottesville running buddy who is a Boston Marathon regular,an aspiring ultrarunner, and overall good guy. Last May he joined me and some friends for the awesome Rip-Rap/Wildcat Ridge circuit run, complete with the Super Secret Swimming Hole. This was his first long run in the mountains and he was a rock star! No whining, totally in control of his pace and cruising comfortably after 4+ hours...until he snagged his foot on the trail and took a tumble. No worries, though! Harry brushed it off with style and continued down the trail for the last hour of the run...with a broken collarbone.

Harry at the super secret swimming hole

Of course, the fact that he didn't mention this little detail to anyone until he pulled his shirt off at the finish endeared himself to the ultraunners present---what a tough dude! So, I named the run after him.

Thanks to Facebook, the 2011 Harry Landers Special brought together VHTRC, CAT, IMTR, Richmond Road Runners, and Boston Bound members for a wonderful day in the mountains. I enjoyed watching so many of my friends from different places meet one another at the start, run together on the trails, and exchange contact information after the run. I loved that! I especially loved seeing my friend Linda run her first 21+ miler in the mountains with nary an issue. Woop! So proud of you, Linda!

I also must send a shout out to Kirstin and Tom Corris for braving the 30-foot rope swing into Blue Hole, the fave swimming hole of the UVA student crowd. They were like kids in a candy store, swinging from that rope into the cool waters of the Moormans River below. Very impressive---that is one high leap!!

The CATs, Sabrina, Kirstin, and Jenny wrote awesome reports. Thanks for joining us, everyone!

Monalto Saturday, Three Ridges Sunday: good climbs, good times

2011-05-09T14:09:00.008-04:00

Final climb of Montalto 5K--photo by Natalie Krovetz

Saturday I ran the Montalto Challenge 5K. I also ran it in 2009, which was the first year of the event. I love running hills and mountains and this is one big mother: 5K of anaerobic suffering and roughly 1300 feet of climb with a sweeping view of Monticello and Charlottesville at the finish line. All proceeds from the race benefit the Monticello-Saunders trail systems, which make the suffering all worthwhile.

My friend Andy Jones-Wilkins was in town getting ready for his new job as Head of School at Tandem Friends. He is also in the middle of training for his favorite race, Western States 100. AJW has finished the last six WS100 in the top-10, which means he is guaranteed entry for the following year. This also means his training can't suffer when he is traveling to the east coast, so he asked me to set up some training runs with some big climbing. Montalto fit the bill for Saturday, and Sunday we headed south to the Priest and Three Ridges, "the" place to get your climbing legs and trash your quads for any mountain 100.

Saturday

The weather was gorgeous for a trip up the mountain...clear skies, cool 50 degree temps, and light winds. Eliza, Andy, Harry and I warmed up with an easy jaunt up the Saunders Trail, to check out the first mile of the race. The grade here was gentle, and we had fun catching up and sandbagging our race goals. Eliza was defending her "Queen of the Mountain" title that she earned last year as the first woman, and Kristen was coming back from a stress fracture. Harry was recovering from Boston, and Andy was hoping to get in a solid climb. My excuse/story? I was two weeks out of Promise Land and just hoping to stay close to my 2009 time of 26:35.

We also admired the stencils that were set every half mile up the mountain to the finish line:

(photo by Jay Alexander)

Once the race began, I was able to click off the first mile in a comfortable 7:20, my tempo pace on "flat" roads. Eliza and Andy were long gone, Harry was just behind me and Kristen was just ahead. We stayed like this until the Saunders Trail ended and we turned up Montalto. Then, BOOM. The grade was at least 12%, maybe more. Walking was required. But everyone around me was walking, so at least I wasn't alone. Since power hiking in ultras is my strength, I was able to make good time alternating hiking and running. Kristen (who is always about 15 seconds ahead of me in a "regular" 5K) was about five seconds up until the last switchback. I caught her here and managed to keep running instead of walking, even though I was suffering. Andy, who finished four minutes ahead of me as fourth overall, was standing at the top yelling "PUSH!" so, I did. I also gasped to the nice volunteer fire fighter who was racing next to me, "Pull me in..." and he did. 26:40 and second female. Thanks, Andy, Thanks, Fireman.

(photo of Andy and me--with Monticello just behind--by Audrey Lorenzoni)

Kristen was seconds behind me and Harry just after her, and we stayed on to cheer on the 230+ runners and walkers who made the trek. Wow! What an awesome event. It was so cool to finish the race looking down onto Monticello. After admiring the views, and taking photos, it was time to run back down the mountain and explore the rest of the beautiful trails that make up Carter's Mountain and Secluded Farm. We were able to get in around ten miles total before heading to Greenberry's and the rest of our Saturday.

Sunday

4:30 am Sunday, Andy and I headed down to Montebello to meet Jeremy, Kevin, Marlin, Jenny, Drew and Nick for a trip up Three Ridges/Mauhar and then the Priest. We met the gang at 6:00am in a light rain, and after introductions and plans for meeting up after the run, the "Fast Guys" (Andy, Jeremy, Kevin, Drew and Nick) took off running up the AT towards Three Ridges. Marlin and I were quite content to hang out and take it easy, as we were coming off a full spring race calendar and very happy to not have to run fast! The Fast Guys made it look ridiculously easy as they ran uphill--Jenny (who caught us later) said she thought they were riding mountain bikes, they were hammering!

The Three Ridges/Mauher lollipop is a favorite run for many reasons. It takes me about four hours at an easy pace to run the 14 miles of the loop, and Marlin, Jenny and I did exactly that. We had a great time catching up on Jenny's recovery from her Camino de Santiago adventure, Marlin's summer Grand Canyon plans, and enjoying the beautiful wildflowers along the trail. Each time I run this loop, I discover something new...this time, it was the pretty white and purple flowers that we never see any other time of the year.

Mountain Laurel on Three Ridges

The Fast Guys ended up running Three Ridges/Mauhar in 2:40 and were bombing down the Priest twenty minutes after we had started climbing up. Whew! Marlin and Jenny kept climbing but Andy and I needed to get back to C'ville, so I peeled off and headed back down. It was a full 24 mile run for the Fast Guys and a solid 16 mile outing for me...and a perfect Mother's Day gift. My first back-to-back in a while, great climbing, and good friends, old and new.

Celebrating Spring at Promise Land 50K+

2011-04-25T12:27:00.018-04:00

Apple Orchard Falls

David Horton's Promise Land 50K+ is a rite of spring for many of us in the mid-Atlantic region. Held on the third Saturday in April, it is usually rainy, sometimes cool, often humid, but always beautiful. The waterfalls of Cornelius Creek along the brown ribbon of single track offer peaceful sounds as we trot by, culminating with the breathtaking Apple Orchard Falls at mile 27. No wonder many ultrarunners consider this the most beautiful 50K of the year.

Cornelius Creek Trail

Promise Land was 50K number three on the Lynchburg Ultra Series calendar. It came four weeks after Terrapin Mountain 50K and ten weeks after Holiday Lake 50K. Of the three races in the LUS, it is the most difficult. It has over 8,000 feet of climb in 33-ish Horton miles, and the weather is always unpredictable---usually hard rain Friday night followed by clearing skies and warmer temps on Saturday (that is the pattern I have encountered in all five years I have run the race). This year was no different, and I was a *wee* bit concerned about the "heat" that was predicted---temps in the 60s+ is heat for me. In preparation, I did a bit of heat training in the weeks preceding the race, but basically I adjusted my time goals, ramped up my hydration and electrolyte intake, and embraced what the day and the trail gave me.

I was very excited about this year's PL---I had not been there since 2008, and was looking forward to camping out with Bill, Dan, Gentry, Jack, Marlin, and the rest of the IMTR crew. Bill brought his awesome camper, a tent, chairs and a grill and we were good to go by 4:30 pm on Friday. We sat back and watched folks roll in, shared stories about recent races (Bill had just run Boston on Monday), and sandbagged about our fitness and race goals. We also befriended a local beagle, whom we named Jack. He was a shivering, wet little guy when we rescued him from the hazards of the big bad world; after a night of eating burgers, dogs, and sleeping under the warmth of my towel, he wandered off to find his next meal.

Race morning arrived and, true to form, it was raining. I was secretly happy because I run best in cold rain...but it stopped just before 5:30 am and we were off in dry weather. Darn! I started in the back and found myself totally overdressed by mile 1, so I wasted time on the climb taking off layers. Before I knew it, we were popping out onto the Glenwood Horse Trail, which is also part of Hellgate 100K. Woop! I always get good karma on the Hellgate course and it felt great running in the cool foggy weather. I chatted with Gary, Kerry, and Rebekah as we climbed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and felt good coming down into Sunset Fields to all the cheers and hoots!

Running into Sunset Fields with Rebekah Trittipoe

My race plan was simple: stay slow and easy in the early hours just in case the sun popped out later and baked me. And that's exactly what happened. As I descended the lovely Cornelius Creek Trail, I felt great but needed to hold back for the dreaded Colon Hollow section---the undoing of many PL runners. I passed Jenny here and felt badly for her---she was battling a cold and having trouble breathing--but knew she would tough it out with her great attitude (and she did!). I felt strong on the road section to the White Tail trail, and then it was time to drop the hammer. Here I passed about 20 people on the Colon Hollow climbs as the sun started to show. I kept drinking and popped an S cap each hour, and had no cramping issues at all. Woop!

At one point I came upon three young LU girls and a dude---they were power hiking this hilly section, so I joined them. The guy turned around and I saw it was Andrew Thompson, aka "AT"...and the current speed record holder for the AT! Cool. KEWL! Of course I am a total ultra geek so I chatted up Andrew on his AT experience, but the most-est cool part was talking Barkley, which he finished in 2009. Andrew wrote the most mesmerizing and well-written Barkley report I have ever read the year he failed to finish five loops, in 2005. I remember reading it and thinking...wow...he really went insane at Barkley...wow. If you haven't read it, take the time to do it.

Being a total ultra geek with Andrew Thompson at the finish

After talking dogs, jobs, and the problems with teens today, Andrew and I started to move past the LU chicas and powered into the AS at a good clip. As we climbed up Apple Orchard Falls, I ran as much as I could, but it was time to split off once I started power hiking. Andrew took off up the mountain and I climbed the falls with a big train of people behind me, making me really work it. I love this climb and tried to do it in 50 minutes, but I was feeling the heat and was sweating buckets by the top. I saw my buddy Bob Clouston from the Charlottesville Area Trail Runners and he was ringing the cowbell---thanks, Bob!

Finally at the top of the climb and ready to roll down to the finish!

The last five miles of Promise Land I usually feel crappy---sore quads, low energy, bonky---but this year I felt awesome. I was hoping that my conservative start would give me enough energy to catch up with the folks in my "race zip code"--typically Rick Gray, Marc Griffin, Marlin Yoder, Beth Minnick---but it was too late to catch them on the last downhill. I got to the final AS at 6:24 and hammered the last three miles in under 22 minutes for a 6:46 finish...my slowest PL ever, but feeling the strongest ever at the finish, and first female masters...I'll take it!

The look on my face says it all: feeling great and happy to be done!

The post-run was a celebration of our ultra community. Horton was there to greet and congratulate each finisher, Clark handed over the nice schwag (Patagonia shorts) and I got a nice Patagucci Ipad bag as well for the masters win. The picnic lunch, cooked by Nancy Horton and her friends, was delicious as usual and we had a great time watching the finishers and sharing stories from the trail. I met some new friends in Andrew, Jamie, Cheryl, and Danny, and got a chance to hang out with the usual suspects as well. It was a great day in the mountains.

Promise Land finish with Headforemost Mountain in the background

Results are here.

Keith Knipling's photos on Flickr are here.

Something special happened at the pre-race briefing...Jamie Darling, Horton's secretary, was surprised by her boyfriend with a marriage proposal, orchestrated by Horton, of course. Her report is here...very sweet! Jamie was trailing me in the LUS standing by only two minutes before Promise Land...love got the best of her on race day as she crushed me by 16 minutes! Woop!

Photos by Keith Knipling, Brock Nichols, and Bill Potts

Going BIG at Terrapin 50K

2011-03-27T11:35:00.016-04:00

Going BIG got me Pattagucci schwag. Thanks, Clark!

I coach the girls' J.V. lacrosse team at St. Anne's-Belfield School, and have done so for the past sixteen years. I love teaching and coaching 14-, 15-, and 16-year-olds. They are sponges---eager to improve, and they are still so young in many ways and unaffected by the mixed messages they get from the media about how to dress, how to act, and what to eat in order to be "cool." The girls lacrosse program at STAB has produced numerous D1 and D3 All-Americans, and the J.V. is the first stop for many who want to play at the next level. I am thrilled to be able to help them achieve their dreams by teaching them about attitude, visual imagery, positive self-talk, as well as practice behavior, commitment, and focus. We have a lot of fun learning about the intangibles to lacrosse and life success as I share with them a thing or two about the Barkley (which many of you know is coming up this weekend!!!).

We lost our first game of the season on Friday. The final score was 12-6; it was 7-2 at the half (them) but the girls made the necessary adjustments and in the second half we had a "better" outcome (5-4). As I rode the bus home on Friday night with the team, I was thinking all at once about the game and what went wrong---I really, really hate to lose-- and how I was going to regroup and get ready for my own race at Terrapin 50K the next morning. I was happy to have the distraction of the race so I didn't have the chance to ruminate all day about the loss. Sabrina sent me a note on Facebook that night with the message, "GO BIG" and that was my mantra for the day. Thanks, Sabrina.

For me, going "BIG" doesn't mean being stupid and shooting my wad in the first 15 miles (I like to believe that I am too "experienced"--a.k.a "old" according to Adam Casseday :-)-- to do that at this point in my ultra career). Instead, going BIG means taking calculated risks, being smart, and going into the pain cave at strategic times. Terrapin, with its mix of fast downhill road running, tricky, technical single track and big climbing, is a good race to be strategic. It is also a perfect race for my inov-8 Roclite 268s, which I wore right out of the box. There are many places on the course that allow fast running and others that demand quick, nimble, foot placement and comfort with technical rocky running. The 268s are a perfect shoe for this type of terrain.

I drove down to the start with Eliza, who was coming back this year to defend her course record of 2:06 in the half-marathon from last year and "redeem" herself after missing a punch. (All the runners in the 50K and Half-M are required to punch their bib number with an orienteering punch to prove that they followed the course). Last year Eliza missed the second punch. She told me that she was in tears at the finish, fearing that she would be DQ'd (she is a world class duathlete and they get DQ'd for things like that)...but Clark Zealand, the RD, simply shrugged and told her something like, "it's all good." Awesome.

Eliza, here at the 2010 Terrapin, beating the boys (and the entire field) to the top

With about 10 seconds to go before the start, after greeting friends and getting all my nutrition and gear ready, I stood in the crowd and yelled, "Go Eliza! Watch out fellas, she's going to kick your butts!" Eliza was laughing and waved me off, but I knew she was going to scare them. She was going BIG too and it was fun to share the race with a friend who likes big, hard goals like me. The start gong sounded, and the speedy half-Ms and 50Kers were quickly out of sight as we ascended up the mountain to the first aid station at Camping Gap.

As is my custom, the plan was to stay towards the back and warm up for the first hour by mixing walking and running, and then shake it out a bit on the downhill section to mile 9.4. Last year I hammered this section at a 6:30 mile pace, and paid for it later with cramping and bonking; this year my goal was to run this section at perceived marathon pace effort. My MP is *about* 7:45, and I have been doing a lot of training this spring at MP and Half-M pace. I ended up running it at 6:58 pace, but felt totally comfortable and in control.

The next section took us on the Hellgate 100K course. Longtime readers of this blog know how much I LOVE that race. It feels like home to me, and as soon as I got on the trail, I yelled, "Helloooo Hellgate!" Marlin Yoder was running just ahead and I heard him laugh. I let loose a bit on the single track, visualizing prior Hellgate runs and taking in all the good karma that I was feeling. It was here that I passed three women, including my buddy Jen Nichols who was running really well. We started my favorite climb back up to Camping Gap and Marlin was my rabbit. He kept a great pace just ahead and we did a good mix of power walking and running. I got into Camping Gap in 2:52, and Horton yelled, "Second woman! First old, old lady!" and with that news, I headed down the trail towards the Promise Land 50K course, feeling really good and energized. Thanks, Horty!

The loop in the Promise Land section has been a tough place for me in prior Terrapins. We climb to the highest point in the course, and at three hours into the race, it is a good test of the morning's nutrition and hydration plan. I had been alternating between a bottle of Perpetuem and my Hammergel flask all morning and was feeling really strong. In fact, I can't remember ever feeling this good on this section. I ran it in 57 minutes, perhaps a bit too fast, but I was telling myself that at this point in the race, it was time to GO BIG or GO HOME. It was time for a gamble, a little risk taking, to try to make some time on the first woman and separate from the women behind me.

I loved coming back to Camping Gap for the third time because I got to see my friends coming towards me. There was a solid VHTRC contingent out there: Bill Turrentine, Farouk Elkassad, Bob and Kari Anderson, Caroline Williams, Bob Coyne, and Linda Wack to name just a few. Everyone was so positive and upbeat, and their cheers gave me a new gear. I felt awesome. I knew the hardest section was coming up and was grateful for all the good vibes. As I left Camping Gap and started the steep, steep climb up Terrapin Mountain, I reminded myself that it was here last year where my race fell apart. I had neglected to take in enough salt and began cramping as soon as I hit the steep rock climb. However, I was prepared this year with "S" caps and had been taking one per hour. I also was repeating my favorite mantra to myself, "Smooth and Relaxed" all the way up the climb and this really helped me stay calm and keep the heart rate down.

Terrapin Mountain overlook---photo by Clark Zealand

After punching my bib at the Terrapin and Fat Man's Misery overlooks, it was time to hammer the sweet, sweet single track down the Rock Garden. The Rock Garden is Terrapin's answer to Hellgate's Devil Trail. It has the worst footing and is the most steep, technical section of any ultra south of the Massanuttens. It only takes about ten minutes to cover but loose, baby-head sized rocks perched precariously on a 15% grade slope tests the ankles and beats the daylights out of the quads, and is a challenge for even the experienced technical runner. Cramping becomes magnified and time put in the in the bank starts to slip away. I was very happy to get out of this section unscathed!

Finally, it was time to check into the last aid station and head for the finish. I got to the station in my fastest split ever, but somehow managed to lose time on the wonderful, beautiful, and totally runnable Terrapin Mountain ridge trail. How did that happen? I wasn't feeling bonky, just tired and ready to be done. Thank goodness Rick Gray caught up to me and pulled me along in his train. We hit the final road descent at 5:30, and I asked the guys, "help me break 5:45". Wow! Rick became a man on a mission, hammering down the road and yelling back at me, "C'mon Sophie! We're going to do this!" I kept telling myself all my usual standby mantras, "Smooth and Calm. Dig Deep. Quick and Light." The road flattened and the finish was in sight. Woop! I love the way Clark and Horton's races always end with a downhill finish.

Rick hit the tape at 5:43 and I was there a minute later---35 seconds off my best time at Terrapin, but feeling better than I ever have at the end of this race, under 5:45 and second female. What a perfect day! I am not sure I could have run a faster or smarter race, so I am going to bank this one and come back to it often when I need a reminder.

Close behind me came a stream of VHTRC, IMTR, and Lynchburg friends...Mike Stadnisky, Marc Griffin, Jack Broaddus, Beth Minnick, Jen, Martha Wright, Kerry Owens, Doug Sullivan, Rebekah Trittipoe, and David Snipes. Horton was at his very best announcing each and every finisher, and the post-race BBQ was really yummy. We hung out at the finish comparing race stories and cheering for our gang who seemed to win most of the age group and overall awards! Many thanks to Clark, Horton, and all the fabulous volunteers for another terrific Terrapin. See you at Promise Land!

Just a few of the many VHTRCers who finished Terrapin Mountain 50K: Marc Griffin, David Horton, Mike Stadnisky, David Frazier, Jack Broaddus, Martha Wright, me, Marlin Yoder and David Snipes---photo by Robin Grossman

Postscript: Eliza ended up going big and breaking her own course record in 2:01, first female and fifth overall...and guess what mantras my lax team will hear at practice this week as we prepare to take on three games in five days?

The Charlottesville Runner

2011-03-14T17:29:00.004-04:00

My friend Steven Kozusko, a member of Charlottesville's Boston Marathon training group (aka "Boston Group"), started writing a blog a few weeks ago profiling local runners who were training for Boston (as well as other endurance athletes) and their Charlottesville lifestyle. The blog, "The Charlottesville Runner" does a great job of introducing local and cyber readers with area endurance runners: who we are, why we live in Charlottesville, what we love about our little town, where we train and, most importantly, where we eat and drink coffee after we train.

It's a cool concept and I am honored to be the focus of The Charlottesville Runner this week! Thank you, Steven!

Balance

2011-03-08T08:36:00.009-05:00

R2R2R 2005

Ba-lance: noun. "the power or ability to decide an outcome by throwing one's strength, influence, support, or the like, to one side or the other."

I've been thinking a lot lately about how ultrarunning forces me to strive for and keep balance in my life. After nine years of running these crazy fun long distances, I *think* I have found a good balance between home life, work life, and training, but every year brings different challenges. Let's face it---the sport itself is so extreme that talking about "balance" in ultrarunning is an oxymoron. But recently I have gotten a few requests from my blog readers and other runners to share what I have learned about how to maintain balance in my running life, and I am happy to oblige. I learn so much from others' experiences... so I hope this post can be helpful too.

Here's my list, in no particular order, on achieving a healthy balance with running and life:

1. "It has to be organic" My husband coined this phrase when he was talking about his mountain biking training, and it also applies perfectly to ultra training and racing. It has to fit the family schedule, the kids schedule, and the work schedule. If a race is crammed into the space between two or all three, I feel stressed and rushed, and unable to enjoy the moment. For example, I no longer race in April or May (with the exception of Promise Land this year---see below). I have too much going on with the kid's lacrosse seasons, the team that I coach, and work to have any kind of decent, competitive race in those months. It took me a few years and a few DNF's to figure this out, but now it's a no brainer. But it's not just in the springtime: throughout the year, family always comes first.

2. "But if it works, go for it"...another gem from my hubby. Promise Land 50K falls on Easter weekend this year which means no work or lacrosse games Friday night or Saturday...so I am going for it this year. And because I can run PL, I am also able to sign up for the Lynchburg Ultra Series (LUS) which I have never been able to do because of the spring schedule. Woop!

3. Be flexible...probably the greatest lesson of running ultras, learning to be flexible was a tough lesson for this (former) control freak, but one I am happy to embrace now. To me, being flexible means being ready to run in the early a.m. before sunrise or in the late afternoon after practice... being willing to cut a run short when a twinge flares up, or willing to extend the miles when the trail beckons and I feel great...and being consistent and committed about cross training in the gym and in the pool to give my legs a break. I have a few friends who are on the injured reserve list right now, and I feel for them. Being injured stinks but it can also be a huge wake up call. As I have gotten closer to 50, I have figured out that to avoid injury and burn-out, I need at least 1-2 days off per week, at least 2-3 days of pool running and strength training, and that my recovery runs need to be very easy and all on trail.

4. Above all else, SLEEP.. I love to sleep. I especially love to nap. As my kids have gotten older, I have made sure I get at least 8 hours of sleep during the week and at least that, with afternoon naps, on the weekends. I also avoid running too many days at 5:30 am and run in the daylight whenever work and kid schedules permit. Sleep is essential to my recovery and to successful racing. This means I have to run alone a lot, but as I have gotten more sleep, I have also gotten faster. Duh.

Catching up on my sleep at MMT, 2005

5. Eat a lot, and often. I am not a vegan, vegetarian, or committed to a trendy diet. Since I teach health and wellness at my school, I stay fairly current with nutrition trends and fads and what I know is this: to be able to train consistently at 50-70 miles per week and stay balanced emotionally and physically, healthy eating is a must. That means a good dose of plain yogurt, berries and whole grains for breakfast, fruit and protein mid-morning, a healthy, colorful salad and soup for lunch, dark chocolate or decaf skim Mocha from Greenberry's mid-day, then a huge dinner with wine and dessert at home. Or this could mean Margaritas, Red Hot Blues and the Santa Fe Enchilada from Continental Divide, or a sweet potato, Caesar salad and the entire Blooming Onion from Outback the night before Catawba...it doesn't matter. There is delicious food out there. We need to eat it.

6. It takes courage to say no. In the early years of my love affair with ultras, I said "yes" to every run invitation. 35 miles on the Massanutten Trail in late February beginning at 6:00pm and finishing at 8:00am? Sure. 71 miles of the Ring on the Massanutten Trail with very little training and experience? Of course! A midnight run on the (you guessed it) Massanutten Trail in the pouring rain for four hours? Wouldn't miss it! I agreed to all those runs due to a combo of peer pressure, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), and naivete. As a result, I got burned out, injured, and almost died of hypothermia...and now I absolutely refuse to run on the Massanutten Trail except for once a year. The lesson? Don't be stupid. And see # 7...

7. Run what you love. This was perhaps the best advice I ever got. Achieving balance means being tuned into one's body, mind and spirit. I love to run long distances in the mountains on trails with good friends and beautiful views. Very simple. So, I avoid trails that don't feed my bliss, and I avoid running with negative people. When people say to me, "you HAVE to run _________ race", if it doesn't fit my definition above, I politely decline. Instead, I run races and in places where the trails are fun and fast and the people are full of positive energy. Among my favorites: Highland Sky and the WVMTR crew, Catawba, Grindstone, Western States, R2R2R, Hellgate, and any VHTRC event. Life is too short. Run what you love.

Western States 100, 2006

Back to Holiday Lake 50K...and paying it forward

2011-02-13T13:02:00.013-05:00

David Horton gets very excited at his pre-race talks, especially at Holiday Lake 50K. The race is made up of about 75% new-to-ultras entrants, and he loves to celebrate the excitement that we all felt the night before we ran our first ultra. Remember that feeling? Butterflies, nerves, fitful sleep, and the questions: What do I wear? How do I get my nutrition right? What if I'm last?

David Horton gave a very helpful talk to the first-timers

At the pre-race dinner, Horty was in rare form. Excited, happy, sometimes flip but full of wisdom gleaned from his years on the trails, he talked about his own failures--and warned that "everyone makes mistakes, and you will tomorrow." Afterward, he held a meeting just for newbies, and he did a great job of answering questions, reassuring those who were anxious (pretty much everyone), and erasing doubts. I wish he had held this meeting the night before my first ultra, Holiday Lake 2002. If he had, I would have walked more uphills, paced myself more carefully, and eaten more!

Mark and Harry listen as Horty gives his talk to the newbies. Mark is thinking, "this guy can't be serious...!"

My friends from Charlottesville, Harry Landers and Mark Hampton, were running their first ultra at Holiday Lake. Experienced marathoners, they are in the midst of their Boston training but were curious about trail ultras, so with some tweaking of their Boston training plan (and a course preview run two weeks ago), they arrived at HL ready to experience what ultra life is all about. Horton certainly gave them plenty to think about: "I've pee'd blood in ultras and had my arms swell as big as sausages...but this 'shouldn't' happen to you!" HA!

Race day we had perfect weather: 20s at the start, deep blue winter sky with bright sunshine all day and 40s at the finish. The "new" course, changed in 2009 with more trail and measured out as 33 miles, was dry, fast, and had no snow in sight. Horton predicted records would fall, and he was right. Many PRs for the 50K+ distance were set, and 96% percent of the runners finished. Holiday Lake is truly a perfect first ultra--where else can a newbie get personal advice from one of the sport's great legends and race directors, as well as excellent aid stations, course markings, and a runnable, beautiful trail?

Along a new section of trail

My race plan was to take the first, 16.5 mile loop at an "easy" 50K pace, which is about 10-minute mile pace for me. I started out with Jen Nichols, and we ran a bit with Kerry Owens, Marlin Yoder, Jen Davis before settling into our own comfortable rhythms. At one point I was greeted along the trail by Carter, who introduced himself as a reader of this blog and could not have been nicer...hope you had a great race, Carter! I was happy to pace off of Marlin until we hit the lake trail, where he waved me on. Here we saw the front runners starting their second loop, and they were hammering. Inov-8 teammate and friend Sabrina Moran was in second for the women in hot pursuit of Jennie Belt, and I was in tenth place for the women.

Bill Potts was in charge of the chaos that was the turn around, and he did a great job of getting the 300+ runners in and out quickly.

Potts paying it forward at the turn-around

I was hoping to run a 2:35ish second loop to match loop one's split and to see if I could hold on to a 5:15 finish time. This would be a huge PR on any Holiday Lake course for me, as my best time of 5:17 was run in 2002 and I ran a bunch of 5:20s, :30s and :40s over the next few years. I ate about 750 calories per loop which made a huge difference in my pacing, and I never had a bad patch, except in the last few miles...but I forced myself to eat two Clif Bloks every 10 minutes and this worked like a charm to get my mojo back. I hammered the last half mile of road with no cramping and finished at 5:14:02, a PR by three minutes! The icing was the hug I got from Horton as he shouted, "first old woman!!" which meant I won the Masters age group, which is always a tough thing to do in a race with more than 80 women.

Horton and me at the finish

Many celebrations took place at the finish line, including Sabrina's second place female, and PRs by Martha Wright (first in over-50) and Jen Pharr Davis, who is preparing for her assault on the AT speed record this summer.

Jen, Sabrina, Horty, Martha and me

The best moment, though, was when Mark and Harry ran in together in 5:58, looking like they had only run 10 miles, and Horton yelled, "Mark Hampton and Harry Landers, First Ultra!" Loved that.

Harry, Horton, and Mark at the finish

When Mark and Harry signed up for Holiday Lake a few months ago, I warned them, quite seriously, that their lives would never be the same when they finished. Ultras have a way of getting under our skin whether we like it or not. Case in point: in 2002, as I lay on the wooden bench at the Holiday Lake finish line and moaned "never again!" little did I know what life-changing adventures and friendships were in store for me. Holiday Lake opened up a door to a quirky, obscure sport that I love so much, and especially love to share with others.

Thank you, David, and all the Holiday Lake volunteers, who make it possible for that door to be opened, year after year!

**photos courtesy of Brock Nichols and Mark Hampton

New Year, New Trails, New Goals

2011-01-02T07:58:00.019-05:00

2010 brought celebrations of life...

and reminders of nature's incredible beauty...

incredible feats of endurance and perseverance...

...shared with the next generation

anaerobic suffering...

...and long runs in the mountains

new trails, adventures, and challenges to explore with my family...

...and with new friends

A few goals I have for 2011:

Welcome change
Seek out adventure
Take a chance at failure

"Because we are never so alive as when we put it on the line." --Lazarus Lake

December rituals

2010-12-21T20:23:00.003-05:00

I love December. The cold weather means great running weather for me, and the anticipation and preparation that comes with Christmas, and spending time with my family, make me feel at peace regardless of how tough a year it has been. My favorite day, other than Christmas, is the second Saturday in December, when I join my good friends for 66.6 miles in the Jefferson National Forest...otherwise known as Hellgate 100K. It is a race that has gotten under my skin, and one that I have written about for the past five years. This year, I chose to watch from the sidelines and crew and support my friend Stephanie as she went for her first Hellgate finish.

I love Stephanie's sharp wit, sense of humor, and the fact that she is a devoted mom to two boys, trying to balance the ultra life with everything else. She is also a very talented ultrarunner, and it was a privilege to watch her hammer the last three miles of the 66.6 mile course, attempting to break 17 hours, only to miss it by 41 seconds...all with her trademark smile on her face. Thanks, Steph, for letting me tag along on your Hellgate journey!

Here are two excellent and entertaining reports from the women's winner, Helen Lavin and fourth place female, and 8-time Hellgate finisher, Rebekah Trittipoe.

Another December ritual is the Winter Solstice Trail Run, now in its fifth year. It is held on the third Saturday of December, and when it was canceled last year due to blizzard conditions, I really missed it. The Solstice Run, as Bill and I call it, started with as just a few friends running the trails around UVA and has grown into a 45+ person trail run on the Rivanna Trail. Most of the runners are road aficionados, and the Solstice Run is the only time all year when they run on the trail; but for others, the Solstice Run is on their running bucket list, as they attempt (trail conditions and course closures depending) to run the entire 21-mile Rivanna Trail loop that encircles our city.

This year we had perfect Winter Solstice conditions: 2 inches of fluffy snow, cold temps, and 12 runners who finished the loop! It was a wonderful celebration of our local running community. Jen Nichols came all the way from Abingdon to join us, and she wrote a great review of the run here. Thanks, Jen! Q's photos of the run are here.

Finally, it wouldn't be December without my first run in the snow with Jack. Being a smart Aussie, he knows that Mom loves to run in the snow, so when he sees those first flakes start to fall, he gets very excited. We ran in the gorgeous snow of December 17 and loved every minute. The clear skies, cold air, bright snow...bliss.

Simple rituals tell our story...what are yours?

There's nothing like nothing to lose!

2010-12-05T17:30:00.015-05:00

Cruising along Sugar Hollow, trying to keep it together (this and all photos by Andrew Zapanta)

Last December, I volunteered at the Three Bridges Marathon, a new local marathon held in White Hall, Virginia at the base of the Shenandoah National Park (SNP). The course is USATF-certified and a Boston qualifier, perfect for those marathoners seeking a late fall race and a BQ on a *relatively* flat course. It is a 6-mile loop done 4 times with a 2 mile spur at the start, on a road that parallels the Moormans River and crosses three bridges as it winds through Sugar Hollow.

Low-key and a labor of love for the folks at Ragged Mountain Running Shop, 3B benefits Meals on Wheels and the Ragged Mountain Racing Team, a post-collegiate Olympic training and racing team coached by my friend Mark Lorenzoni. The ultra-like vibe, the beautiful course, and curiosity about how I would fare 9 years removed from my marathon PR (3:28, set in 2001 in Richmond), sold me once I decided to take a break from my usual December challenge, the Hellgate 100K. I waited until I felt recovered--somewhat--from Masochist, and filled out the last entry before it closed two weeks ago!

A wise man once said, "the hardest race distances are 100 miles and the marathon." No kidding. There is a reason I had not run a road marathon since 2002: pain and suffering. I finished my first marathon at Marine Corps in 1990 in 3:40 after a long day struggling with ITBS. After taking about ten years off of racing to have children, I ran my PR at Richmond in 2001 and attempted to top that in 2002 at Marathon in the Parks, but fell short with a 3:32. In 2002 I also ran my first trail ultra, and after experiencing the beauty of aerobic pacing on trails, racing another road marathon didn't make sense. It took me 8 years to find one that did.

My top-10 reasons to love the Three Bridges Marathon:

10. The setting. Beautiful Moormans River, the SNP looming above, the loop course for cheering others...and only 20 minutes from my house.

9. The vibe. With 70+ half-marathoners sharing the course, it was awesome to see runners back and forth and give and take the good kharma.

7. The schwag. At the finish, I was handed a schwag bag with a homemade chocolate chip cookie, a coupon for deals at RMRS, a RMRS water bottle, and Three Bridges cotton gloves. The winners got a 100.00 gift certificate to dinner at the Clifton Inn (sweet!).

6. The entry fee. My 40.00 entry went to Meals on Wheels and supported the young bucks on the Ragged Mountain Racing Team. For an additional 15.00, I could have gotten a great looking adidas technical T.

5. The vibe...and the pacers! Did I mention the vibe? At 3B, one can have a pacer jump in at any time. I had pacers during loop 3 (Rick Kwiatkowsi) and loop 4 (Quatro and Erin Boyles) who blocked the horrendous head wind we encountered every 6 miles heading west. During the last 4 miles, Q and Eric Magrum, my PT who has kept me healthy for 8 years of ultrarunning, kept me in good spirits when my spirits bonked. Thanks, guys!

Quatro handing out water at the AS

4. The aid stations and support. Every 2 miles there was a rowdy group offering water, Gatorade, and assorted soup and yummies. Ultra celebs Bill Gentry, Quatro Hubbard, and Bill Potts manned the turn-around point on the east end and I was able to swap out bottles and gels. Where else can one have the best PT in Virginia cruise up and down the course on his mountain bike looking to help injured or cramping runners?

Eric Magrum, PT extraordinaire

3. The music. It wasn't the Rock N' Roll Marathon (thankfully...) but it was just as fun to hear songs we had requested that had been burned into a race-day CD, playing at each AS. I heard my song "Two Step" by Dave at least twice. Nice.

2. The distance. I have HUGE respect for my friends who are devoted to their marathon training. The marathon distance is a great challenge, and running 11:30 mile pace for 50+ miles for 9+ hours at Mountain Masochist was a lot easier than 7:45 mile pace for 3.5 hours!

1. Speaking of my marathon peeps...the absolute BEST thing about Three Bridges is, of course, the people behind the scenes who make it happen. From course measurement, parking logistics, aid stations, the fabulous finish line brunch (thank you Mike Gaffney!), the cheers and energy...this race has fabulous support. Thank you volunteers!

Bill Potts, Aid Station Chief

Bill Gentry, Aid Station Party Guy

As for my race...I was not sure what to expect four weeks after running Masochist, but I figured I had nothing to lose. Two weeks ago I ran a solid track workout with AJW coaching me (in person!), and felt great. Andy told me that, given my track times, I could run a fast race, but my goals were varied: first and foremost, I wanted to finish without any injury or issues. I also wanted to run close to 3:28 and see what my 47-year-old body could do with eight years of ultra training effect.

I was on pace for 3:28 after a conservative first half (1:44), but the wheels started falling off on the fourth loop as I was climbing into the headwind and losing energy. Q and Erin did their best to block the wind, but when Eric cruised by on his mountain bike, we started chatting about ultras, families, and friends and I realized I was cruising along at 8:50 pace...and liking it. So much for racing...I managed to hold on for a 3:37 finish time and first place female. It was so much fun to break the tape! Yay!

However, I was NOT proud when I discovered at the end that my full Hammergel flask was only 50% consumed...which meant I had only taken in 470 calories (counting 270 from my bottle of PERP) for the entire 3.5 hours. DUH. No wonder I felt like crap those last six miles. Another lesson learned: Nutrition is everything!

Many thanks to all the wonderful folks at Ragged Mountain Running Shop for dreaming up this fabulous race. We are so blessed to be able to live in a town where the running community is so strong, vibrant, and supportive. I was totally humbled by the marathon distance and honored to be part of such a fine event...now I will go quietly back into the woods and mountains, where I belong!

"It's worth it all learning at last
The future begins with the past
Step out of the shadow it casts
And let the sun shine on your shoes
Kick 'em off in the rain if you choose
There's nothing like nothing to lose

We traveled so far
We traveled so far to be here"

MCC, from The Age of Miracles

"The mountains shall bring peace to the people" -- Psalm 72:3

2010-11-08T17:53:00.024-05:00

This year's Mountain Masochist 50 was intensely emotional and spiritual for me, as well as for many of Mike Broderick's friends in the VHTRC and ultrarunning family. Early Friday morning, the day before the race, Mike passed away with his wife Jill and sister Sue at his side. We were not expecting this---many of Mike's friends had visited him in the hospital just days before, and he was doing well despite dealing with pain. This was too swift, too sudden. I had been planning to run MMTR in honor of Mike, not in memory of Mike.

At the finish (photo by Rusty Speidel)

Keith Knipling graciously agreed to stand before the crowd assembled at the pre-race meal on Friday night to share the sad news and talk a bit about Mike and what he meant to us. Mike had finished three MMTRs, as well as Western States this past June in 26:53, and was a beloved marathon coach with the Montgomery County Road Runners Experienced Marathon training group. The ultra and road running community had come together to raise over $35,000 in his name for lung cancer research, and Mike was particularly pleased about this. In closing his comments, Keith said, "As you climb up Buck Mountain tomorrow, perhaps you may feel Mike giving you a push from behind..."

It was comforting to be with so many good friends that night. We were able to hug, cry, and talk about Mike surrounded by those who knew him well, those who had run, paced, crewed, and cheered for him. I was really looking forward to spending the entire day out in the mountains to reflect and remember. When my friend Meredith asked me, "Are you nervous about the race?" I immediately responded, "No, not at all." Masochist was my goal race of the year, the one I had trained for since July, yet I was oddly serene and peaceful as I laid out my clothes and my number. I knew what my race plan was, both literally (break 9:34, my PR for this course), and spiritually (run strong, fast, and free), and they were one and the same.

Race morning I had the luxury of being driven to the start by my super crew, Quatro Hubbard. Q knew what my time goals were for the day and was willing to be my whipping boy as I came in and out of each aid station without stopping. I had given him clear instructions on when he should expect me, what he should offer me in terms of fuel, clothes, or motivation, and he nailed it. I wasn't paying any attention to where the other women were and instead I focused on my perceived effort (especially on the uphills) and my breathing. Howard Nippert had coached me for the past four months, and he did a great job of working on my speed and turnover, and getting me to the start line fresh and rested. As a result, I found myself running almost everything except the steepest climbs, and my heart rate was steady all day long. I have to admit that I was not sure how I would fare under Howard's "Less (mileage per week) is More" approach...but it obviously paid off as I felt awesome all day!

Howard prepared me very well, but Mike was my coach on race day. I thought about him every time I passed a place where I had crewed for him in 2004--the climb up to Parkway Gate, at Long Mountain Wayside, and in the Loop (where I ran against traffic to meet him halfway). Every time I got emotional, I would trip on a rock, and it became clear that this was Mike's sign for me to get a grip and race. When I tried to play my newly charged iPod, it wouldn't work, and this meant that I needed to run this race fully present and mindful of what I set out to do. Bill Gentry said to me the night before, "All will be revealed...". I just needed to pay attention.

(Buck Mountain, Mountain Masochist 50, 2003--photo by Mike Broderick)

It was at about mile 29, during the climb up Buck Mountain, when I started to hear the music. The trail weaves in and out of hollows, and at first the notes were faint and barely there...and then all of a sudden, after a turn, they were clear as day. The music was the theme from "Rocky" and has been played at MMTR every year for the past 20 years in this exact same spot. As we climbed up the mountain, we were greeted with this inspirational tune and a succession of signs with biblical scripture written on them. Mike took a picture of one (above) when he was running MMTR in 2003. Mike had his pick of signs to photograph (there are at least five or six), but he chose to photograph this one. And now, it makes perfect sense why.

As the day progressed I found myself quite content to run as I felt, and I was on PR time. At the last aid station, four miles from the finish, I knew I would need to work it to get sub-9:24. Donna Utakis and I had been leap-frogging for the last 20 miles and this was awesome! Donna always makes me run an honest race, and I took her presence on the trail as yet another sign that Mike was there. (When Mike paced me at my first 100, the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100, I was trying to catch Donna, but Mike just kept telling me, "Run your own race. Let it come to you").

Finishing Masochist, 2010 (photo by Henry Hobbs)

As we neared the finish line, Donna slowed to a walk and I took a look at my watch. It read 9:34:00. Donna encouraged me to go for it, so I ran hard for the last few yards. In heeding Mike's good advice, I had let the race come to me, and I felt fast, strong, and free...but mostly, I felt at peace. Mike and I had finished our 54-mile journey through the mountains together, and it was time to let his spirit move on.

Farewell, dear friend. I will miss you.

Mike Broderick on the Wild Oak Trail, 2004

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run,
and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31

Mountain Masochist 50--a run for Mike

2010-11-04T20:58:00.007-04:00

with Mike at mile 75, MMT100, 2005

** Please see the comments section for an update on this post**

Saturday will be my fourth Mountain Masochist 50 Mile Trail Race (MMTR), and without a doubt, it will be the most emotional. I am dedicating my race to my good friend and fellow Wahoo, Mike Broderick, who is fighting stage 4 lung cancer. Mike is a fellow VHTRC member and a popular marathon coach with the Montgomery County Experienced Marathon Training Program. Hundreds of his friends have contributed over $34,000 in Mikes' name to Team LeBrecque, a New York Marathon team raising funds and awareness for lung cancer.

The fact that Mike is so critically ill at all is unfathomable to me. Just four months ago, he finished Western States 100 in 26:53 in very hot conditions, looking and feeling great. Three months later, he was diagnosed with cancer. I am still in shock. I walk around all day going about my work, my training, and spending time with my family, but there is a cloud over my head that I can't shake. This is a guy who swears by a healthy lifestyle, helps others train for marathons and reach their goals so selflessly, and now he is fighting for his life. It just sucks.

Mike was the reason I finished my first 100, the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 (MMT) in 2005. He was my coach, helped crew, and he paced me for the last 30 miles. As I wrote in my last post, he witnessed the great Sleepy/Sophie meltdown and got me running (er, death marching) to the finish line. I will never forget his patience, good humor, and "can do" attitude.

The Meltdown, Mile 85

Mike and I met while on a training run on the Wild Oak Trail. He was training for Wasatch, and I was a newbie in the VHTRC. By the end of the 26 mile loop, we had discovered we were fellow University of Virginia alums and lovers of great acoustic music. (Mike is a Dead Head, and I am not, but we still like a lot of the same music, and he will always let me know when he and his wife Jill are coming to Charlottesville for a Hurricane Party with members of Johnny Sportcoat). He offered to help me prepare and pace me for MMT not too long after, and that was that. As it so often happens in ultrarunning, it took one long run and we were friends for life.

I wish Mike could be out there with me on those MMTR trails on Saturday. He has finished this race at least three times, and he hates The Loop as much as I do. When I am out there swearing at the rocks--and at this awful thing called cancer-- I will swear a little louder and harder for Mike. And I will say a prayer, too.

Team Wahoo (Jeff Wilbur, me, Quatro Hubbard, Laura DeWald and Mike at Bull Run Run 50, 2005)

Ode to training partners...and dear friends

2010-10-14T08:35:00.015-04:00

Yesterday at 5:00 am it was dark, cold, and pouring rain. There was thunder and lightning in the area and I had only three hours of sleep. I wanted desperately to sleep in and blow off my easy 8-mile recovery run, but I didn't dare.

The reason?

My longtime training partner, Bill Potts, would have given me the silent treatment for the next six months. So I dragged myself out of bed, into the car and out into the rain. One cold, wet, lightning-adrenaline-surged hour later, we were safely back at the car and thankful to be done. Thank goodness for loyal training partners!

What I enjoy most about being an ultrarunner---more than the trails, the race experiences, and the adventures-- are the people. Ultrarunners, it seems, are refugees from other parts of the endurance world, folks who have battle scars from Ironman and road marathons...and inner scars from real life. They are a fascinating, quirky bunch. All are drawn to the sport by the welcoming, "all-comers" vibe and the warm embrace that old timers give newbies. I look forward to every race because I know I will come home not only with a wonderful race memory, but also with a deepened connection to someone I will have encountered along the trail that day.

Lately I have been thinking about how important these connections, and these people, have become in my life. When I need company on the trail, one is usually able to join me. When I need someone to listen to me, they listen and support. When I need to escape the stress of the work day, they meet me at O'dark thirty on an AT trail head. When I need a friend with no questions asked, I have one...or many. When I melt down, they comfort me. And when I need a kick in the pants, they oblige. Here are a just a few training pals who have made a difference in my ultra life...

Bill Potts: West Virginia Mountain Trail Runner and UVA Hospital Social Worker, he kicks my butt each week on our famous "Bread and Butter" tempo run. Bill and I have been running together since 2004, and we have been training for Masochist during this training cycle. He loves hanging out at Greenberry's after a run almost as much as I do, and when he is not running or helping others deal with crises, he is usually in West Virginia at Dan Lehmann's house.

Bill recovers after Highland Sky 40, 2007

Bill Gentry: Another West Virginia Good Ole Boy, Gentry is a legend in the ultra world. We met at Masochist in 2003, which was my first 50 miler. I was struck by his friendly, low-key attitude and by race's end, we were tight. Gentry works at JMU and is a phenomenal writer.

Gentry celebrates his 100th ultra at Catherine's Fat Ass 50K, 2010

Eliza O'Connell: Because she is a mom of three young girls and a world-class duathlete, our schedules rarely mesh...but when they do, I know I will get my money's worth of a run. In fact, I have to taper before I run with Eliza. She runs UP everything (she almost beat the field at the Terrapin Half-M last March) and I can always count on needing a huge nap after we run together. She wrote the cute note (at the top of post) and left it on my car after she left me in the dust last weekend. One day she'll run an ultra and chick all the men. Count on it.

Eliza and me at Blackrock on the AT, 2010

Hallie Hegemeier: Hallie is also a mom of three and has a fierce passion for ultras. She finished her first "official" ultra at Terrapin Mountain 50K last March, and has been coming back from a foot injury all summer...but she is low-key, tough, and willing to try any trail. Once she is healthy we will be exploring some nifty trails and I am willing to bet that she will be at Highland Sky next June...

Hallie rocking down the Heartstone Ridge trail at MMB, 2009

Quatro Hubbard: What more can I say about Q-Dog? He is a loyal member of the VHTRC and has been a steady training partner to many, including me, for the past 8 years. Q will gladly offer to crew, pace, or run with you if you ask, to the detriment of his own training schedule. He loves being in the mountains and he loves helping other runners have fun adventures. Q convinced me to run MMT as my first 100, and while I rarely take him seriously, I am glad I did back then.

Q celebrating his second MMT 100 finish, 2009

Marlin Yoder: Marlin has been a steady training buddy this summer and fall, and since he is faster than me, I always get an excellent workout in. If I PR at Masochist this year, I will have Marlin to thank! I had a blast pacing him at MMT in 2009, and he returned the favor by being my most excellent crew chief at Grindstone 100 in 2009.

Marlin and me at the MMT 100 finish line, 2009

Mike Broderick: Mike and I met on the Wild Oak Trail in 2004 when he was training for Wasatch. We clicked immediately after realizing we shared a love for great music and The University of Virginia. Mike agreed to coach and pace me for my first 100 at MMT in 2005, where he endured one of the greatest Sophie meltdowns in history with grace and humor. Right now Mike is enduring his greatest challenge in his fight against cancer, one that he assured me "will not result in a DNF". I have no doubt that this strong, optimistic, and courageous man will come out on top.

(Dave Quivey, me, Mike, and Jill Quivey: 'Team Sophie" at MMT 100, 2005)

Thank you, dear friends, for your loyal support and unwavering cheerleading throughout the miles...and I pray our trails and paths cross many times in the years ahead.

With a little help from my friends...and the weather

2010-09-14T09:14:00.021-04:00

Last Saturday I ran the 18th annual VHTRC Women's Trail Half Marathon in Clifton, VA. Regular readers of my blog know that I went into the race wondering if I still had the leg speed to break 2:00 on a course where my PR (set in 2006) was 1:56:45. I also went into the race prepared to suffer, because that's what you do in the Women's Half.(the cool pic of me above is courtesy of Bobby Gill)

This event was not an ultra, but you would not know it by looking around. The course shared miles 26-39 of the famous Bull Run Run 50, also put on by the VHTRC. It was dry, rooty, and eroded after months of little rain and lots of horse traffic, and it had a few long climbs and descents that always require power-hiking at BRR. But at the WHM, you had to run them...it's only a half marathon, after all! The VHTRC volunteers at the aid stations were basically a "who's who" of the east coast ultrarunning community: Tom Corris, John Hayward, Keith Moore, Ed Demoney, Joe Clapper, Michele Harmon, Vicki Kendall, Jack Kurisky and James Moore, among others too numerous to mention. These folks have run many of the hardest 100 milers---from Hardrock to Massanutten to Badwater-- and their experience was on display every time I came through an aid station. My favorite moment was watching Jack Kurisky sprint toward me at the final aid station asking if he could fill up my bottle, treating me like a total rock star, knowing I was racing the clock...but I had to blow by him with a quick, "no, thanks!" as the clock was ticking! Thanks anyway, Jack!

But, I am getting ahead of myself. Back to the start. I went into the race hoping for cool weather and was not disappointed. It was so chilly at the start that I was wearing a fleece coat just before the gun went off (that's me with Anstr Davidson on the right). The men of the VHTRC actually start the race by singing "Happy Trails" to us, and then we are off! I started out running with former WHM winner Heather Schaffer, as well as Jen "Ironman" Ragone and Ragan Petrie. I knew Heather, who holds the Catoctin 50K CR, would most likely crush the course, and I was right. She cruised to a comfortable two minute win over the next woman, after starting slow with us and picking her way through the pack. Jen, despite her sandbagging and comments about how much she hates suffering on this course, ran for fifth and Ragan paced herself well for ninth. I was happy to tuck in behind Ragan as I know she would start out easy, and I tried to stay in contact with her during the race. When I saw Tom Corris as I was coming out of the Do Loop, he commented that I was looking good and moving well---which is hardly ever the case when one comes out of the Do Loop--and this was my first inkling that I had a potential PR day ahead of me.

However, you would never know by looking at the race photos that I was having a good day. Aaron Schwartzbard took these pics of (in order, l-r) Ragan, Heather and me...which runner looks like she is suffering the most?

Despite the look on my face, I was actually pleased that I was feeling good. But I kept thinking, "hmmm...this is not good. If I feel this good in this race, it must mean that I'm not working hard enough." Sheesh. So I kept at it and focused on high turnover, efficient form, low heart rate and eating and drinking. At the last aid station I knew I was within reach of breaking my PR, and I tried to run up the big hills as much as I could. The women coming towards me were unbelievably supportive, positive, and friendly, and I tried to use their positive vibe to pull me along. As I neared the finish I glanced at my watch and saw that it was not going to happen...but I came damn close. Eleven seconds off for a 1:56:56, 11th overall and first in 45-49!

Needless to say, I am very excited that I can still work it at 47 like I used to at 43, and after reading all the supportive comments from you guys and gals out there (you know who you are!), I am very excited to go for the sub-9:34 Masochist course PR. Yes, cool weather will most definitely play a role...along with the encouragement of my friends. Thanks, everyone. Here's to growing older and going faster!

Women's Half Marathon photos, results and report are here.

A side note...after many years of lusting after the Bull Run run 50 embroidered blankets that are awarded to the winning teams---and never running for a winning team--I finally got my blankey for winning the 45-49 age group at the WHM. Here I am with super Race Director Mel Saraniero at the finish, clutching my blankey. Gotta love the schwag at VHTRC races! Thanks, Mel, and all the awesome volunteers for another unforgettable event!

Time for the Anaerobic Sufferfest!

2010-09-08T08:14:00.004-04:00

Eliza O'Connell at World Duathlon Championships

My friend Kirstin reminded me the other day that this was my favorite way to describe the VHTRC Women's Half Marathon trail race. I am going back to run the "anaerobic sufferfest" on Saturday after taking a few years away to train for Grindstone 100, and I am really excited. As I wrote in my 2007 post, the WHM was my very first VHTRC event back in 2002, so this is an anniversary of sorts. Eights years of hanging out with the VHTRC! I am one lucky ultrarunner. I am also excited to see what I can do for a shorter distance on the trails---have I become a slow slogger after two years of 100 miler training, or do I still have some speed in these old legs?

Howard has met set up nicely this week with a taper (of sorts) and then tacking on some more miles after the race to keep my weekly mileage intact. After 8 weeks of following Howard's plan for MMTR, I am feeling fit, light on my feet due to the quick turnover intervals, and prepared to suffer for 2 hours at my anaerobic threshold as a result of weekly tempo runs. My PR on the current WHM course is 1:56:45 set in 2006. I am not gunning for a PR given the weather forecast of hot and humid, but I would like to break 2:00. I will take it out easy and see what I have left in the tank after the first hour. Regardless of the outcome, it will be a great day in the woods celebrating my fitness and my eight year connection to my awesome running club. Wooo-hooo!

What's also fun about having the WHM in my training cycle is that it has forced me to start thinking realistically about my goals for the next few races coming up. As a 47-year-old, I know my course PR days are numbered (though it took me 5 years to get a course PR at Hellgate in 2009, so go figure). Is it realistic to think that I can still score course PRs? I would like to break my course PR of 9:34 at MMTR in November, but I know that the cosmos must be aligned just right for that to happen: weather, trail conditions, work stress, family stress, fitness, nutrition...all of these factors will play a huge role in determining the outcome. Part of the adventure is letting it all play out, and I am excited to see what happens!

A few shout outs to two women over 40 who are making things happen: My friend Eliza O'Connell (above), who almost beat the entire field at the Terrapin Mountain Trail Half marathon, finished 10th and second American woman in her 40-44 age group at the World Duathlon Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland last weekend. Eliza ran a 40-flat 10k, followed by a 40K bike in 1:33, followed by a 20-flat 5K. Talk about an anaerobic sufferfest! What's even cooler is that she is a mother of three darling daughters under the age of 10, and that she just started racing duathlons a year ago! Way to go Eliza---your focus, hard work, and "laying it all out there" are an inspiration to so many of us!

I am also really inspired by Ronda's blog post from this morning. Ronda always writes interesting and energizing posts that get me fired up and thinking about motherhood, balance, and how I train and race. After reading about her goals for 2011, I may have to dust off my old Specialized mountain bike for the cool fall temperatures after MMTR is in the books. As for 2011...Bill and I are already scheming about a stage run in the SNP, and I am thinking about adding a mountain bike race to the mix. Thanks for the push, Ronda!

Change is good...and hard

2010-08-29T05:26:00.007-04:00

Over the past year I have dealt with a lot of change and transition in my life. My eldest son graduated from high school and now attends college 7 hours from home; our school, where I am the counselor, is about to open a brand new lower, middle, and upper school; and I am working with a new coach and a new training program. If there is one thing ultrarunning has taught me, it is to be open to change at any moment, and to go with whatever the trail gives me. This is such a valuable lesson (and life skill) to have when so much around me is in transition!

The biggest training shake-up? Probably switching over from my clunky Montrails to the super light inov-8 Flyroc 284s. It took me a good six months to transition from the former to the latter to avoid any injury to my achilles or plantar fascia, which is often the case with folks trying the switch from a more supportive shoe to one with less. I absolutely love my Flyrocks! I have noticed a change in my foot strike (more mid-foot than heel) and I can negotiate technical downhills with greater ease because of the grippy sole and lightness. They are also super comfy on the road, which is good since Masochist has about 40 miles of dirt road!

I also tested out (and love) the 2XU calf sleeves. I had some major cramping in my legs at Terrapin 50K and Highland Sky 40, so this summer I have been wearing the sleeves in all my training. Yesterday I wore them on a 20 miler road run and last week on a 40-minute tempo run, and they are very comfy. After a multi-hour trail run last weekend, my legs felt great afterward and the next day. I haven't worn them exclusively for post-run recovery but will certainly try them after Masochist for the car ride home.

My training with Howard has been going really well. Last spring I was feeling a bit stale and recognized that, after 8 years of training and racing, I was in need of a change. New races, new training routes, and a new program were just what I needed to shake things up and get me excited to run again. I am really excited about Masochist (which is not a "new" race for me but I haven't run it in three years) and, for the first time since 2005, I will not be running Hellgate 100K. With all the change in other parts of my life, it is nice to keep the training and racing calendar simple and wide open for now. Howard has got me running solid fartlek runs on Tuesdays followed by solid tempos on Wednesdays. After a day off on Thursday and easy runs on Monday and Friday, I always feel rested and fresh for the long weekend run. It is nice to be so "mindless" with my training...I just look at the program and do it. I can tell that my turnover is quicker and that my legs are fresher with this new program. I am looking forward to the next 8 weeks of Masochist training!

One thing that hasn't changed? I was once again given the opportunity to speak to the ladies of the Charlottesville 4 Miler training program last week. This is my favorite morning of the year! I love feeling the positive vibes and energy of this remarkable group of women, most of whom are running their very first race in the 4 Miler and are raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research. This was my fourth year as a guest speaker, and I encouraged them to "pass with pride" and not be afraid to be competitive during the race. Since most have never run a race before and were planning to run with their training partners, I also encouraged them to make a deal with one another, so that if one of them felt good during the last mile and wanted to pick up the pace, they shouldn't feel guilty about leaving the group. It is, after all, a race...and change is good!

Here is a pic of me speaking to the ladies. I can't figure out how to post it without the Shutterfly connection, so this will have to do.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Remembering Martha

2010-08-19T20:41:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I joined the gang for the Martha Moats Baker Memorial 50K++(MMB). This run was created by Dennis Herr, an ultra legend whose trail nickname is "The Animal." If you go back and read past issues of Ultrarunning from the 1980s and 90s, you will see Dennis' name at the top of the race results for Hardrock, Wasatch, and Leadville, just to name a few.

What I love about Dennis, and the runs that he hosts, is that he is all about adventure and tough trails. No "candy ass" trails for the Animal---just long climbs, long descents, and gnarly trail. He also respects the history that is behind MMB--- 85 years ago, Martha was making her way from one side of Brushy Mountain to another in a snowstorm when she perished in the cold. We are privileged to now run those same roads and trails for fun and recreation, but we never forget Martha. Dennis always asks us to say a little prayer for her as we run by.

MMB starts and finishes in the Wild Oak Trail parking area, site of TWOT 100 and Grindstone 100 aid stations. The initial 13-mile climb up Little Bald to Reddish Knob takes 3 hours, and on a clear day, offers views clear to West Virginia and beyond. On Saturday we had rain and fog, so no views...but here are some pics from last year's run:

The gang running towards Reddish Knob

Sophie and Hallie atop Reddish Knob

Hallie is nursing an injury this year, so she had to miss the fun...but the usual suspects returned, along with new friends. I enjoyed running with Ragan and Amy and showing them the parts of the Grindstone course that MMB shares, Martha's gravestone, as well as hammering down Heartstone Ridge Trail in the cool rain. Finally, I felt like a runner again in those cooler temperatures! It was also awesome to see 100-ultra-stud Bill Gentry at the Dog Graveyard with popsicles and other treats. The aid rivaled many ultras out there, and the post-run party under the VHTRC tent was a blast as usual. We waited all afternoon eating yummy treats and drinking a variety of beverages for the runners who opted to run 27 or 35 miles...and in one case, almost 50 miles (that is a story for another time and blog post!).

Thank you, Dennis, for another awesome tour of the trails you love so dearly...and rest in peace, Martha Moats Baker.

100 Ultras

2010-07-26T21:20:00.009-04:00

Bill Gentry (above) finished his 100th ultra on Saturday at Catherine's Fat Ass 50K, and we celebrated in a big way. Bill is a local ultra legend, having finished the Umstead 100 ten times, the Mountain Masochist 50 twelve times, and assorted other ultras that have long since ceased to exist. Every time I go for a run with Gentry, he tells me story about "the old days" of ultrarunning in Virginia, back when the Wild Oak 50, the Del Passatore 100K, and the Massanutten Massacre 50 were still around. He talks about running with people who were dominant ultra runners in their day like Dennis Herr, Ben Clark, and Courtney Campbell. He has seen it all, and then some. So it was really cool to be able to celebrate his 100th ultra finish by running a few miles with the legend.

Because the temperatures soared into the 100s on Saturday, RD Jeff Reed wisely created a "shorter, 30 mile ultra" option as well as a 21 mile option. I ran with a group that included Bill, Amy (Flame) Brown, Scott Crabb, Gary Knipling, Bethany Patterson, Marc Griffin, Greg Zaruba, and John Cassilly. Bill was true to form as he yacked and yammered on without taking a breath, talking about his greatest hits of ultrarunning, and we all followed along like he was Forrest Gump. At the turn around-- four hours into the run with only 15 miles run--they all decided to run the ultra option while I opted for the "Sophie's Fat Ass 25.9" option. Since I knew the course from previous Catherine's 50Ks, I knew that taking the gravel road back to Catherine's Furnace would spare me a gradual uphill in the heat of the day and allow me to run 2+ miles in the shade, all downhill.

Gentry leading Flame Brown and Scott Crabb down the infamous Purple Train in the southern Massanuttens

100 ultra finishes is a huge deal. What I admire about Bill's 100 finishes is that he didn't count races that he started but DNF'd, or training runs, like others I have read about. I also admire his longevity in the sport. Along with other bloggers and runners I know, I have been dealing with a bit of burnout and staleness this summer. As I was congratulating myself on my wise decision to take the road back to the furnace on Saturday, I realized that in order for me to sustain my love for the sport, avoid burnout, and stay healthy, I needed to make more decisions like that one: to run my own course when I needed to, on my own terms, even when the "group" goes another direction. I have watched Bill transition into 24- and 48- hour track runs after a career of trail ultrarunning, and I can tell he is rejuvenated by these new challenges. I have also observed men and women who were elite runners in their 30s and 40s transition towards adventure running, stage racing, and fast packing on long trails with much success and enjoyment. I think this is where I am headed as well.

Cooling off in Cub Run, near Catherine's Furnace. I sat there for ten minutes and didn't want to leave.

In the short term, I am looking forward to running few races this fall that I haven't done in a few years. I will be testing my speed at the VHTRC Women's Trail Half Marathon as well as running in my fourth Mountain Masochist 50 in November. Both require that I mix up my training and get some good speed work in. On the recommendation of a few trusted friends, I have asked Howard Nippert to help me train for Masochist. As I was dealing with the training doldrums a few months ago, I realized that I needed a new program and focus, something different from what I had been doing. Howard, in addition to being a world class ultrarunner, has run Masochist and knows the course well, and so far I have been having a lot of fun following his base building plan. After we come back from the beach in a week, things start to ramp up, and I am getting excited to get back into hardcore training...and that is always a good sign!

Presenting Gentry with his "award" for finishing his 100th ultra: the prized VHTRC white shirt

Another good sign that the summer blahs are lifting? The famous Catherine's FA post-run blow out once again lived up to its reputation. Here are the pics from Bobby Gill, who also took the photos on this page. As you can see, the event "looked" like a race from the first 100 photos, but then it deteriorated quickly when Jim Beam and Little Red Riding Hood showed up. Absolutely hilarious, and exactly why I run these things in the first place: for the friends and for the laughs.

Dog Days...

2010-07-09T12:30:00.004-04:00

Our Aussie Jack, who hasn't had much trail time because of the heat...and mom being a slacker.

I don't know if it's the heat we've been having, or just the fact that I am out of my routine of going to work, coaching, and kid schlepping...but I have been feeling flat and not very motivated to train lately. After my heat-induced implosion at Highland Sky, I took a few easy weeks in the hopes of getting my mojo back. Reading other blog posts about over training and burnout, especially Gary Robbins and his subsequent redemption run at WS100, have been really inspiring and given me some food for thought about training, rest, and recovery.

It has been 8 years since my first ultra, and after looking up my ultra results on RealEndurance.com, I saw that I have finished 40+ ultras since 2002, averaging 4-5 ultras per year (and that doesn't count the fat ass 50Ks I do each year). The fall of 2009 was one of my better training cycles as I had course PRs for 5k, 50K and 100K in the span of 2 months, all after running Grindstone 100! I really didn't take an extended break from running over the winter (despite my best intentions---but I just LOVE running in snow)---so, it makes sense that my fitness has been on a plateau for the last six months. After talking with inov-8 teammate Sean Andrish last week, we both concluded that despite having strong racing seasons in 2009, we find ourselves in a bit of a fitness lull in the midst of 2010. I think this is the body's way of re-setting after a stressful training and racing cycle and the best thing to do is rest, recover, and rejuvenate.

Four months from now I will toe the line at my fourth Mountain Masochist 50...but today and for the rest of the month I am starting a new training plan that will incorporate easy miles, lots of rest and recovery, healthy eating, and plenty of family time. We are going to the beach at the end of the month and after that I plan to dive into my MMTR training with a full heart and much eagerness to find another level of my fitness. Since this "re-setting" of my training is new to me---I am used to being able to run, recover, repeat with no issues--I plan to report more often on the blog just in case my experience can be helpful to someone else. And, I would love to hear from folks who have gone through their own training "lulls", "plateaus", "funks" or whatever you want to call it...please comment away!

Finally, a big shout out to my Hardrock 100 friends, running in the San Juans for the next 48 hours...Bur, Dobies, Kurisky, Deb, just to name a few...and to Alisa "Make Mine Extra HOT" Springman who is starting her third Badwater 135 on Monday. Wooo-hooo peeps! Have great adventures out there!

If you can't stand the heat...

2010-06-20T18:36:00.010-04:00

...just shut up and RUN!!!

That was my mantra during the second half of Highlands Sky 40 on Saturday. After a lovely, cool, breezy morning of running high above tree line on the Roaring Plains in the Dolly Sods Wilderness of West Virginia, the real challenge of the day revealed itself in the 7+ mile exposed road section of the race during miles 20-27. It was on this section that I needed to dig up the positive mental talk and just run from "shade to shade." Once we hit the Dolly Sods we got a nice cool breeze from time to time, but the damage was done, as they say...I was toast.

What makes some runners better in the heat than others? I have a friend whom I'll call Alisa Springman. She LOVES running in the heat, so much so that she LOVES running Badwater. This year will be her third in a row in Death Valley. She is a swimmer in her former life, so perhaps she has a natural "thing" with being in the sun. Not me.

Give me 15 degrees in mid-December and I will flow like water. For some, running in this kind of cold is not appealing---they would rather be warm and toasty by the fire than running up Headforemost Mountain in a 9 degree wind chill. My body runs really well in cool and colder weather, and most of my ultra course PRs have been set in cool and/or rainy temps: Bull Run in the 2006 cold rain, 9:00; Mountain Masochist 50 in 40 degrees in 2007, 9:34; Hellgate 100K's 15 degrees in 2009, 14:58; and Highland Sky 40, where, in 2004 in the cool rainy 50s, I ran a 8:06 AND was the female winner. Co-inky-dink? I think not.

In 2006, I ran Western States 100 in the third hottest conditions in race history. It was 70 degrees at the start in Squaw Valley (at 4,000 feet) and 110 in the canyons during the race, and 95 degrees at 8:00am at the finish line. I was prepared for these conditions--I had sat in the sauna following the plans provided by the Badwater race site, adjusted my race time goals by at least two hours, started very slowly, and got wet at every AS and stream crossing. Mentally I knew the heat would be my challenge of the race, not the 100 miles run, and this preparation was a huge factor in why I was able to finish when so many didn't that year.

So that's why I spent the week before this year's Highlands Sky checking out the weather and adjusting (and readjusting) my fluid and calorie needs. The forecast (which was correct) called for clear skies with 50 degree temps at 6:00am with 90% humidity, eventually reaching 85-88 degrees with 50% humidity. I knew the humidity wasn't going to be a concern but the exposed sections and the lack of cloud cover were going to be the challenge. For this reason I tucked in an extra 20 ounce handheld for the second half to use just for dousing water over my head, in addition to the 70 ounces of water in my Nathan pack and the 20 ounce handheld that I used for Perpetuem and Nuun, alternatively. I also took an S cap every hour, sometimes every 30 minutes whenever I felt cramping coming on, and this strategy worked well. Finally, I consumed 2300 calories (mostly Hammergel, Clif Bloks and Perp) over the 9 hours I was out there, a perfect amount as it averaged about 250 and hour.

In addition, I wore what are probably the best trail shoe for the Highland Sky course: the inov-8 Flyrock 284s. These shoes were perfect for the variety of conditions we encountered (in order of appearance): pavement, muddy singletrack, rocky, technical trail, slick rooty steep downhill trail, rolling dirt road, old jeep road, narrow sandy singletrack, wide horse trail, boulder hopping, steep scree on the ski slope, and pavement. I loved how fast and quick I felt in these shoes, even if I wasn't really running fast and quick!

And despite the heat and my whining about it, I didn't bonk, cramp, or Death March it in---in fact, I ran the last road section with relative ease. The bottom line was that heat slowed me significantly on sections where in the past I tend to run fast (miles 20-40), thus registering my slowest and most painful Highland Sky finish to date. BUT being a "glass is half full" kind of gal, I had a blast hanging out with my VHTRC and WVMTR friends, and am pleased with how my nutrition and hydration went. With all the walking I was doing, I was also able to enjoy the gorgeous views of one of my favorite courses. The pics below are just a few of the many that I took during the race...hmmm, perhaps that accounts for some of the slow down? Never mind.

My favorite section of the Dolly Sods...click on it for a larger view. Note all the runners far ahead down the trail. That's Billy-Bob Combs in the yellow shorts.

I would have loved to have sat down beneath the shade of this tree...

My good friend Gary Knipling...here I am leaving him at mile 7 on the Roaring Plains, only to have him pass me back at mile 38. An amazing performance by a legendary ultrarunner!

Highlands Sky 40 = Summer!

2010-06-16T22:34:00.008-04:00

Out in Northern California, ultrarunners know it's officially summer when Western States weekend rolls around. In Colorado, it's officially summertime when the "Camp Hardrock" people start to show up in Silverton to mark the course and get acclimatized to the altitude two weeks from race day. For others, its when they touch down in Death Valley in mid-July for Badwater, and the first sign of summer for many in the VHTRC is when they take off for Bighorn 100, 50, and 50K.

For me, it's officially summer when Highlands Sky 40 is here! Held the third Saturday in June, HS has been a staple on my racing calendar for the past 6 years. I have written about it in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and, most likely, will write about it again this year...and I am planning to take my camera along this time so that I can capture all the glory of this very tough course.It is a 40 miler that runs like a 50 every time.

After a crazy spring of very little training and racing because of work and family obligations, I was looking forward to getting serious about my preparation for Highland Sky by mid-May. By then, lacrosse seasons were over (this year was very bittersweet as it was Chape's last high school season), school was wrapping up, and I was finally getting heat-trained. We had many hot and humid weekends in May which added up to many excellent long runs in the mountains in the heat, and I was particularly happy with a double that included 23 miles on the Grindstone course (with a ball-busting 45 minute run to the top of Dowells Draft) followed up by 20 miles in the 90s on RipRap. Good stuff!

I also pulled out the old training logs and recycled my best track workouts for the last four weeks leading up to Highland Sky, including Bill's and my favorite:

4 x 1200 at 5k pace (4:50 for me, 4:40 for Bill) followed by a run off the track, down a steep hill and back up for about 800 meters with 3:00 recovery in between each 1200.

This one kicked our butts, but only after we ran this one the week before:

200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200 at 5K pace with 2:00 rest in between each interval.

Yowza! This is a confidence builder, to be sure. Bill needed it for WS and I needed it for HS. It was a great feeling to push through the doubt and anxiety ("this is going to hurt") that came through my mind after the 1200.

After running the Priest and Three Ridges two weeks ago, it was time for the taper. Last year I wrote a post about the taper after attending an informative session on marathon tapering at Ragged Mountain Running Shop. While I won't rehash that post here, I will just say that I love the taper. It's a time for examination and reflection, as well as getting down to brass tacks and to start packing, planning, sorting. The homework is done and it's time to get ready for the exam! This week I am off from work, and have spent a lot of time catching up on sleep and reading...my fave book to read before a race is Running Within by Jerry Lynch. It has excellent chapters on mental preparation for racing and training, something that I have been working on.

I am looking forward to seeing the usual suspects as well as meeting new friends this weekend, and will be sure to post my pics here. Both the men's and women's fields are looking really tough, which is a great motivator for me.

Summertime...sweet summertime.

**NEW** Just came across this VERY cool video from Running Times of the trail work done on the Highlands Sky course this spring in preparation for the race on Saturday...a wonderful piece on the history of the Dolly Sods and a lot of glimpses of the trail!

Western States Boot Camp weekend!

2010-06-02T07:20:00.004-04:00

My training buddy Bill is running his second 100 and first Western States in less than four weeks. He has been training all spring for the "big dance" as some people call it...Boston Marathon, followed by Promise Land 50K five days later. Then it was off the the Grand Canyon with the boys from West Virginia for a two day crossing, followed up 4 days later with a 20/23/20 training weekend, which included 23 miles on the Grindstone course and 20 miles on RipRap in 90 degree heat. During the week he's been kicking my butt on the track. We think he's ready to go!

I just sent him this link to a recent blog post that shows all the SNOW out on the WS course...including 6 feet at Robinson Flat!

All this WS training has been good for me as well. I am starting to taper a bit for Highlands Sky 40 but first we have have one more tough run: The Priest and Three Ridges on Saturday!

Memorial Day Boot Camp is a fun time of year---great adventures with new and old friends, different trails to explore, heat to acclimate to, gorgeous flora and frisky fauna (we had a bear check us out 20 yards off the AT last week), and good climbing and descending miles, and the satisfaction at the end of it all of putting money in the bank!!

Capon Valley

2010-05-10T15:12:00.010-04:00

photo by Matt Riley

Before I was an ultrarunner, I was a lacrosse player. I picked up a stick (also known as a "crosse") during my freshman year in high school and instantly fell in love with the sport. I loved the speed, the ball movement, and the grace of the women's game, and spent hours throwing the ball against a wall perfecting my moves. Ultimately I ended up playing for four years at the University of Virginia and then for three years for the United States Women's Lacrosse Team. I represented the US in international tournaments after college and loved every minute of it.

As time went on, I branched out to other sports (triathlon, marathon, ultras) but lacrosse has always been my first love, and it defined my career choices. My first job out of college was coaching at an all-girl's private school in Baltimore. I was a graduate assistant coach at UVA while pursuing my masters degree in counseling, and I have been the JV girls coach at my school here in Charlottesville since 1995. I also coach a club team and my daughter's middle school team. My son is going to play in college next year for one of my dear friends who played on the men's team when I was on the women's team at UVA.

Lacrosse is a family. We are coaches, teachers, players, parents, umpires, and spectators. We love and respect the game, and one another. And, just like ultrarunning, we are a small, tight-knit community that is often misrepresented by the media.

So you can imagine the range of emotions that were flowing through my heart and mind last Monday, May 3, when we heard the news of Yeardley Love's death. As the school counselor, I had to hold myself together as I helped my students --who were coached by Yeardley at camp--come to terms with her murder. I also spent the week discussing the issues of domestic violence and substance abuse with my freshmen students. I read the damning media reports, cried with my colleagues and former UVA teammates, and attempted to coach my team and wrap up our season.

I was looking forward to coming to Capon Valley 50K on Saturday as a respite from the stress of the week, but instead found that I had no energy to run. I was happy to be there and see my friends, and grateful to be healthy and spending the day in the woods, but the emotional upheaval of the past week kept me from being able to run any faster than an easy trot. This was new to me---I never had come into a race unable to "race" when I was ready. At first I was frustrated, but then I realized that it just wasn't my day to race, so I spent the rest of the miles enjoying the great weather, listening to my sister's new album on my iPod, and thinking about Yeardley.

At the post run lunch, while everyone was talking about their great races, Tom Corris turned to me and said, "I am sorry about what happened in your neck of the woods last week." Such a simple comment, but so meaningful. I promptly burst into tears and bawled for a bit, and everyone at the table was understanding and supportive. Thanks, friends.

There's been much written about what happened to Yeardley. I won't use this post to go into all the details, but I do want to reinforce a plea that UVA President John Casteen made to those attending the candlelight vigil on Wednesday night: "Seek the support that belongs to you, because you belong to us." Yes, let's make sure we take care of one another.

Sometimes the tragedies of life intersect with our life on the trails. The cliche is true---we can try to run, but we cannot hide from these feelings. We can only accept them, embrace them, and then let them go. That's my plan for today.

1, 2, 3, 4: Together, Hoos.

Yeardley Love Women's Lacrosse Scholarship information

Batesville 10K: Old School

2010-05-01T14:57:00.009-04:00

Rusty in front of the Batesville Store, home of Saturday night family-style buffets and great music

When I saw that the Batesville 10K was moved from its usual mid-May date to May 1, I decided it would be the perfect final tune-up tempo run for Capon Valley 50K next Saturday. The last time I ran the Batesville 10K was in 2001 when I was 39 and training for sprint triathlons. I remember that I suffered mightily for the first three uphill miles before hammering it home on the rolling hills in my slowest 10K time ever of 45-something. I also remember the low-key, small-town feel of this race, considered the toughest 10K in these parts.

Nine years later, the hills are still there and the wonderful low-key feel thankfully remains. The race kicks off Batesville Day, when the town, which is located 25 minutes south of Charlottesville, celebrates its heritage and hosts the race, a parade, a community fair, and a raucous gathering of food and friends at the Batesville Store later that evening.

The race attracts a small number of "old school" road runners from the Charlottesville Track Club, as well as first-timers, families, and moms with baby joggers. And "old school" it is: the starter welcomed us by saying, "Thanks for coming to our race. We don't have timing chips or mile splits, and the road will be open to cars, so be alert. Have fun. Go!" And with that, we were off. I settled into tempo/half marathon pace (7:30s) and let the front pack go. Bill Gentry was in that pack, hoping to run faster than last year's 43-something (he did---in 42-something). I was hoping to hold steady with 7:30s on the hills and in the heat, and then let it loose the last 3 miles a bit (I did---in 47-something, good for first Masters female). A perfect way to mix up the training and get in a quality run before Capon.

At mile 6, feeling pretty strong in the heat and after all the hills

Afterward, Bill and I did a few cool down miles exploring the town, and then met up with Rusty at the Batesville Store for Greenberry's coffee and granola. Rusty and his buddy Tom Goodrich play at the store on Saturday nights and we have heard the Honey Dew Drops there as well---a very funky, cool place to hear live music.

Bill Gentry and me, enjoying the post-run. Bill is gearing up for a 48-hour run in two weeks, after running his 10th Umstead 100 a month ago.

I have found that running a shorter race right before an ultra is a great way to get some leg speed going as well as break up the monotony of track and hill repeats. Batesville is a tough 10K that requires mental toughness, strong hill running, and smart pacing, all good skills to hone before a key race. I am looking forward to defending my 2009 win at Capon Valley and hanging out with the ultra gang once again!

"You Are Better Than You Think You Are..."

2010-04-23T20:37:00.019-04:00

...were the words I spoke to one of my JV lacrosse team captains last week. She had played the entire 50-minute game--which we lost--without a substitution, and she was dragging out there. She never asked to come out of the game, but one of her teammates was concerned and whispered to me on the sidelines, "Mrs. Speidel, Susie (not her real name) needs to come out---she's tired." After the game, I spoke with Susie and quoted the famous words from the Leadville 100: "You're better than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can." She looked at me and nodded. She got it.

My life passions as a school counselor, lacrosse coach and ultrarunner intersected beautifully at that moment. It usually happens a few times a season and I am grateful each time, as it inspires me and reminds me how much I love what I do all day. I am blessed that I get to wake up each morning to run on trails while the sun is rising, then go to work with students and colleagues whom I adore, and coach the sport that defined me for so many years...and continues to challenge me. When I can bring them all together, and it works, I am giddy.

Today was a day like that. We are at the point in our lacrosse season where we have won some good games and lost some tough ones, and the girls were struggling with the feelings that come from losing more than winning. After an undefeated season last year, it has been hard for this group to experience losing. So it was time for a practice that would shake us out of the doldrums of this long season of ups and downs and bring us together as a team. My inspiration? The Barkley Marathons, of course.

Regular readers of this blog know that lately I have been on a Barkley kick. But this is nothing new. My assistant coaches and players from past years know all about the Barkley, as I have subjected them to "mini-Barkleys" over the years with a lot of fun times looking for missing books and easy trail running. But this year I was determined to challenge the girls to a real-deal "almost Barkley" complete with 4 books with ominous titles, 2+ miles on rugged trails, and a map not drawn to scale. In other words, I wanted to remind them that they are "better than they think they are" and in the process introduce them to one of the great ultramarathons.

So, this morning my assistant coach Kelsey (also an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School) and I planted the four books around Observatory Hill, which is behind our school and has a wonderful trail system. My favorite book title was "Why Aren't They Screaming?" so we placed this book atop our own version of Rat Jaw (a tough climb at the real Barkley). The other books were placed on the ledge of an abandoned well, under a dilapidated bridge, and in a tree. The girls assembled after school and were placed into three groups which were each led by a coach with a cell phone. Each group had a map that I drew from memory and were given specific instructions to stay together and help one another find all four books. They had to rip a page out of each book corresponding to their group number, and then return to the start/finish with all four pages. The first group back with all four pages was the "winner" and would receive our congratulations...nothing more. Just like at the Barkley.

The groups were a mix of freshmen, sophomores and juniors, new and experienced players, runners and some not-so-into running. The goals of this exercise were to introduce the students to the natural beauty of the trails near our school, to have fun (and get fit) as a team while striving for a common goal and while working together to achieve it, and to discover who, while working with others in a small group, emerge as natural leaders and who prefer to follow. My group was made up of a junior and two freshmen. They followed the map carefully, considering each option but always deferring to the junior (who is also a captain). As a result, they were able to find all four books without losing the trail. I was impressed with how my group asked one another for ideas and suggestions and no one emerged as the only "leader"---instead, they all gave their input and then came to consensus.

Here are a few photos of our version of the Barkley:

Finding Book 1 under the bridge

Looking for Book 2 near the old well

Working together to figure out the where the next book was hidden

Finding Book 4 at the powerlines

The second-place group running uphill to the finish

Kelsey's coon hound, Scout, added Barkley mystique to the day. The Barkley was inspired by James Earl Ray's escape from Brushy Mountain State Prison. It took him 3 days to cover 5 miles of treacherous terrain before being captured...no doubt with the help of hounds like Scout.

The other two groups had some difficulty following the map and got off the trail a few times, but each group finished safely with all four pages, and then we went out for ice cream to celebrate.

As we were running back, one of my students commented, "I would feel badly for the person who couldn't finish the Barkley in under the cut-off time after all that hard work. But I guess that's the risk you take, right?"

"Some people "get" the Barkley. Some don't.
But the Barkley is all about leaving the comfort zone.
The Barkley is about taking our chances with failure.
True success is not the absence of failure,
It is the refusal to surrender."

--Lazarus Lake, Barkley Race Director

Cool Training Runs, Part 4: Rip Rap/Wildcat Ridge in the SNP

2010-04-18T18:41:00.001-04:00

View from the Rip Rap/Wildcat Ridge trail looking west toward Massanutten Mountain, which is just peeking over the top of Trayfoot ridge.

Every once in awhile I like to post about my favorite training runs, just in case one of my readers needs a new trail to discover. Over the past few years I have posted on the Priest and Three Ridges, the Wild Oak Trail, and Catawba. All are solid, 5-9 hour outings with tons of climbing, great views and beautiful trail.

This morning Quatro and I ran the Rip Rap/Wildcat Ridge/AT loop in the Shenandoah National Park. This 20+ mile circuit was first introduced to me by VHTRC buddies Greg Loomis and Jeff Wilbur. It's a 25 minute drive from my front door to the trailhead (I know, I know...lucky!). The parking area is at the Sugar Hollow reservoir, which at 7:00am is nearly empty but at 12 noon is usually packed with day hikers and swimmers. This morning temps were in the high 30s at the start and didn't get out of the 50s all morning, so we saw very few swimmers when we returned.

I brought Jack on this run---temps were low enough and there was ample water available along the route. I do envision running this loop a lot in the summer, but in very hot weather it would be prudent to bring water treatment tablets or a filter and pump as the middle section is over an hour without a water source.

Here are some pics of the day...

Sophie and Jack crossing the first of eight medium-sized streams...this is a run where you will get your feet wet.

Looking upstream at the Moorman's River erosion...in 1996, this entire gorge was flooded and it changed the landscape forever.

Little Blue Hole, a favorite place for swimming (especially for families with young kids), about a mile from the parking area. The rock in the center is a great place to jump off into 5+ feet of water.

Q poses in front of Blackrock Falls, about 3 miles up the trail.

Typical trail

Looking west at the Shenandoah Valley from Chimney Rocks

Cool rock formations at Chimney Rocks

Q poses in front of another fave trail route, the Blackrock/Trayfoot Mountain loop (part of the ridgeline behind him).

Rip Rap gorge

Swimming hole in Rip Rap gorge that was voted "best kept secret swimming hole" by Blue Ridge Outdoors---note the slip n slide into the hole.

The 2 mile climb out of the gorge, which I ran in 27 minutes---great hill training!

Since this was MMT training run #3 in 36 hours for Q, he opted to power hike instead.

The Blue Hole, known around these parts as a fave place for high rock jumping and lots of college student parties. This is at mile 19 of the run---perfect after a hot day on the trail.

The end of the run...the Moorman's River before it dumps into the Sugar Hollow Reservoir downstream.

Overall, a great training run in perfect weather! Here is the link to more details about the Rip Rap/Wildcat Ridge trail.

n.b.: a shout out to my training partner Bill Potts who is running his first Boston Marathon on Monday, then following it up with Promise Land 50K on Saturday...and to my friends Anne and Hallie, wishing them healing thoughts as they recover from injury. Big hugs to you both!

Lessons from The Barkley

2010-04-07T08:43:00.011-04:00

photo by Mike Bur

"There was a day when the Barkley runner need go no further than the trailhead to get out of the comfort zone.

You all know about the comfort zone.
That's where most ultras take place.
Running ultras is all about staying in the comfort zone.
All our strategies revolve around staying in the comfort zone.
All our advice is about staying in the comfort zone;

"Start slow"

"Walk every uphill"

"Don't take any chances"

For all the talk about exploring human potential, and seeking our limits, Ultrarunners tend to play it safe.
They line up "challenges" they know they can finish.
And run them carefully
Well within their "limits".
We believe that success is never failing.

At the Barkley success is about over-reaching our abilities,
and living to tell about it.
Sometimes success is getting your ass out alive.

Some people "get" the Barkley. Some don't.
But the Barkley is all about leaving the comfort zone.
The Barkley is about taking our chances with failure.
True success is not the absence of failure,
It is the refusal to surrender.

--excerpt from 2010 Barkley report by Lazarus Lake, Barkley RD

When I read Laz's report last week after inov-8 teammate JB Basham became the 9th finisher of the Barkley Marathons, I started thinking---a lot---about why I run ultras. I have always admired Laz's insights on the intersection of life and ultrarunning. He has a wonderfully poetic way of expressing what many of us think about, and he does a great job of getting us to question our prior assumptions.

When I forwarded this to my buddy Mike Bur---a Last Great Race finisher and Barkley 2.5-looper-- his response was this:

"Normally, we can control many of the aspects of any given event. Part of the Barkley experience, particularly for the virgin, is surrendering that control and availing oneself to the unknown -- that's what holding you back, in my observation."

Yes, I took the bait that Bur left so deftly in the email. I started asking myself if I truly had the guts to let go and surrender to the unknown. It's interesting to look at my race plans for 2010 and see the races I have lined up---all are events I have run before, have comfort in by knowing the course, and all are well within Laz's definition of the comfort zone that I *think* I am leaving when I race... but don't really.

Hmmm...so what does that say about me as an ultrunner? Bur knows. As a Barker and a Hardrock finisher, he knows that after 8 years of running tough races like Grindstone, Hellgate and Highland Sky, I haven't even begun to stretch myself. That doesn't mean that I have to run the Barkley for that next test, but I am inspired by the spirit of the event like no other. I have read everything I can about its history and traditions, and deeply respect the unspoken "rules" that keep it mysterious and mythical. Its mere presence on the ultra calendar is a reminder that I need to get off some of the candy ass trails I love so much and take a chance on failing.

If you need some inspiration on stretching yourself as a person and as a runner, read a bit about the Barkley. I am grateful there is an event out there that honors the old time ways of our sport and challenges its participants to strive for excellence (even if it takes many years---and failure), and to let go and live.

"You don't have to go to Barkley to "get it".
"it" is nothing more than putting something on the line
taking a chance and trying to do something you do not know for certain you can do.

There is no success
if failure is not in the mix.

And this is why the "sick-o's" keep applying and re-applying at Barkley. This is why there are so many requests for so few slots. This is why those lucky 35 strap it on and march into a hellish ordeal with a smile on their face and a song in their heart.

Because we are never so alive as when we put it all on the line. And at Barkley the only guarantee is that you will be pushed beyond your limits. Everything is on the line."

--Lazarus Lake

Endurance Planet's podcast interview with JB Basham--very good

A repeat of Endurance Planet's podcast of "The Marathon No One Could Finish" based on Blake Wood's essay in Running Through The Wall---also very good.

Matt Mahoney's Barkley page with photos---addicting

Terrapin Mountain Half Marathon and 50K: Paying It Forward

2010-03-28T07:32:00.019-04:00

The Zealand Cousins helping me at the finish line
photos by Keith Knipling

I was really pumped for my first race of 2010, the Terrapin Mountain 50K. The weather forecast was calling for temps in the 30s at the start with a high in the fifties, bright sunshine, and I love running this course! It uses parts of my favorites trail races---Hellgate 100K and Promise Land 50K-- as well as very tough and technical sections of Terrapin Mountain. It combines sweet single track, dirt roads, old horse trails, billy goat climbs, rocky outcroppings, and slippery rocky downhills for a perfect early spring test of fitness.

But this year's race was extra special for me because my friends from Charlottesville, Hallie and Eliza, were attempting their first big trail challenges: Eliza was running the Terrapin Half-Marathon, her first mountain trail race, and Hallie was going for her first ultra finish in the 50K. We had been running off and on together all winter (weather and trail conditions permitting), planning and plotting for this event. After running a 12 miler along the AT with Eliza in November, I knew that not only would she challenge for the women's win in the Half, she would also be a contender for the overall win. She is very fast, comfortable on rocky trails and a very strong climber, three skills necessary for a podium finish in this race.

Eliza arriving at Camping Gap in first place

Hallie had her eye on Terrapin ever since finishing 27 miles of the Martha Moats Baker 50K on the trails near the White Oak Trail and Grindstone 100 courses. She, too, is an excellent climber and is a former 24-hour mountain bike racer, so she has the ultra mindset dialed in. She also had finished parts of some tough training runs---13 miles in cold rain on the SMUT course in the southern Massanuttens, 18 miles of Afton to Humpback, and 27 miles on a snowy Catawba course just three weeks before race day. Her ankle had been giving her fits leading up to race day, so she came into Terrapin with a "nothing to lose" mindset and desire to enjoy the experience and just finish.

Hallie at Martha Moats Baker last August

We arrived at the race start/finish with 30 minutes to go before the starting gun---a little stressful but enough time to hear the pre-race instructions from RD Clark Zealand, debate clothing choices (Eliza went for the boy shorts while Hallie and I sported our favorite skirts---gotta look good in the mountains!), get our nutrition ready, and pin on our numbers. Eliza was going without gels or water as she was expecting just a 2-hour-plus run, but Hallie and I were bringing handhelds of Perpetuem Cafe Latte, Clif Bloks, and gels. I greeted my VHTRC friends and high-fived David Horton, who was just two days out of meniscus surgery but in great spirits. I told him that Eliza was going to go for the overall win in the Half, and he looked doubtful. "Does she know how to run the really rocky section?" he asked, and I said, "You'll see!"

Minutes later Clark yelled "Go!" and we were off into the mountains. It was beautiful out there---the rivers and creeks were rushing and high, and views were spectacular and the trails were in excellent shape. My goal was to finish near or faster than last year's 5:43 time, but I was lacking in mountain training from the snowy weather we had all of January and February, so I had no idea how I would do---except that the weather was in my favor and I was thrilled to be racing again! I saw Eliza take off at the start and knew Hallie was behind me somewhere, so I settled in with my usual racing pals, Rick Gray and Marc Griffin, and hammered as hard as I could.

We climbed up to Camping Gap in about 52 minutes, right on last year's pace, and then took off down the other side for a 5-mile downhill on dirt road. This was a total blast and my legs felt great, and I was loving my inov-8 Flyrock 284s. They were perfect for this race with the muddy sections, technical scrambles and road sections. We ran a bit on the early parts of the Hellgate trails, climbing back up to Camping Gap AS and then headed towards a 6-mile lollipop on the Promise Land course. I was feeling a bit light-headed at this point and later realized that I was getting behind in my electrolytes and scrambled to catch up with Nuun and more salty foods. It was too little, too late because as I climbed up and down the most technical sections on Terrapin, my calves started seizing like crazy. More salt and a little self-massage later I was back in business but I had lost some time and was now just holding on for a cramp-free finish.

Coming into Camping Gap before the big climb up Terrapin, mile 22.

My finish time was 10 minutes off last year in 5:53 but I was pleased with my placing--fourth female, first master--and my rebound from the cramping episodes (at one point I was negotiating Fat Man's Misery, a tight slippery crevice that rivals Old Rag's rocky obstacle course, and I was cramping so badly I thought I would be stuck in there forever). The cool weather was deceptive--while talking later on the phone to Bill Potts as he was crewing our friend Bill Gentry at Umstead 100, he reminded me that the dry air made it feel like I wasn't sweating but in fact I was, probably more than normal given that it was the first hard effort of the year. I should have alternated Nuun and Perp bottles and taken in more salt early on---another lesson in nutrition, and a good one at that.

Rebekah, me, and Jenny
photo by Keith Knipling

As soon as I finished, Jenny Anderson and Rebekah Trittipoe came up to me to tell me that Eliza had been in the overall lead in the Half before getting passed on the last technical section by local favorite son, Jared Hesse. The word out on the trail was that there was a freakingly fast woman in boy shorts who beat everyone to the top of Camping Gap--my fast VHTRC 50K friends Keith Knipling and Bobby Gill told me later that they were relieved when they saw she wasn't carrying a bottle, as it was the clue that she was in the Half and not a threat to their race. Hilarious! Eliza went home after finishing (she is a mother of three young daughters), but I was thrilled that she had such a great day and was the "talk of the race!"

Hallie ended up have an equally awesome run, finishing her first ultra in 6:47 feeling good and loving the trail. Her ankle held up and unlike me, she had no cramping issues at all. Awesome!

The post race party was low key with yummy BBQ and a great reunion of my VHTRC friends. It was very gratifying to see so many people come into the finish with big smiles, and I was particularly thrilled that Hallie and Eliza had such positive and fun experiences out there. I remember vividly my first ultra finish at Holiday Lake 50K back in 2002, and the excitement in David's voice when I came across the finish line. "Sophie Speidel, finishing her first ultra!" he yelled. I cried. What a feeling it was to finish the first one. And, when I looked at the smile on Hallie's face as she crossed the Terrapin finish line, I knew exactly how she felt.

Congratulations Eliza and Hallie!!

VHTRC friends at the Terrapin finish line

Half Marathon Results are here.

50K results are here.

UPDATE: Bill Gentry finished his 10th Umstead 100 in 25 hours and some. Woooo-hooo!

Spring Training

2010-03-11T19:54:00.008-05:00

It's finally spring here in Virginia. This past week saw cloudless days and temps in the 60s, and dry dirt trails where there was once two feet of snow. YAY! I am celebrating the beautiful weather and LIFE in the pic above!

My harbinger of spring is the annual pilgrimmage to the mountains west of the Roanoke area, where a group of trail-loving friends meet to run and re-connect with a 35+ mile kickass training run. This was my very first "mountain adventure run" back in 2004 and finishing it ranks right up there with my first 100 finish in terms of thrill and emotion. Back then, I had no idea what I was doing in terms of training, nutrition, gear...all I knew was that I had loved my first 50K (Holiday Lake in 2002) and wanted more of the same. It was also during this weekend in 2004 that I first met many of my good VHTRC friends and we have come together each year since to celebrate the arrival of spring and one another's company.

This year I brought along my gal pal Hallie, who has caught the ultra bug and was totally game for this adventure. We have been training all winter for the Terrapin Mountain 50K in a few weeks, but Hallie was more concerned about our little valley run (and, dare I say it, she should have been!). We took it easy and ran as much as the conditions would allow---the trails were generally clear and dry but we had 8+ inches of the white stuff in the higher places-- but the day was glorious and we had a wonderful time. After nine hours, 26+ miles and about 7,000 feet of climb, we called it a day and headed back with the other "losers" to the post-run and a cold beverage. Hallie was bummed she didn't finish the entire 35, but she hung right in there with some fast runners and she will be just fine at Terrapin!

One of the joys of this run--and ultras in general-- is cheering for others as they come into the finish and and sharing in their pain and joy. This run attracts a very tough group of runners. This year we had a two-time Badwater finisher, a Grand Slammer, multiple MMT and WS finishers, a Hellgate 100K winner, a Grindstone 100 winner, and a former AT and PTC record holder. Yikes! On paper that would totally intimidate me if I was a newbie. In addition, four of the runners were training for WS--including my buddy Bill Potts--a few others for MMT, and this was the first "real" training run of the spring for all of us since Snowmageddon descended in December. As a result, we were all toasted at the end given the snow and lack of training. But as always it was a great spring training boot camp and test of fitness!

This past week was my spring break, so after a day off on Monday, I took advantage of some extra free time to train and was able to put in a 60+ mile week. Despite the snow and ice, I have been able to stay in the 60+ mpw range for the month of February by running long runs with the spring marathon training group on the dirt roads west of town, running long hill repeats up O-Hill with Bill, and cranking out a few suffer-fest ladders on the track. A few more weeks of quality and then it's time to taper for Terrapin and our girl's road trip. I am looking forward to my first race since Hellgate and seeing Clark and all my ultra buddies, and hopefully by race day all the snow will be gone up on the ridge!

Happy Spring and happy spring training!

Wahoos and Ultrarunning

2010-02-24T08:32:00.003-05:00

The University of Virginia Alumni magazine published a nice piece on ultrarunning in its Spring 2010 issue. The author, Lee Graves, interviewed me and Alyssa Godesky, who graduated in 2008. Lee somehow stumbled upon my blog and thought a piece focusing on our wonderful, crazy sport and the "older/younger runner" angle would be of interest---thank you, Lee!

It was humbling to read Alyssa's comments on hoping to be competitive when she is my age, because at times I find myself wishing I was back in my 20s with years of racing and PRs ahead of me, instead of being in my late 40s doing my best to stay competitive in the Masters category! But I am so glad I can be a role model for younger women who seek to be endurance athletes and still be able to have a career and a family. Of course, there is no way I could have been able to enjoy the past eight years of ultraunning without the help and ongoing support of my hubby, family, and training partners. I believe a strong support system is crucial for longevity in this sport. We need to have friends and fellow runners who share in our thirst for challenges and adventures and who say "Go for it!" every time we come up with a new goal. I've written it here before and will again: I owe so much to my people---you know who you are!

One shout out in particular goes to Mark Lundblad and the fine folks at inov-8. They had no problem sponsoring an old gal like me this year and I am eternally grateful. I have been incredibly impressed with the professional quality of their products as well as how they treat their sponsored runners and customers. My current fave inov-8 shoe is the Flyrock 284. It was somewhat of a big jump from wearing only Montrails since 2001 to the "less is more" approach on the inov-8 shoe, but I absolutely love the Flyrocks and I feel ten times faster and lighter when I am running in them. I can't wait to race hard at the Terrapin 50K in March and see if that is the case!

Winter adventures--indoors and out!

2010-02-08T20:01:00.012-05:00

This past weekend we got yet another round of snow...this time, about 14 inches to add to the 3 that were still on the ground from last weekend's storm. School was canceled on Friday, before any snow had fallen, and we will be closed tomorrow as another storm is predicted. With all this white stuff, what's an ultrarunner to do? Run!

On Saturday, we needed a few items from the store (and since the power was out, I needed a huge mocha from Greenberry's). So I packed up my pack with cash, my cell phone, and snacks and some water and headed to town---about 5 miles away.

Trees were down everywhere and the snow was coming down hard, but the running was pleasant:

When I took the Rivanna Trail, the snow was up to my knees.

Alas, the power was out at Greenberry's too. Sniff.

The CVS was open, so I got our supplies and a few newspapers, and headed back home. More trees were down and conditions were pretty bad. I actually was able to run on the Rte 250 bypass, all alone with my thoughts. Not one car passed me.

When I got home, the power was still out, and would be for the next 24 hours. But we made the best of it by napping, sledding, reading, going to the movies, heating water for soup on the camping stove, and playing Battleship and Sorry! next to the fire. The next morning (Sunday) it was so cold in the house that I knew a long run in the bright sun would make me a lot warmer and happier. My wonderful hubby took the kids to town for breakfast and hot showers, and I took Jack on a 17 miler on dirt roads. It was gorgeous. The snow packed roads were perfect to run on (with Yaktrax) but the last two miles were a beast. I had taken a route home through the Tree Farm and off the road, and there was no turning back. Post holing through the snow took me almost an hour. Fortunately, the sun was high in the sky, I was warm, fed, and had plenty of water. Rusty called me on my cell to report that the power was back on, and that I could have a hot shower if I ever got home... I vowed that my next Tree Farm adventure would be with skis!

The Tree Farm is a gem... a private farm near my house with miles and miles of horse trails. The owners are very welcoming to those of us who use it quietly and discreetly for our runs and walks. There are open fields and dense woods, and plenty of wildlife to keep Jack busy. So today, under clear skies and warm sun, we set off around 4:00pm for a cross-country ski adventure, since the snow was too deep for any running or walking:

Tracks

The farm woods

Looking west towards the Shenandoah National Park

Jack got really tired post holing up to his chest, but he was in heaven out there...

When the sun started to set, we headed for home, reluctantly...

More snow on tap for tomorrow, and perhaps more adventures to share...Happy Trails!

Base Building

2010-02-01T13:45:00.009-05:00

The Ragged Mountain Reservoir trail this morning...a few hikers had beat me to it!

We got more snow on Saturday. After this morning's run around the reservoir, I am guessing we got around 7 inches, and it is still light and fluffy---not crusty and a pain to run in. I ran about ten miles, nice and easy, and had a wonderful time.

Ahhh, nice and easy runs are the best part of the base building phase of my training. I can plug into the iPod and just run without any concern for pace or speed. Trail runs in snow make it more fun and build some strength, too, especially in the hip flexors and hamstrings. I run with Jack and watch him explore the world with his nose and ears, and I run with friends and talk and laugh and we could care less about our pace--the longer we are out there, the better. I love base building!

But it's now February and my program is calling for the strengthening phase: track workouts, hill repeats, and tempo runs mixed in with 60-70 mpw. I had been doing a few of these once or twice a week during the base phase to keep the legs awake, but now I don't have the option to just run at an easy pace each day. It was nice to take a break after Hellgate but I am itching to get back into my training cycle for Terrapin and that's always a good sign. The snowfall will no doubt force me to get creative with the speedwork, but fortunately I have some company during this training cycle.

Bill is training for his first Boston, a R2R2R of the Grand Canyon in May, and Western States in June---wooo-hooo! We are going to have fun getting him ready for those adventures!

Hallie is gearing up for her first ultra race at Terrapin 50K (having run 27 miles at Martha Moats back in August). Hallie is "game" for anything---she ran 13 miles in 30 degree rain in the Massanuttens a few weeks ago and said "it was fun!" This girl (a mom of three) has got what it takes!

Eliza is running her first trail race, the Terrapin Half-Marathon. She is also a mom of three and is so strong and unfazed by trails, I seriously believe she will win that race outright. Watch out boys, you read it here first!

I have always been lucky to have my VHTRC peeps to meet for a long run on the weekends, but I am super psyched to have this fast posse to train with in the dark weekday mornings. Here we go!

Celebrations

2010-01-24T14:32:00.010-05:00

Quatro and Michele celebrating on the trail (photo by Linda Wack)

I can't think of a better way to celebrate being alive than running many miles on a mountain trail with good friends. Laughing, talking, re-connecting, joking and running all mixed together amidst nature's beauty...what a way to start the day and to celebrate all the blessings we have!

Quatro turns 50 today. A longtime ultrarunning friend and training partner of mine, Q has logged many miles on the trails alongside his VHTRC people. He is also a consummate giver--he never saw a trail work or run volunteer opportunity he didn't like. We knew he wasn't looking forward to "celebrating" this particular milestone, so in honor of the big 5-0 and all he does for others on the trail, we made it fun by surprising him with a 18-mile run from Afton to Humpback Rocks and Back, one of my first and favorite mountain training runs. Q was told to meet at 7:00 in Charlottesville ready for a long run; what he didn't know was that many of his buddies had driven from near and far to surprise him at the start of the run atop Afton mountain at 7:45. We were off towards Humpback at 8:00 after the requisite "surprise!" and lots of laughs. And in spite of bad weather for the past few weeks, the trail (and the weather) did not disappoint:

The view from the AT between Afton and Humpback Rocks, VA

We had gorgeous running for the first few hours, then a bit of snow and ice as we approached Humpback Rocks:

Humpback Rocks looking west

It was an adventure negotiating the ice on the descent, but trail angels made it fun by leaving Knob Creek along the trail for Q to find:

While we didn't have particular "birthday rules" like Annette had at her friend's birthday run yesterday, we still did some silly things to celebrate. In addition to titration with trail angel magic, Q was given a party hat to wear at the post run and I carried the birthday horn for the duration of the run, blowing it whenever I felt we needed to "wooo-hooo" it a bit.

After 5 hours of sweet single track (and some covered in ice up at the top near the Rocks), we headed down the mountain to the Blue Mountain Brewery. I wrote about BMB a few posts ago, and it was a perfect place to bring a large, hungry, and thirsty group to eat, drink, and re-fuel after a day exploring the AT. Plus it has gorgeous views of the entire Afton to Humpback ridge line to remind us of the adventure we had just finished.

Close friends, good health, sweet trails, and delicious food: in these times, so much to celebrate. Happy birthday Q!

Michele Harmon took some great pics of the day here.

Farewell, 2009

2009-12-31T09:13:00.027-05:00

Bryon Powell over at super awesome ultra blog iRunFar.com asked me to write a short response to these two questions:

"What 2009 running moments are you proudest of? What in your running life you are most thankful for?"

My response, as well as others from ultra elites and everywomen/men, can be found here.

Writing back to Bryon gave me the chance to reflect on 2009 and what it meant to me personally, professionally, and in my running life. I am so proud of my kids and what they have accomplished this year, and I am proud that Rusty and I have been able to raise mindful, thoughtful, and compassionate teenagers despite all the mixed messages they get from their peers and the media. Professionally... I am very proud of a few new programs and initiatives I have organized that will benefit the health and well-being of my students, and grateful to work for and with people who believe in me and have confidence in me. I love my school, my students, and my colleagues!

As for my running life... despite getting older and busier (see above), I am proud that I was able to run a few course PRs at a variety of distances: 5k (20:30 on the hilliest 5K course in town); 50K (5:42 at Potomac Heritage 50K in cold, wet conditions); and 100K (14:58 at Hellgate 100K). I attribute this ramp up in speed during the second half of 2009 to my huge miles from Grindstone training over the summer coupled with more longer hill repeats and harder track workouts thanks to AJW's coaching plan. I also recovered well from Gstone, taking a full week off post-race and then no speed or tempo for 4 weeks. This recovery plan made a huge difference for Hellgate and I am using it right now as I recover and get ready for 2010.

2010...wow. My oldest son graduates from high school this year, and will be off to college in August. This will dictate my race planning, as I will have a lot on my plate this spring with school, coaching, and "senior year" parent stuff. As a result, I am focusing on just one key race this spring, the Terrapin 50K in March, and then just training through and volunteering at other ultras. Over the years I have figured out that trying to race in April and May, while juggling coaching, work, and parenting, as well as heat acclimation, is not a good recipe for me. It is better to train in January and February for a March key race, then scale back for a push at Highland Sky 40 in June (my second key race).

I will not be training for a 100 miler this year, but I plan to refer to my 100 miler training cycles as I go for a sub-9:30 at Masochist in November(key race #3). I love the challenges of going for course PRs, and this will be my fourth Masochist and third attempt at the sub-9:30. In 2006 I ran 9:40 and in 2007 I ran 9:34, so the challenge is set!

Finally, if all goes well and I emerge from Masochist injury-free, I am considering running a road marathon (gasp!). A few of my ultra buddies and I helped out at the inaugural Three Bridges Marathon a few weeks ago, and it was a blast. Low-key, flat and fast, this race is the closest thing to an ultra in vibe. We had an aid station with hot chocolate and soup, and were able to jump in to pace runners at any time since it was a four-loop course. The course followed a beautiful rushing stream and was very serene...perfect for my first road marathon since 2003. My marathon PR is 3:28, set at Richmond in 2001. I am curious to see what the ultra training effect will do...can I run a PR nine years later? We shall see!

I am very thankful for so many things in my running life. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words...

thankful for my VHTRC peeps (shown here causing trouble at the VHTRC Gap-to-Gap training run, 1-09)

thankful for my Charlottesville training buddies, Bill and Quatro, shown here with Jack, Stephie, Bess and Robin on Q's birthday run on the AT, 1-09

thankful for fabulous trails like the Rivanna Trail, 1-09

and The Wild Oak Trail, 2-09

thankful for the Catawba Run-Around, the defining run of my ultra career back in 2004, and one that I am happy to share each year with new friends--here are Rebecca Byerly and Bobby Gill atop McAfee's Knob, 3-09

thankful for the chance to pace Marlin Yoder at MMT 100...what an honor! 5-09

thankful for redemption at Capon Valley 50K after my Bull Run Run drop, 5-09

thankful for the chance to run the Priest and Three Ridges with good friends, with the mountain laurel in full bloom, 6-09

thankful that racing gave me the chance to bond with Michelle Harmon at Highland Sky 40 as we brought it in for third place, 6-09

thankful for more bonding with Michelle, Bobby, and Marc Griffin at Catherine's Fat Ass 50k, 7-09

thankful for new ultra friends who "get it" like Hallie, who was totally hooked after suffering through Martha Moats Baker 50K, 8-09

thankful that I could train for Grindstone with Rusty and watch his reaction to the climb up Chimney Hollow, here with Quatro, 9-09

thankful for the endless support of my family and students, here at the Grindstone finish line, 10-09

thankful to be able to share the ultra life with Virginia while volunteering at the SMUT 50K, shown here with Gary Knipling, 10-09

thankful for a reunion of friends old and new at the Mountain Masochist 50+ finish line, here with David Horton and Bethany Patterson, 11-09

thankful I can share the pain and pleasure of a tough 5K with Virginia and Carter, here at the Boar's Head Turkey Trot 5K, 11-09

thankful for annual training runs with the VHTRC, here at Vicki's Death March, 11-09

thankful for the chance to experience my fifth Hellgate 100K sunrise over Headforemost Mountain, 12-09

I am also so, so, so thankful to the folks at inov-8, who selected me to be a member of Team inov-8 for 2010. I am very excited to be representing a company that supports the very best of the ultra life: competitive yet inclusive, committed to excellence yet down to earth, and environmentally conscious. I look forward to being an active ambassador for inov-8 and grateful for this amazing opportunity!

As the waning moments of 2009 drift away, I would like to wish my family, friends, and readers a very healthy, happy, and safe 2010. Thank you for your positive vibes, shout-outs, and support. I can't wait to share new adventures on the trail and in cyberspace with you in the new year!

Spending time in the Pain Cave at Hellgate 2009

2009-12-13T16:31:00.019-05:00

Readers of this blog will know that I put it out there on my previous post: my BHAG. This is an acronym used in the business world that stands for "Big Hairy Audacious Goal."

A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines.
—Collins and Porras, 1996

My BHAG for Hellgate #5 was to break 15 hours after coming very close in 2006 with a 15:16 and then again in 2008 with a 15:03. I came into this year's race enjoying the training effect from summer 100-miler training and Grindstone 100 in October, and I scored two PRs in a 50K and a hilly 5K in the last month to boost my confidence. Plus, race night fell on my 47th birthday...what better way to celebrate than to bust it loose and break 15?

Over the years I have become well-acquainted with the Hellgate course. One could say we have a "love/hate" relationship... I love the course but hate certain sections. "Familiarity breeds contempt" might be an even better way to describe my feelings for Hellgate: the more I struggled for the sub-15 benchmark, the more determined (and frustrated) I became. I know exactly where I typically run strong and where I typically fall apart. So this year, in setting up this BHAG, the plan was to minimize my mistakes from the past and capitalize on my fitness. I focused on all the areas within my control: fitness, nutrition, rest, equipment, and attitude. The areas of the race out of my control were weather and trail conditions (and, of course, the chance that I might fall and get injured. Fortunately I only fell twice with no lasting effects). I accepted it was going to be cold, wet in places, and possibly icy and/or covered in leaves. I knew about the Devil Trail, and was ready to take it on.

The Devil Trail: 3 miles of rocks, leaves, off-camber trail and rocks.

Fitness
If there was ever a year for me to achieve this BHAG, this was it. I am in the shape of my life thanks to a summer of 100 miler training set up by Andy Jones-Wilkins. Andy had me running more weekly miles, more intense track ladders, and more hill repeats than ever before. Adding the Grindstone 100 into the mix, a few longer runs in late November and swimming and pool running 2-3 times a week since early October helped me stay stretched out and injury free. I was also mentally ready to start spending time in the Pain Cave. I read up a lot on sports psychology and training and the concept of getting comfortable while being uncomfortable is something I totally buy into. I coach my lacrosse players to embrace this mindset so Hellgate presented me with the chance to walk/run the talk!

The first half of Hellgate is the toughest---the most climbing, no daylight, and long sections on knarly trail. But there are also long sections of gravel roads which I tried to run whenever I could. If it was at all runnable, I ran it. That became one of many mantras for the race---"Run the Runnable Stuff." I also took advantage of the long downhills and tried to hammer those sections without trashing my quads. By the midway point, I was feeling great on the climbs but my right hip flexor was screaming, so the downhills were slower than I wanted. Donna Utakis, last year's womens champ, came into Headforemost Mountain AS (mile 22) right behind me and we started the process of leapfrogging one another. She was feeling great on the downs while I was hammering the ups, but we managed to stay near the other and this was perfect as it kept me focused and moving.

Donna Utakis enjoying the climb in the Forever section--NOT!

Nutrition
This was the key to my race, hands down. I drank about 1200 calories from Perpetuem Cafe Latte (absolutely the most de-lish flavor sport drink ever), and had the rest come from mix of Hammergel, Clif Shots, EFS, Sharkies, Clif Bloks, three egg mini-quiches and half a plain burger (which was personally delivered, with Horton's permission, 200 yards up the trail by John Cassilly, my de-facto crew at mile 43). The "real food"--eggs and the burger-- came at crucial points in the race and combined with the other gel products, provided me with a grand total of about 3800 calories for 15 hours, which is 230 calories an hour. Perfect!

Rest

I am in awe of the Hellgate finishers who are also Beast Series finishers. After running the Grindstone 100 in October, they also run the Mountain Masochist 50 in November! There is no way I could attempt to run a decent, competitive time at Hellgate if I didn't take a long recovery after Grindstone. Rest and recovery are essential to my training, so after Gstone I ran very little save for a 50K, a 5K, a few 4+ hour runs and a few track workouts. The rest of the days were filled with sleeping in and pool running/swimming. I took at least one day off a week and often two days, and came into Hellgate feeling very rested and eager to race---always a good sign!

Equipment

Yeah, it was cold out there. At the pre-race meeting we were told to expect temperatures overnight in the low teens and only in the 30s/low 40s during the day. Fortunately we had very little wind, and the trail conditions were a bit wet but not bad. In fact, we ran through an inch of lovely, soft snow for a few miles on the Promise Land 50K section of the course, and had a few icy patches where I lost it and ended up on my rump, but overall conditions were perfect for a race. I wore the same race kit that I wore in 2006 when we had similar conditions: Underarmour tank top, Patagonia Capilene Zip-top, Patagonia fleece vest, Sugoi jacket, Patagonia beanie, Injinji toe socks, and Arcterex gloves. No problems at all staying warm, and I shed my jacket and vest at mile 40. One tip that worked well was to stuff my hydration pack hose down into my tank top to keep it from icing up...this worked like a charm, though my bottle top froze and I had to unscrew it every time I wanted to drink from it.

Sunrise over Headforemost Mountain--it was about 7:00 am and 15 degrees, the coldest period of the race

Attitude

A few days before the race I happened upon an Endurance Planet podcast that featured Krissy Moehl and Lisa Smith-Batchen talking about goal setting in ultras. Krissy and Lisa are two of the most humble and inspiring ultrarunners today and the wisdom they shared in the interview became a key component of my BHAG plan. Krissy talked about how she likes to look at racing other women as "competing with" as opposed to "competing against" and I really liked that idea. I am competitive. Anyone who knows me, or who has watched me race or coach lacrosse can attest to that. But I also embrace the idea of synergy, or working together for a common goal. When Donna came upon me at Headforemost, I didn't realize how instrumental she would be in helping me achieve my goal, but I knew I wanted to take Krissy's advice to heart and race WITH her. We would chat a bit, laugh when I fell (again), commiserate, and then run. She was really fast on the technical downhills while I was strong on the climbs. When we came into Bearwallow Gap (mile 43) together, Horton yelled, "It's a race!" But I shook my head and said, "Nope! She's helping me break 15!" and he was bummed, I think. He likes races, and I like collaboration.

A true BHAG...serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit

As we left Bearwallow, I knew the next three sections would be the key to achieving a sub-15. Over the years I had always had problems- stomach, energy, attitude--in these sections, so the mantra now was, "Let's spend some time in the Pain Cave." I had to move really well and run as much as possible, and it was important to reach Bobblett's Gap (mile 49) by 12 noon (I got there at 11:55), and Day Creek (mile 56) by 1:45. Donna had been moving really well on the downhill from Bobblett's but I was pulling away on the climbs in Day Creek, so she waved me on and I started to hammer. I got to the Day Creek AS at 1:47 and didn't stop. My mind was racing with the math and I knew I had to run 1:12 on the last 6+ mile section. In the past it took me anywhere from 1:15 and longer, depending on my attitude. This time I was ready. I sighted Brad Birkholz, Jarett Tighe, Justin Faul, and Jack Kurisky about 50 yards ahead and made reaching them my goal. I ran as much as I could, but at times it was so steep that walking was more efficient. "Every step counts" was all I could tell myself.

A true BHAG is clear and compelling

I wasn't looking behind me, I wasn't racing someone else, only the course and the clock. I asked myself, "do you have the courage to do this?" Spending time in the Pain Cave means not being afraid to go to the edge, to experience discomfort, and to take a risk. As I reached the top of the climb, I asked the guys to help me run it in for a sub-15. They smiled. "We've got this" one of them said. The time of day at the top with 3+ miles to go was 2:27. We had to run 32:59 to make it. Brad took off, then Jack. Justin and Jarett followed. I tried to stay behind Jack, feeding off his energy. The "one mile to go" sign came up and I had 9:59 to run a mile. Piece of cake, right? I felt like I was running tempo pace, which is about 7:20. But as I neared the finish line it was clear I was running more in the 8s. We turned in to Camp Bethel, onto the driveway, and I knew it was about 400 yards to the finish. Jack was about 20 yards ahead and he yelled, "go Sophie!"

I will never set a course record, so this was the closest I would come to that feeling of urgency. It was exhilarating. I rounded the bend and saw the clock: 14:58 with 20 yards to go. I had done it.

People like to shoot for finish lines.

This was my last Hellgate 100K, at least for the next few years. It was my fifth finish and I achieved my BHAG, but I also missed my daughter's swim meet to race this year, so the time is right to enjoy the memories of the past five races and give back to the event as a volunteer. I have grown so much--as an ultrarunner and as a person--because of this race. Now it's time to let it go and move along the trail. Thank you, David, for another memorable adventure. They say that ultrarunning changes lives, and I know for sure that this race has changed mine.

I am so grateful to my husband and kids for their support of this crazy race...and to all the players in this year's drama: Ed Duval, JR Ankney, Donna Utakis, Jack Kurisky, Brad Birkholz, Jarett Tighe, Justin Faul, John Cassilly, George Wortley, Charlie Hesse, Susannah Greever, and of course, David Horton and his band of merry volunteers. Happy Trails to all.

Road Trip!

2009-11-08T17:13:00.021-05:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny, 50-degree day. Rusty and I packed up the FJ with his bike and my running gear and headed over to Montebello, about an hour from our house and the site of the finish line for the Mountain Masochist 54 Mile Trail Race (MMTR).

Here we met up Dan Wiggins, Carter's XC coach and our good friend. He was up for running a bit of the MMTR course and the AT, and checking out the finish line of an ultra. He was in for a treat! At 11:50, Geoff Roes, the winner, came in posting a 20+ minute CR. Here is the quiet MMTR finish line at 12:30.

We ran and biked over to the top of Crabtree Falls Meadows, and then Rusty turned around while Dan and I headed south on the AT towards Spy Rock (no bikes allowed on the AT---bummer). I had always heard of this monolith but never seen it---man, it is very cool. Incredible views of the entire MMTR course as well as the Priest and Three Ridges Wilderness from atop its 100+ yard summit:

After taking lots of pics, it was time to head down to the where the MMTR course merges with the Fish Hatchery Trail and we saw Rusty just as he was coming down from the last MMTR aid station---perfect timing!

We had fun hammering down the last miles of the race course to the finish line just in time to see the 9:45+ runners finish. MMTR is always a huge reunion of VHTRC and East Coast runners---this year, the race was dominated by Canadians (top-2 women and third male), a Californian (second male), and an Alaskan (the winner). The top-2 males and females got automatic entry into Western States---sweet! It was very fun to see my buddies finish---all seemed to have stellar races and personal best times in the perfect weather. It was also fun to see many others who spent the day crewing or playing in the woods, like me.

Jenny Anderson and Bethany Patterson

Martha Wright, scoring a huge PR

Rick Gray, my faithful blog commentator

The gang at the finish: Marc Griffin, Ed Duval, RD Clark Zealand, Martha Wright and Donna Utakis

Jenny Anderson crewed for Annette Bednosky---so glad you had a great race, Annette!

The sun went down behind the mountain around 4:15 and the finish line got cold---fast. Time to wrap it up and head down the mountain...

...to Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, about 30 minutes from the finish line:

We met Dan's wife and daughter here and watched the sun set behind Humpback Rocks while eating fabulous veggie pizzas and drinking some yummy beverages. A perfect way to end our ultra road trip!

MMTR results and pics are here. Congratulations to all the MMTR finishers, and to Clark Zealand and his volunteers for putting on such a great event! Hmmm...I had so much fun watching the finishers celebrate, I think I'll run it next year...

Grindstone 2009

2009-10-05T18:32:00.052-04:00

It's taken me some time to wrap my head around the Grindstone 100. For one, I am still struck by how unbelievably perfect the weather was, and once again how freakingly difficult running 100 miles---and particularly this 100 miler--is, for me. More significantly, I am overwhelmed by how generous my ultra friends are with their support of one another. It was humbling and reassuring to see so many familiar faces at the pre-race meeting getting ready to mark the course, at aid stations as crew, on the trail as pacers, and coming into camp at the final hours as sweeps. I was particularly touched to find that, earlier in the summer, when I asked Marlin and Michele to crew and pace for me, neither skipped a beat. Their response was "sure thing, can't wait, it's gonna be awesome!" Wow. I am someone who resists asking for help in many facets of my life, so their generous spirit blows me away, and days later I am still humbled by it all, as I am reading emails and FB posts and cards sent in the mail by everyone congratulating me on the finish...unreal.

When I arrived at Camp Shenandoah on Friday afternoon, I felt calm excitement. It was fun to see new faces mixed with the "regulars" and I was psyched about the womens field---Donna and Elizabeth were returning and Kim, Francesca, and Ruthann would certainly push the pace a bit. Clark and David gave the pre-race talk and then it was time to get some rest and get ready...but it was hard to get some nap time as Gary and Karl M were chatting up a storm outside my tent! That's what these races are all about in the end...the connections we make with one another.

I was given lucky #13 and met up with Marlin to discuss the crew strategy. Marlin is so experienced and he ran this race last year, so I knew I was in expert hands. I had organized all my nutrition in drop bags for each aid station with instructions for each, and we debated clothing choices. I went with a skirt, tank top under a long sleeve VHTRC patagonia, and arm warmers. I packed extra jackets and tops in each drop bag and was happy to have the Mountain Hardware zip top when it got cold in the early morning---and it got cold!

We took a bunch of photos at the start and then at 6:00pm Clark said "Go!" and we were off down the hill to the lake.

Bobby Gillanders, me, and Bill Potts

Bobby Gill, me and Quatro Hubbard

The Start

My goal was to take it out nice and relaxed (as per AJW's instructions) but also a bit faster than last year in order to stay in contact with the women up towards the front. This would be a new strategy for me as I typically hang back and pick my way through the field, but last year I was too far back to make a dent so I decided to see what would happen with a faster start, especially since I came into the race fitter and faster than ever. By Dowells Draft, mile 22, I was almost an hour ahead of last year's splits and feeling calm and relaxed. The moon was finally out from beneath the clouds and would follow us all night, and at times throughout the night I thought a runner was approaching with their lights, but it was only the moon lighting up the trail...and at one point, when I was dealing with a bad patch climbing up Little Bald, I was inspired by these words from a favorite song:

When I was young I spoke like a child, and I saw with a child's eyes
And an open door was to a girl like the stars are to the sky
It's funny how the world lives up to all your expectations
With adventures for the stout of heart, and the lure of the open spaces

There's two lanes running down this road, whichever side you're on
Accounts for where you want to go, or what you're running from
Back when darkness overtook me on a blind man's curve

I relied upon the moon, I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon and Saint Christopher

Fittingly, my St. Christopher's medal around my neck (my reward for finishing MMT100 in 2005) clinked with my "Run and Play" charm with each stride and became a calming reminder all night of these words--and perhaps was a bear deterrent, to boot!

As I approached the mile 37 aid station I was really pleased with how I was feeling---again an hour faster than last year and no stomach issues. I got in and out in a flash after being weighed and switching flasks (EFS) and bottles(Perpetuem Caffe Latte), and it was great to have the VHTRC crews pitch in the help.

Kim was a few minutes ahead but I was not concerned about racing---just getting up Little Bald in one piece. This is a 2-3 hour climb and very lonely and tough. I found myself needing to stop and rest to get my heart rate down and that was the first sign that the wheels were spinning a bit. At the top, I passed by Martha Moats Baker's grave and said a little prayer for her. It was cold and lonely up there, and I was looking for the lights and sounds of JB and Hilary Basham's aid station. I finally got there three hours after leaving the last AS and was ready for some warm food, so I sucked down some chicken noodle soup and went on towards Reddish Knob and the turn around. Night time was almost over, yeah!

A few miles later, after more soup at the base of Reddish Knob, I climbed to the top to see the most spectacular sight: the big moon on the West Virginia side and the rising sun on the Virginia side. Wow. This was definitely worth the 50 miles to get here!! I met Marlin at the next AS and grabbed the camera---I couldn't run the rest of this race without documenting all the glory around me.
I was having an energy lull at this point---dawn had come, I was getting sleepy and the shin I nicked on a rock at mile 23 was starting to act up. My attitude was bad and I just kept telling myself, "relentless forward motion..." I got to the Gnashing Knob AS and sat by the fire, had some more soup, and got ready for the return home.Marlin ran with me on this section, and it was fun to see so many friends coming in---Bill and Bobby G looked awesome, as did Sniper, Rick Gray, Mario, and Adam who were all coming back from fighting their demons. I love that! Finally I saw Gary and Dave and while they looked tired, I had no doubt they would soldier on.When I got back to JB's aid station at mile 58, they were out of eggs but Hilary handed me an awesome blueberry pancake---man, that was the best! The Basham aid station is my favorite because JB knows what every runner needs from his incredible experience crewing for Andrew Thompson's AT speed record attempt as well as Barkley. Thanks JB and Hilary!! After this aid station I took some great pics, including one of the southern Massanutten Mountain, shrouded in morning fog:

Coming down Little Bald *should* have felt good after all that climbing and road but it was a struggle. My quads were screaming and it was too early in the game for that to happen, and my anterior tibialis, bruised when I fell at mile 23, was tightening up with all the downhill pounding. I also noticed that my wedding rings were really tight around my finger--a sure sign of too much chicken noodle soup and other electrolytes. I did a mental inventory and decided that at the next as I would switch out the Nuun for plain water, I would lube and change my socks, and I would get an ice massage on the quads. In addition, I knew Michele would be there ready to pace me and that her company would be key to my race.
Sure enough, as soon as Michele and I got rolling out of the aid station I started to make some time up and feel better. The climb up to Lookout Mountain is long and in the hottest part of the day, and we did sit a few times to get the heart rate down. Susannah gave me a great quad massage at the Lookout AS (mile 72) and Wendy was a star in getting us fed and hydrated just as Jay Finkle caught us. Jay would run with us for the rest of the race before he took off down Elliott's Knob at the end--fantastic run by Jay!

We were making great time and Michele showed me why she is such the star pacer---every time I started to run she would comment "great job, Sophie" and like a lab rat, I responded to the positive reinforcement without questioning. My long ladders on the track and tough tempo runs (thanks, Andy!) were beginning to pay off and soon we were hammering down Dowells Draft before entering the AS (mile 18) a few minutes ahead of Ruthann, who came in 5 minutes after we did...RACE ON!

Marlin worked his magic and got me in and out and soon Jay, Michele and I were across Rte 250 and the last 18 miles were beckoning. We had a gorgeous sunset over the Deerfield Valley on our right and a long climb ahead up Chimney Hollow, but we were passing people right and left on the climb up and soon we were descending into Dry Branch Gap with a 30 minute improvement over last year's split---whooo-hoo! Marlin was stoked for us and we got our food and went---I think we were in there for 2 minutes max which is waaaayyy better than last year when I spent 20 minutes there whining. Nothing like a little competition to add a spark to the last 20 miles of a race!

The moon was out and it got dark on us at the top of Elliott's, which is a nasty technical section. I was glad Jay was with us as I was happy to just be quiet and listen while Michele and Jay chatted. This section seemed never ending with all the rocks and when we got to the fire road, Jay took off down the mountain and Michele taught me how to run down scree: baby steps, quick feet, baby steps. She learned this while pacing Joe at Hardrock and it really helped me. Last year I could barely walk, let alone run down Elliotts so I was super happy with the progress we were making.

At the bottom of Elliotts I had the nicest surprise: a few of my lacrosse players and their siblings were there to cheer me in! I heard them ask, "Is that Mrs. Speidel?" in the dark and then we were cheering and laughing as we hit the AS. I think they were a little freaked out by seeing their coach so loopy but they told me they would be at the finish---despite the fact it would take us 2 more hours to get there! Awesome.

The last 5 miles of Grindstone are a combination of nasty fire road, single track, technical, rooty trail across streams, and forest paths. As the first 5 miles of the race it has a nice, gradual ascent over Kings Gap but coming back it is just long and slow going. Jack Kurisky had joined our group and we were power walking/shuffling the best we could---I really wanted to run but all systems had kind of shut down...but at least I didn't feel nauseous, which was a first for me in a 100. I think I did a good job of taking in calories, water, and electrolytes, probably the best in my four 100s. I was really happy about that and had plenty of energy to run the last 400 yards to the finish line.

Time: 29:37, exactly an hour slower than last year with 2.5+ miles added to make the race an official 101 miler. I had held on as fourth woman despite a strong challenge from Ruthann, who came in about 30 minutes later. Rusty, Carter, and Virginia were there at the finish along with my students and we basically took over the place for about 10 minutes. Rusty always says that "the Speidels are the loudest family anywhere" and once again we proved him right. I was stoked---so happy to be finished, so happy with my race, so happy to have everyone around me to celebrate. It was just overwhelming. Clark gave me a hug and then I hugged the totem pole before climbing into the tent and crashing for a few hours.

Around 4:00 am I woke up, took a hot shower and then sat at the finish line with Karl (who had won the race 10+ hours before me) and Clark waiting for Gary Knipling to come in. It was my first time meeting Karl and I was so impressed that he was there, in the middle of the night, hooting and hollering as each new finisher's lights came into view. A classy guy and very fun to hang out with.

One of the things I love about Grindstone is the ease of the finish line...you finish, you climb into your tent, you crash, you awake to a new morning and then eat a delicious breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits, hash browns and fruit served by the boy scouts. The race lingers on as the final finisher comes in under the 38 hour cut off, awards are handed out, thank yous are given, and then it's time to head home---and it's only 10:30 am! The schwag this year was schweet! In addition to entrants sweatshirts and visors, all finishers received Patagonia long sleeves (thank you Clark for the white!) and a heavier weight Patagonia long sleeve for the top 5 women. Here are the top 2-5 women: Elizabeth Carrion, Kim Gimenez, me, and Ruthann Helfrick:

A race like this requires immense time, sacrifice, and patience on the part of so many people. Thank yous... where do I start? To Clark for dreaming up this wild and difficult race on my favorite trails, to my dear friends in C'Ville and elsewhere for the good luck notes and good juju, to the gang at the VHTRC for being who you are and not ever changing, to Andy Jones-Wilkins for the fantastic coaching, preparation and inspiration, to my students and their families who stayed up late to watch their crazy coach finish 101+ miles, to my loud, supportive, and loving family for celebrating at the end and enduring my passion for this sport...and of course to Marlin for the endless help and Michele for being my friend and phenomenal pacer...you are the best! I love you all.

David Horton was asked "What was the revelation?" upon completing his record-setting Pacific Crest Trail speed record in 2005, which was made possible by the support of so many. His response was, "We need people in our lives. We need help and we need relationships." Amen.

Me with Michele Harmon, a true star pacer and friend

The VHTRC gang: Gary Knipling,Amy Sproston,Quatro Hubbard, Mike Broderick and Mitchell Goodman

Bill Gentry, Bill Potts and me

Now I've paid my dues because I have owed them, but I've paid a price sometimes
For being such a stubborn woman in such stubborn times
I have run from the arms of lovers, I've run from the eyes of friends
I have run from the hands of kindness, I've run just because I can

But now I'm grown and I speak like a woman and I see with a woman's eyes
And an open door is to me now like the saddest of goodbyes
It's too late for turning back, I pray for the heart and the nerve

And I rely upon the moon, I rely upon the moon
I rely upon the moon and Saint Christopher...to be my guide

--Mary Chapin Carpenter

What it's all about

2009-09-29T14:23:00.005-04:00

It's about the mountains. It's the power and the peace of those old mountains. It is air and sunshine and weather and nature. Daylight and darkness. Wind and water. It's about being part of it rather than just passing through. It's getting closer to where I came from, all the while moving and getting closer to where I want to be. --Alan Gowen

The days leading up to an ultra---especially a 100 miler---are hectic and nerve-wracking but also weirdly calm and peaceful. My organizer gene (thanks to my mom) got me packing, sorting, writing pace charts and crew instructions, filling gel flasks and baggies last week so now all I have to do is re-confirm travel plans, run a little each day, sleep a lot, and eat healthy food. My students have caught wind that another Shining adventure was afoot (pun intended,) so today I was busy sending out directions to the race course to my lacrosse team and their parents, at their request. So cool to have their support!

Alan's wonderful quote up at the top continues to inspire me. It is about the power and the peace of those old mountains. It will also be about the wind and the water: the forecast is calling for rain all night Friday with temps in the 50s. Ugh-oh. Time to pack and re-pack the rain gear and extra dry clothes and the gloves. GLOVES! Who would have thought about gloves last week, when it was 80 degrees?

AJW has given me strict instructions on how to approach this race. There will be no napping, sitting, or whining. I have the best pacer and crew on the planet and they know what I need. All that I need to do is be smart and let the race come to me, and I need to remind myself what a long day and night it will be and that ANYTHING can happen. I need to be flexible and welcome the weather conditions as something that will help me ( I tend to run much better in cool weather). Most of all, I need to be mindful of what it's all about: striving to meet a difficult challenge in a beautiful setting surrounded by close friends and family. Wow. How lucky am I?

It's that time again!

2009-09-18T17:13:00.018-04:00

view of Shenandoah Mountain from Chimney Hollow Trail, mile 18 and 82 of the Grindstone 100

Last Sunday, three weeks out of the race, Rusty, Quatro and I went out to the course and biked and ran a little. Actually, Rusty biked and Q and I ran. I brought the trail shears so I could clear the trail a bit at the top of Chimney Hollow, and we were pleasantly surprised with how good the trail looked as compared to the training run a month ago. Clearly mountain bikers and others had been up there and cleaned up quite a bit.

Today, Horton called me to ask about trail conditions since he was going up there with Clark, and they are cleaning up the North Mountain section and Chimney Hollow. Tonight they will run from Elliotts Knob to Dry Branch and then tomorrow to TWOT parking lot. He asked if I wanted to join them, and while it sounded fun, I declined. It's time for me to rest up and get ready for this baby!!

Taper time.

Last year I wrote a post about the taper after attending an informative session on marathon tapering at Ragged Mountain Running Shop. While I won't rehash that post here, I always like to write about the taper. It's a time for examination and reflection, as well as getting down to brass tacks and to start packing, planning, sorting. The homework is done and it's time to get ready for the exam!

This past week I sent my pacer and crew all the Gstone information they could ever need. Michele is my pacer. She has won races from the half-marathon to 100 miles and is one of the most experienced ultra chicks I know. I told her that I will need her to keep me focused, fed, hydrated, and out of the chair. Michele and I made a great team at Highland Sky last June when we finished third together, and I am really looking forward to her company out there...I know we will have a grand adventure together! The photo below was taken at the end of Highland Sky...sums it all up for me.

Marlin is my crew. He is also a fast 100 miler runner and knows what it takes to run this race---he ran it last year in a hair over 25 hours. Nice. Like Michele, Marlin will be committing his entire weekend to helping me, and I know he will do a great job moving me in and out of the AS quickly. Last year I took a lot of time -- up to 15 minutes in some spots-- at the AS, and a big goal for me this year is to minimize AS time. I know he will do a great job!! In this pic we are at the finish line of MMT 2009. He was so strong in those last miles---I hope I can be as calm and in control as he was at the end of that race.

This weekend, two weeks out, I will run on some of my favorite local courses with lots of downhills to trash the quads one more time. At the end of Grindstone last year, I could not run downhill and I vowed to do a better job training the quads this year. This summer I've really worked on my downhill form (thanks to some great tips from AJW) and gotten in some steep downhill training, including the weekly hill repeats. This morning Hallie, Leisa, Heidi and I ran up and over Fox Mountain which is a gradual 7 mile climb up, and then we came back over for 14 total miles. Tomorrow it is back to Carters Mountain and Secluded Farm. I ran this course two weeks out from the race last year and it is a perfect distance---about 12 miles with lots of steep climbs and descents.

I am getting very excited about the race. I can't wait to spend an entire night and day on those awesome trails! Here are a few pics of the course to set the stage...

Chimney Hollow Trail (mile 82 and 18)

Crawford Mountain Trail, miles 16/84

trail from Little Bald (miles 45/55 to Reddish Knob (mile 50)

Cool training runs, part 2: The Wild Oak Trail

2009-09-06T19:43:00.009-04:00

Earlier in the summer I decided I would write about some of the gorgeous and challenging mountain trails that I love to train on. In June I blogged about Three Ridges and The Priest, and this past weekend we ran on The Wild Oak Trail as part of a 33+ mile training run for the Grindstone 100.

The Wild Oak Trail is affectionately known in the VHTRC as TWOT. Like Three Ridges and the Priest, it gives trail runners a huge bang for their running buck, as it offers a full day of running on smooth single track, rocky downhills and big, big climbs. Total elevation gain over the 25 miles has been reported to be at least 8,000 feet, with the highest point, Little Bald, at 4,351 feet. My best time for the 25.6 mile loop is around 6:45 in cold weather, and my best time in hot weather is 7:11. I always like to run a loop of TWOT as part of my final 100 mile race preparation, because I know the trail will not lie: either I am fit and ready to run 100 miles, or I am kidding myself.

The Wild Oak Trail was created as a National Recreation Trail by the Forest Service. According to the Forest Service website, "Loggers, farmers and cattlemen lived in the area about the trail before the land was purchased between 1915 and 1935." The trail is part of two very challenging endurance events: The Shenandoah Mountain 100 Mountain Bike Race and the Grindstone 100. The TWOT 100, a low key fat ass run hosted by ultra legend Dennis Herr, is held twice a year (a Cold TWOT and a Hot TWOT). Only 6 runners have ever finished the TWOT 100, which boasts similar total elevation gain to Hardrock---around 32,000 feet for 100 miles. Keith Knipling currently holds the CR for the TWOT 100, set in 2007.

Vince and Bobby Gill atop Hankey Mountain, before we descended Dowells Draft trail

A loop course such as TWOT is a fun challenge, as it presents the question of which direction to take. Yesterday we took the clockwise direction because it would allow us to add on a 3.5 mile out-and-back section from the Grindstone course early in the run. This section, the Dowells Draft Trail, is often the place where TWOT newbies mistakenly get off trail. It is easy to confuse with the TWOT loop since it merges with TWOT at the top of Hankey Mountain. During Grindstone, Dowells Draft comes at miles 22 and 79 in the race, and I suspect that any west coast runners who run Grindstone would liken it to the trails in California: smooth, shady and winding at a perfect grade. Yesterday it took us 30 minutes to run down and 40 minutes to run back---we were able to run the entire climb back as the grade is perfect for an easy, aerobic hill running effort.

Dowells Draft (right): one can run it like a "marble in a slot" ---Scott Mills

The road crossing at mile 10 (or, in our case, mile 17 because we added Dowells) is a perfect place to leave water and other aid. This is an important place to tank up as the next section up Big Bald includes a 50 minute climb and another 2 hours until aid at Camp Todd. Bobby, Marc, and I worked hard on the climb up Big Bald and only had to stop once (that's Bobby Gill below):

After cresting Big Bald we descended down to the North River, where our friend Vince Bowman had kindly left enough water to get us back to our cars in once piece...temps were now into the 80s and we were feeling it. The refreshing waters of the North River cooled me off a bit before the 45-minute climb up to Little Bald, but Marc and Bobby opted to cross the river and pose for pics instead of submerging (big mistake, fellas!).

The climb up to Little Bald was a mostly silent gut-check this time around. At this point in the loop, you are either feeling good or you feel like crap and wish you had bailed at Camp Todd for a ride back on the road. I was testing Perpetuem Cafe Latte in my bottles and was very pleased with the taste and how I felt. Two thumbs up for the Perp! We did have a few choice words for Little Bald but were nowhere near as bonkey as our friend Mike Frazier, who was running a counter clockwise loop with Vince and his brother. We came upon them at the junction where the SM100 and Grindstone courses merge with TWOT at the top of the bald:

Poor guy. He had almost no water left in his hydration pack and couldn't keep any down. We gave him some of ours and wished them well on the descent to the river, where fortunately they had left their car. At this point I was ready to roll down the 7 miles to our cars and call it a day--we had already been out for 7:15 and I knew we had about 1:25 more to go. This downhill from Little Bald was a perfect ending for my last big Grindstone training effort---it is part of the course (coming at mile 60 in the race) and unrelenting---a great quad trasher, which is exactly what I was looking for. We made it back to the cars in 8:45, very satisfied with our 33+ mile adventure!

4 weeks until race weekend...I am feeling good and ready for the taper, and looking forward to spending some time on the Wild Oak Trail in race mode!

6 weeks and counting...but who's counting?

2009-08-25T15:43:00.006-04:00

Last Saturday I once again had the privilege of speaking to the women of the Charlottesville Women's 4 miler training program. This is always a highlight of my summer and I am so inspired by these runners! In past years I have talked to them about having different race day time goals, pacing themselves in the first three miles, adjusting their goal race times for the weather, and embracing the idea of being competitive. Most of these women have never run a race in their lives and they train together all summer to get fit and raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research and prevention. Awesome.

As I was gutting through my toughest track workout to date on Thursday, I noticed a group of 4-miler women getting ready for their workout. They were laughing, talking, and clearly invigorated by being together and running together. In contrast, I was suffering alone in the worst heat and humidity of the summer while attempting a ladder that went like this:

200 in :46
400 in 1:35
800 in 3:08
1200 in 4:46
1600 in 6:25
2,000 in 8:00
1600 in 6:24
800 in 3:06
400 in 1:28
200 in :43

Each with 2:00 rest in between intervals.

I went up the ladder with no problems---in fact, I got a little (actually, a lot) greedy. My 1200 was 4:36. My 800 was 3:06. I was feeling it and feeling good, until the 2,000 (which AJW noted, "do this and you're good to go!"). Of course I am thinking about his comment the entire 5 laps while really suffering. Using a random guy runner in front on me as a pacer, I squeeked across in 8:02. FAIL. Guess I'm not good to go!

The way down the ladder was uninspiring. 4 seconds off the splits here, 6 seconds off there. I even bagged the 800 just so I could have something for the last two (which I did). I limped home with my tail between my legs. Ouch.

But then I started thinking about the 4 miler women. They were having fun; I was not. Nor did I didn't take my own advice and adjust my goals for the weather, and I let the clock be my slave. Granted, that's the point with a track workout, but I should have been smarter in the beginning and paced myself. I let the clock drive the train instead of the weather and my experience. Definitely something to remember come race day on October 2!

Hallie and I ran 11ish miles nice and easy on Saturday and then I hammered out a nice 5-hour jaunt with Jeff Wilbur and Quatro along the Rip Rap and AT in the SNP (running up the three longest climbs without walking---16 minutes, 32 minutes, and 26 minutes...but who's counting?). It was a great way to end this very tough training cycle.

One more three week cycle to go before the Grindstone taper! A big shout out to coach AJW for his top-10 finish at Leadville 100...three 100s in 8 weeks and three top-10 finishes. I am in good hands. And just to prove what a tough ultrarunner he is, check him out losing his lunch here at the end of Leadville.

Big miles

2009-08-13T20:51:00.014-04:00

Aaahhhh, the dog days of August. It means summer is almost over, school is right around the corner, and that Grindstone training is kicking my butt.

Actually, AJW is kicking my butt and I am just allowing it to happen. Two weeks ago I took a much-needed cutback week while at the beach. I returned refreshed and ready for the pain and suffering, so AJW sent me a plan for the next three week cycle that includes 80+ miles per week and ladders on the track. He has prepped me well for these ladders with 1200 repeats throughout July, so now it is time to add some speed at the "shorter" distances. Thursday was the first ladder: 2 mile wu then 200, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 and 200. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't hit all my splits given the 83 miles I ran last week, the stressors of life lately and the heatwave we are having...but I not only hit my splits, I ran each at least 2-3 seconds faster. I am very happy about that and next week I will add another 1600 at the top of the ladder with faster splits and less rest between intervals so I am excited to see what I can do. It has been fun to have a new challenge with different track workouts and tempo runs.

Here are some pics from recent Grindstone training runs on the Priest and Three Ridges with Bill Potts, Bill Gentry, Quatro and Rhonda, on the Grindstone 100 course with the motley crew of Clark, Horton and Company, and at Martha Moats Baker 50K with the VHTRC crew...some big miles and big climbs on these gorgeous trails. Check out what we found on the course:

this fella

as well as this fella

and these views from atop Elliotts Knob, the highest point on the Gstone course at 4400+ feet (above) and Reddish Knob, 4300+ feet and mile 50 of Gstone (right, with Hallie):

Rocks on the Three Ridges climb (left) and Martha Moats Baker's grave (right)
(pics by Bobby Gill, Quatro Hubbard and Billy Potts)

More pics of Martha Moats Baker 50K are here.

Catching Up

2009-08-02T13:32:00.018-04:00

It's summer vacation time so I took some vacation from the blog...but I'm baaaaack. I've had some serious fun these past few weeks. Let's recap:

Catherine's Furnace 50K Fat Ass. The quintessential VHTRC event: no fee (our annual 10.00 membership dues at work instead), no T-shirt, no wimps and no whining. My kind of fun! I ran the first few hours with Michele Harmon, Martha Wright, Marc Griffin and Bobby Gill. The weather was fabulous---cool, clear, and no humidity-- and the views atop Bird Knob were awesome:

I felt really good the entire 30+ miles. There is something blissful about running with friends and with no pressure for a particular finish time or splits. I was happy to run near 6:00 (my best time at Cat's was 5:51 on 2007 and I was running hard the entire time) given the amount of time we stopped for photo opps. Afterward, the classic post-run scene evolved as we cheered on finishers, ate delicious brats and burgers, and replenished with many cold beverages. The post run chatter included everything from updates on impending nuptuals, recent Badwater and Hardrock crewing and pacing experiences, and organic farming...we are a crazy fun bunch!

Typical Cat's post-run scene

Kirstin Corris, fabulous organic cook and half of the grill Team Corris

The usual suspects (Frank Probst, Martha, Quatro, Rhonda, Gary and Jack). Well, actually Q and Gary are the usual suspects and the others are innocent until proven guilty)

Bald Head Island. Last week we took off for Bald Head Island, NC.
I first went to this wonderful place 13 years ago with Rusty and Chapin for a friend's wedding...little has changed since then. It is only accessible by ferry and no cars are allowed on the island, so we got around by golf cart, bike, and foot. I usually dread running while on beach vacays (too flat, too boring, too much asphalt) but Bald Head was a blast to run on. About 10+ miles of roads including my favorite, Middle Island Road which is a rolling dirt road that snakes through the marsh and ends at a wildlife preserve. I also ran on the technical and rooty maritime forest trails---very cool! Our days were spent sleeping late, running and biking in the a.m., a late brunch and then off to the beach for excellent surfing and big waves and warm water, then perhaps a nap before yummy sangria and a good book before dinner. Then a killer game of cards with the kids before the teens went out to meet their friends (since they were only driving golf carts I wasn't too worried). Bed by 10 and then we did it all over again. Ahh, I love vacation---time is suspended and it's so fun to have nothing to do except eat, sleep, read and hang out with the family! The photo below of Virginia was taken at the easternmost tip of the island at Frying Pan Shoals, a famous area known for shipwrecks due to the convergence of waves from the beaches that face south and east:

Now we are back and I am excited to start on phase 2 of Grindstone training. I took a cut back week while at the beach and still managed 45 miles with a few quality days and the rest just time on my feet. The next 6 weeks will be big miles and lots of time on the course. I am curious to see how 80-90 mpw feels but I am ready to find out! School doesn't begin for another three weeks so this is a perfect time to trash my legs. I remember telling myself after Gstone 2008 that in order to run the course faster in 2009 I would need to train more on long, steep descents and on rockier trails to condition my quads and feet for the pounding. Stay tuned as next weekend I am off to the Priest and Three Ridges Friday and then the last 20 miles of Grindstone on Sunday.

More pics and details from Catherine's Fat Ass are on the VHTRC website here.