Not in Kansas Anymore

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Bear Mountain Marathon-North Face Endurance Race

I was really looking forward to this race, new lots of people running and it was sponsored by North Face! I figured we would get lots of great gear! I was a bit worried because it was exactly a week after my Promise Land 50k and was eager to see how my legs would hold up. Thomas was able to join in the fun and signed up for the marathon with me.

We camped close to the race the night before and got to the start with plenty of time to anxiously wait. The race went fairly uneventful, lots of short climbs, rocky, rocky and more rocky. It was a bit more technical than my liking- especially after PL which is mostly fire roads!

I decided to not wear my watch for this race- which is a HUGE deal for me! I normally look at my watch constantly! I just wanted to go out and run how I felt instead of how I thought I should be running. I was still recovering from PL 50k and wanted to kind of take it easy and just have fun. It was so freeing not having a watch, I think I enjoyed the race a bit more without the stress of a timer. I have started keeping my watch at home on some of my training runs as well- and I actually love it!

The race was beautiful- a few from the race...

1. LOTS of TRASH! I have never seen so much trash on a race course before! I threw away over a few handfuls by the end of the day.

2. Lots of short climbs!

3. Too commercial, too many people trying to sell me things at the finish line. I would much rather be at a small, local race that donates money to the trails instead of into someones pocket.

4. Great trails and great markings, lots of single track, goes along some pretty lakes and even the AT. I will def go back and do some hiking/camping/running at Bear Mtn State Park again.

5. Great finish line food/festivities. Loved seeing all the other Bimblers there at the finish!

Few pics...

Finished!

Lovely 50k Bimblers

DIRTY!

So happy :)

Lake along the trail

One of many climbs

Happy to be done :)

Promise Land 50k #2

I went into this race thinking this would be a great marker of my training. Last year PL was the peak of my training, I had run all late winter/early spring getting ready for this race. This year, it is the start of my VT100 training. I wasn't sure where I would stand, would I be the same as last year? Slower because it was my peak race last year? Faster than last year with all the miles I have put in? I have been doing xfit all winter and really think that is making me stronger, especially for this hilly race!

As we start the race, it goes up about 4,000 feet in the first 10 miles. That's almost a vertical mile up! I definitely felt it too. My quads/hammys felt great but my calves were burning! It is a slow go in the beginning. Once we hit the rolling hills on the grassy trails it felt like pure heaven to me. This is why I run...

Constant rolling hills...

Everything was finally turning green!

Stream crossing was a bit high!

I decided to just run at a comfortable pace, but yet always pushing forward, if I was going uphill- it was fast walking, if it was downhill- quick running. My legs felt great throughout the race. I kept seeing places where last year I really struggled through and thinking that I felt so much better this year. This was a good sign!

And then I passed one of the last aid stations- at mi 26 (?), there was a sign that caught my attention "It's all downhill from here... Just Kidding!!" And it was so true, it was ALL UPHILL for the next 3ish miles. I really physically and mentally struggled this section last year. I went into it thinking to not go too quickly in the beginning but always keep moving. And that's exactly what I did. I was by myself in this section, and I'm almost happy about that, it was a great place to dig deep and push myself- which I knew I needed to practice for VT100. Thomas keeps telling me that I need more mental practice and this was it! I also heard that the act of physically smiling will put you in a better mood. So I tried that as well- when I was feeling down and tired, I smiled and it made me realize why I was out here- because I love trails and love running, and the feeling at the end would make all the struggle totally worth it.

Finally I came around the corner and was on top! I made it! And with a smile on my face! I figured out I was well on pace to beat last years time, so now it was just a race to the finish line. The last 4 miles is practically all downhill- my favorite, so I pushed it as hard as possible and ran into the finish line a happy woman! I finished 23 minutes faster than last year, so whatever I have been doing is working somehow!

Overlooking the Virginia landscape...

Monday, March 18, 2013

NYC Half Marathon 2013

I ran the NYC Half this weekend and loved it! I have fallen in love with half marathon races, not too long that it takes all day, and short enough to run at a quick pace. I signed up for the NYC Half months ago and have been looking forward to it since! I got to NYC the day before and walked the city. Didn't run the day before but made up for it with walking. I was a bit afraid my legs would be tired but I woke up and they felt fine. Got to the start-- a bit rushed from the late train, but on time.

It was cold but shed my outer layers and got into my corral. Had to wait 30 min for the race to start- COLD! We ran around the entire Central Park, then onto 7th Ave on the southern end of the park. We then ran down 7th Ave through Time Square- which was my absolute favorite! Might be my top 10 favorite running memories. So great having everyone cheering you on and seeing all the buildings and lights.

I kept looking at my watch and realized that I was hitting a good pace and was feeling great. I kept trying to pick it up a little bit more each mile. Finally I saw a sign for 800 m left and tried to kick it in. Having all the people around cheering was great motivation! I came in to the Finish at 1:43- PR by 5 minutes!!!! Such a great race, recommend it to anyone!!!

Looking down 7th Ave

St Pattys Day socks!!

Hard to see, but I am finishing right behind the girl in the blue top

Finish!

Keeping Things Interesting

I found a great 100 mile training program online, Ultramarathon Training Schedule. I wrote it in my planner and have been following it practically to a T. I have been doing Crossfit Mon/Wed/Fri with running Tues/Thurs/Sat/Sun.

I ran Colchester Half Marathon 2 weekends ago and tied my PR. VERY HAPPY!! I really think Crossfit has been helping my speed.

We have been getting SNOW storm after SNOW storm lately!! I am okay with it, I do love snow, but it's SO hard to run trails with all this snow! So, I've been running roads lately- I've followed my training schedule- which lately has been 20 Sat and 10 Sunday. But boy, has it been boring!!!!

I was BEGGING anyone to get me out of my road run... ANYTHING!! After buying a fancy camera I finally convinced Thomas to go to Massachusetts and snowshoe Mt Greylock.

A 10 mile snowshoe hike sounded wonderful!!! We made it up to Mt Greylock around 10 am---very late, I know! We started with the sun up and my snowshoes on (Thoamas' not on). It was a BEAUTIFUL day!!! Last time we hiked this mountain, it was snowing, cloudy, and COLD!! This time we took out jackets off within an hour!!! We hiked for a few hours, stopping to take pics once in a while and enjoying the beautiful scenery and then once it started getting cold, picking up the pace every so slowly. It was such a beautiful day, we took our time until we realized if we went any slower we would be finishing after dusk.... uh oh... had to pick up the pace!

Finally made it to the top!! I went through a couple lows to get there- had to find the trails a couple times, and my feet were getting numb, but not a big deal..... The top was great!!

Once we were at the top I was SOOOO ready to be done. Thomas gave me great "100 Mile" advice---- "This is mile 30- it's starting to hurt, wait till 70 where it's horrible, then 90, where you want to give up, then 93 where this is ridiculous, then 95 where you want to die, then 99 where you think you might actually make it...." Gave me a push to keep on. My feet were so sore- numb, cold, painful, and I only had downhill to go- but it also pushed against my toes... ughhhh. It was going to be a long way down- and normally that my favorite part, I finally made it to the end--- felt so good to finish!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Crossfit? Paleo? 100 Mile Training?

I have been doing Crossfit for a couple months now, I have seen real improvements in the gym- but have I seen any out on runs?? Not quite- until this weekend. I have been doing a lot of "researching" aka looking at magazine articles and blogs, about Crossfit Endurance and ultra running training. I love running- that's why I do it every week and I really enjoy going out for my weekly long runs. I love going to races! That's why I do it! I've recently seen a few people online training for 100 mile races by JUST doing crossfit! WHY?! I love going out for my LSD run on Sat/Sunday- yes they get hard and sometimes monotonous but that's why I am training for a 100 mile run- because I LIKE to run! So I want to RUN to TRAIN! BUT on the flip side, I am really starting to like my Crossfit days. I go in at 5:30am and hammer it out for an hour and I am done with an amazing workout. Normally I can feel my muscles fatigued for a few hours after the workout- which I normally don't get on my weekday runs. I have been going twice a week for the past couple months but I am bumping it up to three times a week next week.

My coach in Crossfit asked me last week if I have noticed any differences in my running after starting Crossfit- "Honestly? No, not yet" was my reply, which is a bummer! BUT I went on 2 fairly tough, hilly runs this past weekend, 9 mi Sat and 15 mi Sun and I have felt better than most of my runs. Was it just a good weekend? Was it mental? Was it Crossfit? No idea, but I felt like my legs were actually getting stronger- was a bit easier getting up hills and I recovered after hills a bit quicker than normal. SO- yes now I feel like Crossfit is actually helping out my running! I am going to keep Crossfit up and continue my short/faster runs in the week and then LSD training runs on the weekend and hopefully it will take me to the Vermont 100 finish line!!!

Recently I have also been interested in trying out the whole PALEO thing. For those of you that don't know what that is- it's a diet consisting of just meat, veggies, fruits and nuts. Anything hunter/gatherer. No bread, no artificial sugar, no dairy, etc.

I wasn't quite sure if I could quit all my cheese and chocolate cold turkey so I told myself I could no longer buy processed foods or anything else on the "no no" list. And I would slowly transition into it. It has been tough, and I still sometimes give in to temptations ( I ate hot wings and pizza this week!)

BUT I have also found some GREAT recipes! It's been so fun finding them and cooking new HEALTHY things!! Pintrest has been great to find Paleo recipes on. It's tough not being able to use cheese or bread in any recipes but it's pretty easy to find things to replace things.

-Using spaghetti squash instead of traditional noodles
-Using almond/cocunut flour/oil/milk
-Cucumber and guacamole (instead of chips)
-Lettuce wraps instead of taco shells

A few things I've tried so far- or meal ideas------>