The Warrior Princess Runs

My 44 Mile Trail Adventure: April 20-21

2011-04-23T17:53:00.000-04:00

Wednesday afternoon - Thursday morning I did a 44 mile run/hike through the 1st part of the Shenandoah National Park. I had to carry all my food, emergency supplies and a change of clothes (just in case the weather got bad) in my pack so that really slowed me down. The other issue I had was that I really need new trail shoes. At mile 5.5 I was already feeling hot spots, so I stopped, added a 2nd pair of socks and it took about 5 minutes to decide to keep going instead of turning around and going back to the car. I could feel the pack really slowing me down on the climbs, many of them done at only about 2mph. At mile 13 there was a camp store at the Elk Wallow wayside, so I got a few things to have for "dinner", tried to doctor my feet and then kept going. There is a really steep climb out of Elk Wallow, and at the top I had a cell phone signal. I needed to call Steve and tell him my plans. It was here I had to make a decision. My turn around was at mile 22, Thornton Gap. I could have him come get me there, and it would have been a nice long trail run. But despite the foot problems and everything else, I really felt like I hadn't pushed myself in so long. So I told him not to come get me. I was going to do an out and back. Those last 10 miles weren't bad, a lot of very runnable trails and I was able to pick up the pace, but somewhere in there it had turned dark and I had a few miles of adjusting to running with the headlamp. At the turn around I drank a bottle of gatorade that I had purchased at the store and ate the rest of my "dinner". Then it would be the long run back through the night. I felt pretty good, the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping, but as long as I kept moving I felt okay. Right before I returned to Elk Wallow (which was shut down since it was about 1am) there was a long rocky descent. Every step hurt! I knew I was in for a long night, but I thought if I could just get to Elk Wallow, I could get a drink from the drink machine, sit down for a few minutes and regroup. Finally I made it! But the relief was short lived. The wind had picked up and sitting there I started shivering. I knew I had to keep moving. I put my arm sleeves on and that seemed to help. I also took some Aleve to try to ignore the pain in my feet. From Elkwallow there is about a 2-3 mile 1200ft climb. It actually felt good, the exertion of climbing warmed me and the uphill didn't hurt my feet as much as the steep downhills. The only issue was that because of all the rain, the trail was like a creek. I felt like a salmon trying to jump upstream. After I made it to the ridge top there was another excrutiating 1.5 mile descent. I was in tears by the time I made it to the bottom. My feet felt like they were shredded. And I still had 9 miles to go. They were a long 9 miles. I could "run" when the trail was mostly dirt and either flat or slightly uphill. It was more of a shuffle than a run. The temperature continued to drop, the wind was whipping especially on the ridge tops, and because of my slow speed I was having a hard time keeping warm. I just had to focus on moving forward, of getting done. Every ridge I crossed I thought I was closer to the car than I was. I remember going down a long descent thinking my car was at the bottom. Imagine my dismay when it wasn't and the sign said Compton Gap(my starting/ending place) was 3.6 miles away. At the pace I was going I knew it could be over another hour before I got back. I just wanted to sit down on a rock and cry. But I had gone 40 miles, surely I could manage another 4! The trail here was really quite manageable and I kept thinking that when I had better shoes and didn't have the pack on my back, I was going to come back a run this like I know I can. The sad part was this was also one of the sections that the fires in February had destroyed. So as morning dawned I was running through blackened and bare trees. Spring would not come to this section of the mountain. It seemed to symbolize some of my struggles these past few months - feeling like I'm having to let go of the past 25 years of my life to start a new adventure, but instead of seeing a future full of bright sunshine and green grass, I've been running through the darkness, through burnt out scars, and emotions that threaten to overtake me, of bad habits returning, and I'm trying to run away from all that but it is so hard and it hurts. And so I keep running and running, but the finish line seems all the farther away. Finally I am at the top of the last ridge - now I just have to make it down one last steep descent. Pain and cold are my only friends at this point. They block out all other thoughts - I can only think of taking one step at a time, of finishing. Slowly but surely I descend. Step by step I inch closer, then suddenly the car is in view and I am done. I limp to my vehicle, fumble to find my keys so I can get inside and out of the wind. In the car I relax, take off my shoes and socks. I am finished. I actually feel good. It is the farthest I've run since October's 100k. I kept going despite the temptation to call in the calvary to come rescue me and two days later I feel ready to run again. I know that fires happen for a reason - they are a refining,and a cleansing. They purge the ground of deadwood and brush. And I know that the next time I run through there, I will see among the blackened trunks and limbs, little green shoots will be working their way out of the soil, starting over, starting new - new life, new hope. And I will smile.

The Movement Challenge!

2010-11-23T17:19:00.001-05:00

The Movement Challenge
http://www.movementchallenge.com/

Help me win $25,000 for

Teens Opposing Poverty

(Without Spending a Penny)

New Balance Shoes is sponsoring The Movement Challenge. The winner receives $25,000 for the charity of his/her choice

Here's how it works: I get 100 points for every mile I runs in an official race. I also gets 500 bonus points when I improve my time for a specific distance.

PLUS... I get 100 points for every runner who signs up and 10 points for every fan who signs up. You have to be 18 or older to participate.

We are trying to get 50,000 extra points to make sure I win. If everybody pitches in, we can do this. I am now in 10th place.

Sign Up as a Fan

1. Go to MovementChallenge.com and click on the Sign Up as a Fan Button.

2. Enter your name, email address, make up a password and enter referral code: 3c624c00-1ce5-4046-8130-bde121ac69b2

3. Click that you agree to the terms and conditions

4. Click Submit

Sign up as a Runner- if you run one official race during the year, you qualify as a runner.

1. Go to MovementChallenge.com and click on the Sign Up as a Runner Button.

2. Enter your name, email address, make up a password and enter referral code: 3c624c00-1ce5-4046-8130-bde121ac69b2

3. On the next screen fill in the other info

4. Step 3: Select "Community" for Cause Category, then scroll down to Teens Opposing Poverty for the cause.

Why make Teens Opposing Poverty your charity?

Teens Opposing Poverty (TOP) empowers youth to meet physical needs and offer hope, friendship and encouragement to poor and homeless people

Every day, millions of people in the United States struggle to survive. Many have no place to call home. Others must choose between food, shelter and medicine.

Meanwhile, a generation of young people filled with compassion and a powerful sense of justice are hungry for an opportunity to make a difference in their world.

They don’t want to wait until they become “adults” to have an impact on others—and they don’t need to. Through its outreaches, TOP provides that opportunity. In 2009, 1,200 volunteers from 61 youth groups served over 3,000 poor and homeless people in the region. Currently we have ministries in DC, Winchester, Richmond, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Newport News. As funds are provided we intend to expand as far as the Lord leads.

Impact the Valley

Every summer, over 130 volunteers participate in a week-long home repair mission project. Since 2005, over 650 volunteers have repaired 50+ homes belonging to low-income families, many of whom are elderly or disabled. The homes have been in Warren, Clarke, Shenandoah and Frederick counties and the city of Winchester.

Motel Ministry

Since 2009, TOP has led an outreach to families living in the lower cost motels of Winchester, bringing groceries, toiletries paper goods, laundry products and has helped families with rent and other special needs.
This ministry model will be used in other cities as we expand.

New Ministries

We are developing a summer mission program to DC. This ministry trips will last for a week and will be open to all youth across the United States. We plan on eventually having 6-8 weeks where youth from all over can experience hands-on ministry to the poor and homeless community on the streets of DC, and learn how to take TOP back into their own community.

Freedom's Run Marathon - Oct 2, 2010

2010-10-03T18:28:00.000-04:00

At 3:40 am, the alarm went off. I fumbled around trying to turn it off and just when I had success, the alarm on my cell phone went off. Okay, okay! I'm awake, but brrrr, it's cold outside. I don't know if I can remember how to dress for this type of weather. So I decide to wear knee length shorts, my knee high compression socks, and a short sleeve shirt with my arm sleeves. I slip a garbage bag into my drop bag and at about 4:30am head out the door. Since this is a point to point race, I have two choices - I can either park at the finish and take the shuttle to the start, or park at the start and take the shuttle back after the race. I opt to park at the start because I still need to pick up my race packet. The website says that late packet pickup is from 5:30-6:30am. I want to get there right at 5:30, just to make sure there are no issues. The problem is, the starting line is about 1/2 mile from the parking lot and the shuttles are not supposed to start until 6:00am. So I pack my headlamp as well, anticipating a dark, cold walk. However, when I pull into the parking area, the shuttles are already running. Yay. When we get to the starting area, the bus driver doesn't know where he is going and we drive around the parking lot for a little while until he figures it out. Now to find the packet pickup. I see the table where it should be, but there is no one manning them! I realize I am a lot earlier than I need to be, as there are also only about 10 other runners there. The race director is running around, and says they are waiting for the t-shirts to arrive. So, while waiting, I decide to take advantage of the flush toilets and use the bathroom. It's even warm in there. I take my time:)

The t-shirts arrive and I get my bib and my race packet. I pin my bib onto my shirt - the timing chip is stuck to the back of the bib! First time I had seen that, but I was worried that sweat would cause it to fall off. Then, I put everything else, including the jacket I was wearing, into my drop bag and check it in. I could hear the race director telling the volunteers that they needed several vehicles to take the drop bags to the finish line. For some reason, I had an irrational fear of my bag getting left in the dark corner of someone's trunk. Putting my trash bag on, I wandered around, trying to stay warm. The photographer was on hand taking pictures of everyone's unique ways to keep warm, including me and my trash bag, and the guy with the disposable surgical gown.

I met Jill, who is from Berryville, and is an ultra-runner. We talked for a while, then I went to use the bathroom one last time. A guitar, fiddle, and wash-tub bass are playing live music. Finally, the sun was rising, and it was getting close to 7:00. At the start line, I talked with an older gentleman who said he had 9 more states to run before he had done a marathon in all 50 states. He had run 71 marathons in all. Somebody sang a rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and then we were off. I was in the back. I thought the chip timing would pick up when we crossed the start line, but there was no mat to cross, so the 30 seconds it took me to cross the start line were "lost" seconds. No big deal. The course looped through the parking lot (following the way the bus driver took) and then went out and down towards a small battlefield. My garmin was freaking out on me, and when I looked down, it had somehow turned itself off. I figured I had lost over 1/10th of a mile before I realized it. So I was guessing 1-2 minutes lost time that I would have to account for. This was the most congested part of the course. We were on a dirt trail, which was wide, but it was out and back so that there was really no room for passing unless you wanted to venture into the wet grass. In the field was set up a series on canons. It was very surreal, because the sun was beginning to burn off the fog and it gave the canons a dreamlike quality. At the turn around, there was a view of the river snaking between the mountains, the fog, and the sun glimmering off the fall foliage. But I didn't take time to gaze on its beauty. Anyway, back to the race. After we got off the trail we headed back to the start area, ran through the parking lot again and then headed down this huge hill! My first 2 miles were 9:35, 9:40, then when we hit the "hill", my split for mile 3 was 8:22. I love down hills, and I was passing people right and left. Of course, by the end of the day, most of them had passed me back. My goal for this race was to run the first half up tempo, try to hit the half close to the 2 hour mark, and then be more relaxed when I got to the hills in the battlefield. Realistically, when I came into the race, I knew my pace would be off. My runs hadn't been going that well, and my eating has been atrocious. So, I felt heavy and slow from the beginning. Miles 3 and 4 were the only miles that I really felt more on pace with where I should be (mile 4 9:05). We ran right through Historic Harper's Ferry. There was an aid station there which had not only water and gatorade, but also gels. Since I hadn't packed any at all (I know, poor planning) I grabbed one and stuck it in my pocket. There was also flush toilets here, if you needed them (I didn't). We ran up to the railroad bridge and crossed the Potomac River. The bridge was wet, so I took it easy. Here the first photographer of the race was set up. It should be an interesting shot. Then, we had to climb down the winding steps to the C&O. These I took slow.
(Mile 5 with the bridge and steps 10:08)

Now we were on the C&O canal and would be there for about 10 miles. The towpath is a packed dirt trail. It's pretty smooth and wide, especially in the first few miles where it gets a lot of traffic. It's also beautiful as you are following the Potomac River the whole way. The river was up because of the recent rain, and you could look out and see many people on the river in rafts, kayaks and canoes. Of course, I'm mostly looking down at the trail to avoid and unsuspecting roots and rocks. There were a few people who had battle wounds because of this. There were aid station every 3 miles or so and they were well stocked. They had gels, oranges, potato chips, peanuts, m&ms besides the water and gatorade. Since this was fairly flat, I should have been making better time, but I just wasn't feeling it and my pace from mile 6-10 varied from 9:52 to 10:35. I would walk through the aid stations and made sure I at least got something to drink.

At mile 10, my hamstrings started to tighten some. The trail was a little rockier in this section, but compared to the mountains it was great. I crossed the halfway point at around 2:11. Now I was trying to figure out what time I could finish the race in. At the start, I just wanted to finish. With the hills yet to come, I knew I would be slowing down considerably. So I set in my head to try and beat 5 hours. Just before mile 15, I noticed runners running down a little hill and they looked like they were running to the porta-potties. Boy, that's a lot of runners who have to go to the bathroom! As I got closer, I realized this was the turning point! The hills started immediately. Up, up and up we went. A group of girls were yelling and cheering for us. One of them was handing out pamphlets, but maybe they should have realized that in the middle of a race we don't really have time to stop and read it, or a place to put the pamphlet for reading later. But hey, we'll give them credit for trying. Up, and up and up. That's all I can say. There's another sign for a photographer ahead! Right at the top of the hill. Oh man! That means I need to start running again! We're running down a country road and it really is beautiful. Eventually, we turn into the Antietnam Battlefield. After a brief but steep down hill we head back up another long up hill. I'm trying to read the monuments and markers on the side of the road. "PA 9th Infantry." It really is a scenic run. Everybody is now taking walk breaks up the steeper hills. You try not to look too far ahead because you might get discouraged. At the top of another hill, there's a photographer again. This time I jokingly complain to them as I pass by. I mean, give us a break! They said I wasn't the first person to mention their "poor" choice of location. What I really "love" is the person who says, "Last hill ahead," and then there are 3 more miles of hills! At the mile 21 aid station there is a guy playing the bagpipes. I'm really tired and my legs really ache, but I see that I can still make 5 hrs if I just keep moving. It's still rolling hills but at least they aren't quite as steep and there is more down hill now. At mile 23, I decide I really need a potty break. This was my slowest mile at 15:19. There were also 3 llamas at this aid station. The only part I didn't like about this section was that we were running on the shoulder of the highway and traffic was not stopped. It was okay for most of the way, but sometimes the shoulder got really narrow. Also there were a lot of walkers walking two abreast on this section. I think they were half-marathoners, but there was no way to get around them except to go out into the road. With one mile to go, I knew I could make it if I could just keep my pace going. You ran down the hill to the river, crossed the bridge and then up to the football stadium. But there were too many people just milling around and I felt a little confused. Finally, at the top of the hill, I saw where I was supposed to turn into the stadium. Around the corner and onto the football field to the finish line. I looked up and saw that the 4 was still there, 4:56:36 to be exact. I had made it under 5 hrs. When I stopped, my legs just started aching something fierce. I grabbed a bottle of water and pretty much hobbled around until I found a chair and sat down. I think I didn't drink enough during the race. I lay on my back and put my legs on the chair, massaging and stretching them. I drank the water and took a couple of electrolyte tablets. Eventually, I could feel them relax. Now to find my bag, and the bus back to the start. Of course I had to walk back up the hill to get my bag, but as I approached the tent, they already had my bag in hand ready to give to me. "That's service!" I said, "Now, where is the bus?" Of course, he pointed up to the top of another hill. "You're killing me!" I whined. There, at the Bavarian Inn, I was able to get a nice commemorative pint glass, which I opted to leave empty instead of filling it with the complementary brew. The bus ride back to my car was enjoyable, because I was talking to several other runners about the different races I had run. Some of them were training for their first 50 miles, a new race, the Stone Mill 50 Mile Run in November. I told them I was considering it. The man sitting next to me was also going for 50 states, he had done 37 so far and was running the Rehobeth Beach marathon in December. That was another race I had just looked at. So I went from saying I was never running a marathon again, to seriously considering all these races I had just looked up for the remainder of the year. With the New Balance Movement Challenge, I have a chance to win some serious money for Teens Opposing Poverty. But I don't know if I can beat the leaders, even if I race every weekend between now and the New Year. It's something I need to pray about. But mostly I need to refocus my training and my nutrition. Philippians 3:13 says, "One thing I do: forgetting what is behind (especially past mistakes and failures), and straining toward what is ahead (focus!), I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. So that's what I'm going to do - Press on, move forward, Focus!

Barn Again 5k, Berryville, VA - 9/25/10

2010-09-27T14:37:00.000-04:00

I decided to test out my 5k speed at a local race. The last 5k I had run was in February so I was very out of practice. In fact, running a race shorter than a marathon was a rarity(the norm? one 100 miler, and 3 marathons besides the 15in15). This meant there were a lot of long and slow running and not much short and fast. Never-the-less, I showed up at the race sight, paid my $12 (skipped grabbing a recycled t-shirt from a race I didn't run) and decided to check out the competition. The usual subjects were there, so I already knew who would most likely win the race, and then I saw her - my nemesis. Her blonde hair framed her pixie face, and her 3 foot stature of poise and youthful exuberance was a frightful sight. Not only that, she brought her whole running team with her! A flock of bright blue shirts, laughing and skipping as they joyfully warmed up. I was doomed from the start.

After about a one mile warm up, I mingled around the starting area, and talked to a few people I knew. I let the 5 blue shirted speed demons line up in front of me as well as the soccer team kids. For some reason, I was a little nervous. I think I just didn't want to have something like a 3 minute personal worst race, and I knew that for me it was going to be a bit like torture, sucking air while trying to maintain a respectable pace. Finally, we're off and away I go. The speedy guys and girls quickly pull away. The first 1/4 of a mile is downhill (which of course means the last 1/4 of a mile is uphill). I try not to constantly check my pace, but go with the flow. I like running downhill and pass a lot of people who I know will pass me as soon as it levels out. The young whipper snappers are pulling ahead so I just try to keep them in sight. We run down the street towards the railroad tracks, then make a left to run alongside the tracks. This is actually a pretty good course, but because it is a small town race, the roads are not blocked off to traffic. There are runners all over the road anyway and the cars seem to be respecting us.

At the first mile, I check my Garmin - 7:47. Not bad. The first part of the second mile is pretty good too, but I notice a general downhill slope to it. That means the third mile is going to be the hardest one. I pass the mom of the little blue shirted speed demon.

"The race director said you were supposed to stay close to the kids," I joke.
"I know, but I can't keep up," she pants.

So I adjust my goal - beat the mom! I've been trading leads with another young woman and finally, as we make the turn to go back I catch her on the hill. Mile 2 - I glance down and the watch still says 15 something or other. I'm trying to calculate what I need to run in the last 1.1 mile to get under 25 minutes. Now there's a 10 year old girl who's been ahead of me the whole race, but she's tiring on the hill. I'm merciless, I know, but I gleefully pass her. Up ahead is an older gentleman. He's pushing pretty strong and I just can't seem to catch him.

"1/2 mile," I tell myself. "I can do anything for 1/2 mile."

We're at that last climb and then around the building to the finish. I'm afraid to look back to see if anyone is catching back up to me, but I know I've slowed terribly. I hang on the heels of the old guy, gasping for breath, and trying to hang on to the finish. Finally! Crossed the finish line and was glad I hadn't eaten anything yet. Missed my goal by 21 seconds, finishing in 25:21, avg. pace 8:11. I noticed that I was consistent in my slowing down, about 20 seconds with each mile.

Turns out the young girl I passed was running her first race, and hadn't really trained for it. Well, eat some more humble pie. I hung around for the awards ceremony anyway and was surprised by receiving the 1st Masters Woman.

I find the contrast between the shorter and longer races interesting. The 5ks and 10ks are harder in the sense that you are pushing your body up near the max the whole time. There is no conserving for the later stages of the race as in a half or full marathon (or longer). They are more of a gut race. If you are willing, you gut it out to the very end. The longer races wear you out bit by bit, they break you down until you want to cry, or sit down, or just quit. But in these, you have to dig deep into your reservoirs, rely on that inward spirit that propels you ever onward toward the finish line. I want guts! I want to push hard and fast all the way to the edge. And I want determination, that stubborn will to keep going no matter what. And so I race, and I run and maybe someday when I need it most in life, I'll really learn what it means to dig deep and I'll have the guts to see it through to the finish.

Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Half Marathon - 9/11/10

2010-09-14T18:04:00.002-04:00

About Abebe Bikila

The alarm goes off at 4:30am, and I stumble out of bed wondering why I signed up for this race, a mere 12 days after I finished the 15in15. I've been running slow for so long, I didn't even know if I could run faster than 11-12 minute miles. But I guess that really was the reason I signed up - to see how much speed I had lost. After a quick check on the directions, I headed down to Georgetown in DC. I had plugged in the address in my GPS, but it always sends me a different way than Mapquest. Which to use? Finally, after passing several exits that the GPS tells me to take and listening to it say "re-routing" 100 times, I decide to trust it and listen to the GPS "lady" tell me how to get there. She brought me right to an open parking space. The next challenge was trying to figure out the machine to pay for parking. Several runners were standing around the machine trying to make it work. One even went and got pliers out of his car, so that he could extract a stuck credit card. Then we realized that the machine wouldn't work until 7am and it was 6:56. We all stared blankly at the machine for a few minutes; finally I decided that I could run up and get my race packet and be back in time to feed the meter. That done, I need to find a bathroom. It turns out the only one available was in an open air cafe on M Street. That's the problem - it's one bathroom for 100+ men, and one for 100+ women. By now, it's about 15 minutes to race start and there are about 10 women in front of me. I calculate approximately 1 minute per person and I should have 5 minutes to spare.

When I get to the starting area, Jay Jacob Wind, the race director is just getting ready to ring a small bell 184 times in memory of those who lost their lives at the Pentagon on 9/11. The crowd was hushed as we listened and counted. Jay Wind ran with me on Day 3 of the 15 in 15 for the last 7-8 miles. He was a great help that day because he knew the area and could get my crew to the next stop.

After the bell-ringing ceremony, somebody else said a few words but I couldn't hear him (I think he was an Olympic boxer). Then they played the Star Spangled Banner and we were set to go! There was no chip timing, and the starting line was very crowded because we were running completely on the C&O towpath. A whistle blew to start the race, but I couldn't hear that either, but we were slowly moving towards the start line. I figured I had started my Garmin about 5 seconds after the official clock, which I wanted to keep in mind as I got towards the finish. Plus I had to add the extra distance that I was starting behind the line.

My goals for this race were basically to finish uninjured and to see if I could run it in under 2 hrs. I knew a PR was probably out of reach (I would have had to run faster than 1:53:45) so I didn't even set my sights on that. As I finally made it on the trail, it was very crowded and my claustrophobia kicked in. Get me out of here! I began to weave in and out of people to try to make room so I could run my pace. Splits for the first three miles were: 9:00, 8:51, 8:48. That was about right where I wanted to be, I was hoping to bank a little time before I hit the halfway point and headed back to the finish. It finally cleared out and I seemed comfortable with my pace. People were passing me, and I was still passing others. Everyone was trying to get in their happy running zone. I passed by the first water stop, again trying to make time, and because it was a nice cool morning. Miles 4-6: 8:49, 9:01, 8:46. At the mile 5 water stop I grabbed a quick drink and kept moving. I was watching my pace pretty close and when I began to feel pretty comfortable running, I would look down at my watch and say "Drat, I'm slowing down," then pick the pace up. The good thing about an out and back race is that you get to see who is ahead of you, and when you turn the corner, you get to see who is behind you. The bad part is the trail gets a little crowded for a while. Because there were other people out doing their morning run or bike ride, or walk, it was hard to tell who was in the race and who wasn't.

The course is dirt, the ground is fairly even, but every now and then it gets a little rocky or uneven, so I spent a lot of time looking at my feet. On one side is the canal filled with green water; on the other side is the river but you can't see it. We parallel the Capital Crescent Trail for most of the race, every now and then you could see people running and biking on that trail. As I neared the turn around, the last 1/2 mile seemed to take forever. The course was pretty much flat, but I could tell I was on one of the small inclines that you only notice when you are running hard. In my head I was saying "Only 6.5 miles to go! You can do anything for 6.5 miles." I glanced at the Garmin and I think it read 59 minutes and change. "Don't give up! You can still make it under 2 if you just keep pushing." By this time I had been trading leads with a man in a white t-shirt. He was ahead of me now and I decided to latch on to him and try to get him to pull me in under 2. I pushed the pace as much as I could and moved to be next to him, then I got ahead of him. "Keep pushing," I tell myself. Then he comes back and passes me. I let him lead for a while, then slowly begin to pass him again. A couple of guys run by and see my Umstead 100 mile shirt that I'm wearing. "She's one of those 100 milers. This is a sprint for her," they say as they pass. I catch up to one of them in a blue t-shirt and he wants to know all about the 100 miler, where it was, how I trained for it, etc. I'm huffing and puffing and trying to talk. Finally, I have to back off the pace a little bit. He wants to know where we are so I call out the mileage every now and then. I drop behind him, and now white shirt is passing me so I stick to his heels. Mile splits 7-10: 9:14, 8:54, 9:19, 9:03. At one point we crest a hill and white shirt slows down. He's looking for the aid station, but it's down the trail a little further. I pass him and take my time at the aid station, walking through - my slowest mile 9:36. I'm getting tired. But with two miles to go I take off, realizing I still have a chance to make the two hours. I pass blue shirt and don't see him again. A few people pass me, including this girl who I've passed a couple of times before and another girl who is probably doing intervals. I'm trying to pass people too. Mile 12: 9:19. At about one mile, white shirt catches up to me and passes. I need to stay on his heels. Can I make it? I don't know how close my Garmin miles is to race miles (no mile markers were out). I pass 13 miles (9:17) and I'm seeing the city limits. I hear cheering and people's voices. The finish line! Push hard! I see the clock and I push across in 1:59:25! Did it! (last .17 at an 8:29 pace). Jay announces me as the woman who ran 26 marathons in 26 days. Well, not quite that much, but it sounds good!

I get my medal, talk to a guy who runs ultras for a while, grab a banana and a drink and stretch. I decide to wait for the awards ceremony, mainly because I'm trying to decide where and how much extra mileage I want to do. I really didn't expect to win anything, but because it was a small race, you never know. Lo and behold, he calls my name as 3rd place in the 40-49 age group! Jay has already assumed I've gone to run more miles, but I accept my $25 gift certificate and tell him I might run the course again. A guy standing there is shocked that I would even think about it. However, when I get to running again, my hamstrings are really tight. I decide to try out the Capital Crescent Trail. It's crowded! I only make it 7 more miles with the tight hammies, plus I have some shopping to do and a night at Wolf Trap.

This race was good for me to put everything in perspective. The good is I maintained a more consistent pace than I have in previous races. Usually by the last few miles I'm a good minute off pace, having started a good minute over pace. I felt mentally stronger in making myself keep the pace going when I started to get tired, thanks in part to white t-shirt (I did introduce myself after the race and we talked, he was pacing off of me too and he felt we actually did a good job of sharing the load, but I can't remember his name for the life of me). The reality is that I know I can't maintain that pace for another 13 miles, which is what I would need to do in order to BQ (Boston Qualify). The McMillan pace calculator has me doing a marathon in 4:11, which would still be a PR, but I don't think I'm going to try at Marine Corps. I know what I have to do - nutrition and getting back to what I call "race weight" will get me where I want to be. And a good marathon course that I can focus on the prize (not Marine Corps). So I'm setting a goal for 2011. This morning while working out in my gym, I was reviewing my goal cards. I have 3x5 cards with all my goals on them. I say them aloud and have a scripture that correlates to the goal. Isaiah 40:31 really stuck out this morning. "Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up as with wings of eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." I need to wait on the Lord. I need to be patient and he will show me what to do next. And He will give me the strength to do it.

Race Stats:
3rd in age group (40-49)
39 out of 132 women
113 out of 269 overall

15 in 15 Run - Day 15 (Aug 31) Charlottesville to Lynchburg (Leg 3)

2010-08-31T22:45:00.090-04:00

Isaiah 40:31 For those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Last night, with the help of the Toneys, we mapped out a new course to run into Lynchburg, thereby avoiding Rt. 29 altogether. We would start in Amherst, VA and run the back roads into Lynchburg. Donnie Toney was going to run with me, his goal to do the whole distance if he could, otherwise he would hang in there as long as possible. I was ready to run, but so tired. I knew that having Donnie run with me would be the shot in the arm I needed to make this the best run yet.

Also joining us, additional angels that God has placed in my life, were Pastor Karen and Reba. They got up really early in order to make the 3 hr trip to be with us the whole day. There was a real spirit surrounding me as we joined hands to pray - I was being renewed and lifted up by the support of others. Then we were off! I felt as though I was being pulled toward the finish line with wings of eagles guiding my feet. Donnie and I talked and ran, and I knew we were going out faster than normal. Our mile splits for the first 5 miles were: 10:39, 10:38, 11:00, 11:04, 11:39. The course was very hilly, but there were long stretches of down hill to counteract the long stretches of up. I ran aggressively on the downs and so our mile splits showed when the mile was mostly up or mostly down: Miles 6-10 were 10:21, 10:52, 10:55, 12:04, 9:33!

The countryside was beautiful! We were surrounded by mountains, and I could only imagine the glory of the autumn leaves in another month. Each stop we made, Reba would be there holding up her bright pink sign and Pastor Karen would be cheering me on. Lindsey was ever faithful with putting ice in my water, getting me sports beans or whatever else I needed.Kendra Toney also arrived to help with the rest of the run. Miles 11-13 splits were: 11:09, 11:19, 10:53.

We ran down a couple miles to Route 130. The next 3 miles were difficult as we were running on the shoulder of a busier highway. The sun was out in full force and there was no shade. Plus with the traffic we were needing to run single file. Still our splits from mile 14-17 were pretty good: 10:21, 10:08, 10:12, 10:08. When we were going up the hills, Donnie was stronger. In fact I think he was helping to pull me up the hills. On the down hills I was able to really take off. After several miles of this, Donnie had a cramp on one of the downhills. But he was able to persist and keep running until another cramp occured at mile 17. At this point, he decided to take a break and would join me as I went into Lynchburg.

Now I was on River Road, and the final stretch before going across the bridge into Lynchburg. The road was winding and up and down. At mile 20, I was starting to have an issue with cramping myself - mine was in my side, so I was able to keep running, but had to keep pushing the spot to keep it from cramping. At about mile 21, ABC news showed up to interview me. My crew warned me, so I tried to put on my best form and ran down to meet them at a pretty good clip. Then, as I continued on the run, they followed along filming my feet! I waiting to see what they actually show on the news. Now I looked at my watch and realized that I could have my fastest time of the entire 15 days. I tried to keep my pace up as I neared the 5th St. bridge, but it was mostly uphill and my side was really hurting. Splits from 18-22: 10:11, 10:37, 10:23, 11:05, 9:47.

Now all that was left to cross the bridge and climb the last hills to Fort Hill United Methodist Church. Donnie joined me and we started across the bridge. I was almost done. The final climb was almost done. After a mile and a half Donnie had another leg cramp. I kept going and hit the 26.2 mile mark at about 4:42. But I wasn't there yet! Boy, it was hard to keep running after that point. I kept looking for everyone who was going to walk with me to the finish, but they seemed to be nowhere in sight. Finally, there they were waiting for me - Steve and Lindsey, Pastor Karen and Reba. At 26.92 we ran into the parking lot of the church and up the steps "Rocky" style. Then big hugs and tears all around!

It has been an amazing journey. God definitely sustained me every step of the way. Instead of falling apart or having an injury, he kept me strong and protected me. I felt like the Israelites as Moses led them through the wilderness. Even though the journey was long and hard, God promised that their clothes would last and their shoes would never wear out. For 400 miles, I never got a blister. That had to be from God.

As I spoke at Fort Hill, I explained the reason for my run. In a scene from the movie, Eric Liddell was trying to explain to his sister why he wanted to run in the olympics. He said, "God made me for a purpose - for China." Well I believe that God made me for a purpose - to reach out to the poor and homeless and to inspire others to never give up, to overcome all obstacles. Then Eric said, "but he also made me fast (well, I'm not fast, but God gave me the ability to run long distances without injury - to be focused and to keep going even when the going gets tough). He then said, "when I run I feel God's pleasure." and that's how I feel. When I run on the trails in the mountains it's my chance to get away, to commune with God, to be still and hear him speak to me. And so I run where God leads me.

Never let doubt keep you from taking a step of faith. Never give up. For with God all things are possible. We can change, God can transform our lives and take us on a new journey of faith. We merely have to believe and be willing to listen. And God will be with you every step of the way.

Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

15 in 15 Run - Day 14 (Aug 30) - Charlottesville to Lynchburg (Leg 2)

2010-08-30T23:16:00.000-04:00

After a restful night's sleep at Robert and Susan Dube's house, we made the trip back to our starting point. With packing up and travel time, we got a little bit of a late start - it was sometime after 9am. We started at the railroad crossroads in Rockfish, VA. The first 4 miles were along the river and weren't too bad. It was shaded and had only a slight uphill grade. As soon as I turned the corner onto Stagebridge Rd, things change. I climbed a mile, got a 1/4 mile break, then climbed another mile. It was also starting to warm up quickly. Kendra Toney from Lynchburg came to help crew, while Steve went back to Charlottesville to take care of the truck.

Kendra was great. She was the cheerleader. She would clap and say "You're looking great! Keep going." I tried to keep focused on knocking the miles off. At one point, I had to run along Route 29. After 2 miles of that, I realized that I needed to change my route for the last day. There was no way I was doing 20+ miles on that highway.

Slowly but surely, the miles went by. Up, up, up - hot, hot, hot. We turned on Oakridge Road and there was a long two mile stretch where the sun was beating down and there was no wind blowing. I felt like I was running on a high plateau in the middle of the desert. When I came to the next stop, Steve was back to take over crew duties. I stood in the shade for a minute before running on.

When you map routes and the road is called Digges Mountain Rd, assume that you will be climbing over a mountain ridge (make that two ridges). And if the road is called Wilson Hill, that means that you have to climb Wilson Hill. I came back out on Rt. 29 and had 2.5 miles more of the dreaded highway. 1.5 miles was up, and then finally 1 mile down to the river. I turned off of 29 and had a nice .7 mile walk with my daughter to the finish. Day 14 was done!

The Toneys, who are graciously hosting us tonight, fed us a wonderful gluten-free pasta dinner and we had a great time of fellowship with Nelson United Methodist Church. Tomorrow is the last day. How do I feel about that? I don't know. It's been an amazing journey - God sent angels all along the way. As each mile ticks down tomorrow, it will bring me closer and closer to the finish line. Then I will be done. The next morning will not be spent studying maps and routes, lubing up or getting ready to run. It instead will be a time to rest and reflect. 26.2 more miles....

15 in 15 Run - Day 13 (Aug 29) Charlottesville to Lynchburg (Leg 1)

2010-08-29T20:46:00.000-04:00

It was the 13th day of the run, so if things were going to go wrong, then today was the day. Last night when we returned from a great time of fellowship with the members of Hinton Ave. United Methodist Church, the truck began overheating and we weren't able to get it to cool down. This was after Steve had driven to NC and back. He was hoping that if the thermostat was in an easy place to reach, he could fix it himself. But it was in the worst possible place, needing tools that we didn't have with us. So now, we had to figure out how I could get my run done. We decided that I would go ahead and start, and he would go rent a car for a day. Then tomorrow morning when repair shops were open, he could get it fix. That meant that I would be running for several miles without any crew support. I decided to wear my Nathan hydration vest because it could hold a lot more water and I could carry blocks and sports beans as well. Finally, an hour behind schedule I was ready to go.

I took off and left them looking at the steam coming off the engine. The first two miles were in the city, and then there was a nice trail that took me the rest of the way out of town. After that, the road narrowed into a winding, hilly country road. The morning was still cool, and the road was shaded so I was able to keep a good pace. Since I knew it was probably going to take at least two hours for them to get a rental car, I decided to make a game of it. My goal was to make it to 10 miles before they caught up with me. I realized how dependent I had been on having a crew to give me drink or whatever I needed every 2-3 miles. Now it was like a normal long run where I would be unsupported.

Ten miles came and went, with no crew. I had been steadily running except for a couple of walking breaks up the steeper hills. Now I was trying to get to the half-way point before they showed up. The problem was it was getting hot. 11 miles, then 12 miles went by. I came to an intersection and was pretty sure I had to go right but was starting to want to verify it against the map. I ran down the hill and saw the route number (Rt 631) of the road I was running on turn to the left. Something didn't look right, so I tried to call Steve to verify this was the road I was supposed to take. No cell phone signal. I ran up a long hill and as I started to run down the other side, I noticed grass was growing in the middle of the road. This doesn't look like a well traveled route. The road narrows further and soon a sign appears "End State Maintenance." This can't be the way! So I turn around, run back over the hill and back down to the paved road. A one mile detour. Traveling down the road a little farther, I see the road I need to take. Now it is mile 15, mile 16 and still no crew. I really needed to make a pit stop but was worried if I ducked into the woods I would miss them. But nature was calling, so I took my chance. As soon as I returned to the road, there they were! Whew! It turns out they went by me while I was on my little detour. It was nice to take the pack off and just use the smaller water bottle.

I got fueled up and told them to go on ahead a few miles. After all, if I had run 16 without support, I could run a few more. Plus, it was getting hotter and I was getting grumpy. I was getting tired of hills and hills. At about 18.5 miles I ended up at Route 29. By this time I was a little snippy with my crew. But I knew that I was meeting Robin in a mile and a half. That was what was keeping me going.

As we passed the Covesville post office, there she was! Yay! I knew that having someone to run with would chase the grumpies away and it worked. First we had to run on 29 for a little while. The shoulder got narrow and large trucks were popping over the hill at 65 miles an hour. Robin had me run in front because I had the orange vest on (so she says). Finally, we get to Rt. 632 and are able to run and talk, when we weren't huffing and puffing up hills. We were running in about 85 degree temperature but the humidity was 95% and it felt hot. We were both grateful for the crew stops where we could get ice cold water.

Knowing that I was running with Robin kept me motivated to keep moving during mile 15-20 when I was hot and grumpy, and once she was with me, the company made the last 6 miles go
by really fast. She didn't even have to say a word. When I saw her smiling face I knew it was going to be okay. Soon we were done and walking the 1/2 mile together with Lindsey.

Robin treated to a wonderful dinner of chili, let us swim in her pool, and I'm typing this blog on her computer. It again reminds me, that this is not just my journey, but it is the journey of all of you who have met me on the way or been with me in spirit. I can't believe it's almost over.

15 in 15 - Day 12(Aug 28) - Richmond to Charlottesville (Leg 3)

2010-08-28T22:05:00.000-04:00

Here are some scriptures my friends have given me:

Luke 21:19 - By your endurance you will win your lives.
Hebrews 10:36 - for you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
Romans 5:3-4 - suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

Endurance is an interesting thing. To get endurance you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone, just a little bit more each time you run. I remember when I was so worried about finishing a half-marathon. Now, many of my midweek training runs are that distance. How did I get from zero miles to 400 miles? By pushing myself out of my comfort zone just enough to begin to cross thresholds. I've had many people say I couldn't run around the block much less 15 marathons in 15 days. I say, it's not about what you can do, but about what you can believe. So maybe running around the block is too far, today. But running to the corner isn't. And the next day, you might actually turn the corner. And the next day go to the next corner. Then, before you know it, you're running around the block. You've crossed a threshold and reached a new level of endurance. Ministry is like that too. We need to step out of our comfort zones. Get your youth together and go on a TOP trip. Get them excited about serving God. As their faith grows, God will show them new ways to minister and before long it will be the youth who turn America around, and make a difference in this world.

Last night, after an enjoyable evening spent with my sister-in-law, Susan Dube and a yummy steak dinner, I was bone-tired, so I called it a night and went to bed. I had a restless night. It seems for every good night of sleep I get a bad one. But, the run must go on, sleep or no sleep! Josh was back again to crew since Steve was going to North Carolina to give a short talk, then drive all the way back up to Charlottesville. We drove back to Palmyra and started about 7:45 am. After a pretty steep initial climb, the road turned into a series of rolling up and downs. It was a cool foggy morning, and I felt pretty good once I got going, so I was letting them go about 3 miles ahead. There were some big hills today! But there were also some nice long downhill stretches, so I never felt really wiped out. Good thing I'm not allergic to ragweed. I'm hugging the shoulder of the road because of the traffic, and my left leg is about yellow from rubbing against the ragweed.

As I crossed over Rt. 250 to continue on Rt. 616, I noticed a sign saying "Road Closed Ahead." About 1.5 miles later I caught up with my crew. "Did you guys notice the sign back there saying the road was closed due to bridge construction?" They had missed it. I didn't really want to turn around a take a different route, so Josh drove ahead to check it out. Pretty soon, I see them coming back up the road. Yep it's closed. Well, a little road closure won't stop the Warrior Princess. I keep going while they take the long way around.

I get to the bridge and I see a little dirt road through the woods, so I follow it. It takes me down to a railroad track! Unfortunately, there is no road on the other side, just a steep embankment about 10-20 feet high. I scramble over the tracks and clamber up the bank, grabbing onto branches to pull me up.The woods are really thick and I have to push through pine boughs to make it up to the road. Boy, is there a lot of trash dumped over the side of the road. Finally I climb up another little embankment and am back on the road again. Just about in time for Josh and Lindsey to show up on the other side.

The next section of road was a little rough - no shoulder and lots of traffic. I'm glad it turned out to be only 2.5 miles long. Now, I was on Route 250 and heading into Charlottesville. For some reason, I needed to add a few miles to my run to make it the official marathon length. So we had to stop a few times and work out the route on the map. I ended up running 250 bypass to Rugby Road, and then climbing up a really steep and winding road. By this time, we were trying to coordinate with the media that was going to show up in Lee Park where I was ending. I had a nice long downhill stretch before I made the final push up to the park. Since there was a photographer taking pictures of me as I hit the hill, I made a point to sprint up the hill and into the park. I had an interview with the Daily Progress newspaper, and Channel 29 TV station.One of them asked me what was next after this was done. I told them, God only shows us what we are to do now. And for now, that means running a marathon a day. After Tuesday, well, I'll leave that in God's hands.

15 in 15 Run - Day 11 - Richmond to Charlottesville (Leg 2)

2010-08-28T20:50:00.000-04:00

We started the morning in Goochland, VA, approximately where we left off the previous day. I thought when we passed the Maidens intersection, I saw a guy who looked like he might be waiting for me to run with him. But when we turned around to check, he was gone. Oh well, I thought - looks like I'll be running by myself today. I got maybe 1/3 of a mile down the road when all of a sudden a runner comes up beside me - "Are you the lady who's running 15 marathons?" Yes! What a welcome surprise.

Curtis is 63 and an experienced runner. He had run the Richmond marathon several times back in the eighties when it started at noon on Sunday. While he raced a lot now, he hasn't run a marathon in years. I think I might have convinced him to give it another shot. The miles clicked off pretty rapidly, in fact, we were probably did several sub 11min miles, but I felt good and we were talking "shop." It turns out that our race paces are pretty similar. What really inspired me is when he started talking about his 85 year old mother, who recently finished a 10k as a fundraiser. She is the "retired" organist for her church, the town historian, and the matriarch every one calls when they need something done, because she's the one with the energy. Curtis was feeling pretty good too, and ended up running 10.5 miles with me. He kept saying George's Tavern was just over the next hill. Liar! But it did make the miles go by faster. As we were really coming up on George's Tavern, a friend of Curtis drives by. He pulls over, just happens to have his running gear in his car, and gets out to take over.

John was an interesting character. He had met Curtis in boot camp, and had served in Vietnam. He was a wealth of stories. Once, while in Vietnam, he was in the middle of a huge explosion (I think he said something like 68,000 tons). He cried out to God, told him to get down there and do something, but felt like God was nowhere to be found. 40 years later, he discovers a letter written to his family commending him for his service - there were no casualties, no one died, everyone escaped and no one got hurt. He thought for 40 years that God hadn't been there, but found out that indeed he was. John and I had an interesting run going. I would get ahead of him going up the hills, but would stop when we came up to the crew vehicle for a drink. John took that advantage to keep going and get ahead of me.Then I would run to catch up and we would talk for a while - it was great sport. At one spot, Curtis' mom shows up, just to say hi! What a special lady. John gave me a story to read about the day the world record for the mile was broken and how a neighborhood came together through running, which just goes to show the power of running and how it can be a tool for making good things happen. John got me to Columbia, VA which was at about 17 miles. Now I only had 9 miles to go on the day.

The rest of the run was a series of long ups and downs. Before long, I was running on Route 15 and walking the last half mile with my daughter by my side to finish the day with 26.23 more miles behind me. I felt strong today, almost like I had crossed a threshold, and felt empowered by the support of those who ran beside me, or were with me in spirit - sending up good thoughts and prayers throughout the day. I am truly overwhelmed by it all.

15 in 15 Run - Day 10 (Aug 26) Richmond to Charlottesville - (Leg 1)

2010-08-26T23:35:00.000-04:00

First, I have to say that we were blessed again. Lauren Holcomb lent us her apartment for two nights while we have been in Richmond. What a gift! (Lindsey liked it because she had DVDs that Lindsey wanted to watch.)

We arrived at Monroe Park shortly before 8 and realized that you couldn't park on the street until after 8. And the meter maid was there giving tickets. So we drove around looking for a legal place to park. Finally, the meter maid had moved on and it was close enough to 8 that we were sure it was okay, so we got everything ready and headed to the center of the park where I was going to start. Some homeless and unemployed people were hanging out and Steve explained what I was getting ready to do, then asked if they wanted to join in the prayer. 4 or 5 of them joined hands with us as we prayed. Well, this is what it is all about - us encouraging the homeless, and them encouraging and praying for me. I got a little emotional as Steve said the prayer. Then I was off.

I ended up running down Monument Ave. which was a really nice section of town to run in. I felt pretty good, and the morning was cool. But after about 3 miles (and I hadn't seen the crew vehicle go by) I began to wonder where they were. And I had to go to the bathroom really bad! Finally at an intersection, I saw a Kroger grocery store off to the right. Thank goodness! So I went "Krogering." By then my crew had caught up with me. They were delayed because Steve had called WPER radio station and they actually talked with one of the ladies who was in the park.

After that stop, I made my way over to Patterson St/Route 6 but as I was going up a hill, tripped and fell hard on the sidewalk. Ouch! My right hand and left knee were both scraped. I lay there a second, wondering if this was going to affect the rest of the run. Finally, I got my legs back under and started back down the road. After a few gimpy steps, the knee felt okay and I continued running.

The next time Steve and Lindsey caught up to me, I was about at mile 7 and had just passed out of the city limits. So far, I had sidewalks to run on, but from here on out it would be shoulder. The road was 4 lanes and for the most part, cars were good about moving into the left lane as they passed.

It was also very hilly. I had at least one 2 mile climb, and several that were a mile or more. Fortunately, there were also some nice long downhills as well. We were stopping about every two miles - I was trying to keep moving. I remember at one point thinking that when this was all done I was going to take up a different sport, like say, croquet!

Once the highway narrowed to two lanes, the shoulder became more difficult to maneuver and I did have to jump off into tall weeds several times. At one point the road narrowed as I crossed a bridge. We stopped right before the bridge and looked it over. I felt I could successfully negotiate it, by staying close to the guard rail, and waiting until there was no traffic to go through the one section. So I was running, and focusing on any cars that might be coming towards me, when a car behind me decides to pass another car and shoots into my lane, nearly clipping my heels as he zooms by. Steve got it all on video. That was the scariest moment.

Another long climb took us into the town of Crozier, then I went by a correctional facility. Steve decided to stop right at their entrance. I was worried someone was going to come out and ask what we were doing. But, if you're ever have to go to jail, request this one - it's out in beautiful country on a farm! I had to climb another long hill and was thinking of walking it, but there were these policemen out training their dogs, whooping and hollering. Well, I couldn't walk there, so I trudged up the hill until I passed them, then took a walk break.

Now it was just a matter of counting down the miles. With 1/2 mile to go, Lindsey gets out and walks the rest of the way in. Somewhere along the way, Steve lost one of the magnetic signs, so we retrace our steps trying to find it. No luck! We also checked out a parallel highway to see if the shoulder was better, but decided to continue on the original planned route. After we got back to the apartment, I cleaned up and then we were treated to a nice dinner at Josh and Michelle's apartment. Michelle fixed a great meal and we enjoyed the company greatly. Another blessing.

As I was running, I was thinking about my daughter and wondering what her impressions were of all this. I know that she is getting pretty tired herself. But I hope I can instill in her that some things are worth going the distance for, even when it gets hard and you want to quit. If that is the lesson she learns from this, than it will make everything - the ups and downs, the highs and lows all worthwhile.

The knee is a little stiff and I'm hoping as I sleep tonight it won't bother me over the next five days.

15 in 15 Run - Day 9 (Aug25) - Richmond

2010-08-25T22:13:00.000-04:00

We started the day running around, late as usual. It's just so hard to get up in the morning. By the time we got to our starting point in Montpelier, it was close to 8am. Meeting us was Josh Orndorff to crew while Steve went to pack up the camper and take it home. Also joining me was Jesse MacLelland, the youth leader at Hopewell UMC, who was planning on running 5-10 miles with me. Later, Pastor Karen Adams and Reba LaFollette joined us and were able to take Jesse back to his car. I was feeling a little sore and stiff and was wondering it was going to be a slow day.

But with Jesse there, we took off and headed down the road at a good clip. The morning was cool, the road was gently rolling, and with Jesse there to talk to, the first miles went by pretty quickly. We were going two or more miles before catching up to the crew station. It is really neat to talk to so many different people of all ages and backgrounds, both my running partners and my host families. It's a chance to get to know someone on a much deeper level. Jesse has a great heart and I know that the Lord is going to do wonderful things in his life. He decided at the 6.2 mile marker that his legs were done for the day and hitched the ride back to his car.

From then on I ran alone. I was still feeling pretty good and decided to keep pushing it with longer runs before the breaks for as long as I could. Route 33 actually turned out to be a fairly decent road to run on. It had a wide enough shoulder that I didn't have to jump into the weeds.

At one point, I made a quick pit stop in a store along the road. It was a really nice country store, but I didn't have time to browse, my crew was waiting for me. There was also some construction that made the road a little rough to run on. At one point, the crew stopped right next to a Tyson processing facility. I tried not to think about what was going on in there. Apparently a truck load of dead chickens had passed by right before I came up.

We hit the outskirts of Richmond earlier than anticipated. Then I realized that I had started about 3 miles closer than the original plan. When we stopped at the UMC Conference Center, I met Steve Jones, District Superintendent of the Richmond District. He had hoped to run with me, but was going to be tied up in a meeting. He did show us an alternative route that would add the extra miles we need and take us into the city by way of Broad Street, which we hoped would be better. The side road was nice and shaded and had sidewalks. However, when I got to Broad St., all my sidewalks disappeared. I ended up running through the parking lots and on the grass. This got to be tricky because I had to jump up and down on curbs and run on the uneven grass. My legs were tiring and I felt my right thigh really start to tighten up. But we didn't seem to get any closer! I'd run 1.5-2 miles. Are we close? No, not yet. Then run another 1.5-2miles. It still didn't look like a city! These were the hardest miles of the day.

Finally, I hit a stretch of sidewalk that would carry me into the city. At one point, the stoplights were catching my crew so often, that I was catching up and passing them. I ran until I hit the 26.2 mark with a running time of 5:05. Then Lindsey and Reba walked with me the rest of the way to Monroe Park. The VCU students were returning to college and some of them had a cooler of Freezie Pops that they were handing out. What a nice treat for the end of the run. Another blessing. When I told them what I was doing, one of them said, "I heard you on the radio!" It made me feel like a celebrity. They said they would love to participate in ministry at Monroe Park.

I don't know why today went so well. Perhaps it was the cooler weather, a good road to run on, and the company of friends, but I felt really strong right up to the end. I know that you all have been praying for me and I could really feel it today. As long as you are praying and running with me in spirit, I know I will make it to the end.

15 in 15 Run - Day 8 (Aug 24) - Fredericksburg to Richmond (leg 2)

2010-08-24T20:50:00.000-04:00

Before I begin today's journey, I just have to mention what a great husband I have. When we got back to the campsite, he went out to the store, bought some groceries, came back, cooked dinner and then did the laundry. I really couldn't have started on this run without his behind the scene handling of logistics, making press contacts and arranging speaking engagements. Now that we are on the road, my job is just to run. Steve and Lindsey have been so wonderful about catering to my needs. Something like this will either draw you closer together or have you at each other's throat by the end of the 15 days. With support like that, I can only see our bond of love as husband and wife, and as a family grow. Another blessing I had last night is that while I was laying there with my legs propped up, the camper across the way was serenading me on his dulcimer. He ended by playing "How Great Thou Art." What could be more appropriate.

Sleep was harder last night, compounded by the rain that pounded on our canvas roof, and the fact that sometimes it's hard to get my legs comfortable. I've been trying to avoid OTC pain medication because I don't want to stress my internal organs, so with Emu oil, biofreeze and other creams I've been managing the aches that come after a long day's run. I woke up in the morning, thinking that someone was shaking me and saying "Get up!" but when I opened my eyes, no one was there. Must have been a dream! We were a little slow getting started but since we only had to drive to the entrance of the State Park, and since nobody was running with me today, I let myself get an extra half hour of sleep.

At the entrance, we took photos and I was ready to go! But wait! My Garmin had to locate a satelite. With all the cloud cover, it took a long time. Okay, now we were off. The run started on a nice downhill slope, for which I was grateful because it allowed me to loosen my legs up. There was a lot of traffic, including school busses taking students to their first day of school, but fortunately it was going the same direction as me (since I was running on the left facing traffic). After the first stop, Steve and Lindsey went to get things at the store, so I had an extended period of running before I met up with them again. I didn't have any person run with me, but I did have a few cows run the distance of their field as I passed by.

I was running on back roads today to try and avoid traffic. I think that is impossible. I was thinking, at least I won't have the big trucks, but that wasn't true either! There is a lot of logging going on in the area and those big logging trucks can come flying around a corner at any minute.

The first 7-8 miles went pretty well, but fatigue sat in early today. By the time I made 10 miles, I was just so tired and still had 16 miles to go. How in the world was I going to make it? I didn't feel bad, and my legs were holding up okay, but I was unmotivated to run. Lindsey was really dragging too, and we decided to let her take it easy for most of the day. Because of the cooler weather and cloud cover, being sprayed and staying hydrated was less of a concern. I decided to push to the half way point, and if I needed to walk the rest of the way, that's what I would do.

Crossing the halfway point was significant, because it was also the halfway point of the entire 15in15. It just happened to be across from a beautiful pond. I decided to take it one mile at a time, walk when needed and just keep moving forward. Again, the terrain was gently rolling hills, so I had as many long downhills as I had uphills. This kept my legs moving, and while my pace was slower, I was still running.

Today was the day for dogs. The first dog was a mutt, and he was pretty much all bark. The second dog was a large doberman pincher who was in the road when I came around the corner. I startled him and fortunately, he ran back into the yard and barked furiously until his owner called him into the house. Next, was the scariest encounter of the dogs. Two pitbulls came charging out at me from a yard where no one seemed to be home. The female dog just barked, but the larger male dog came right up to me in an aggressive maneuver. I stopped running and walked slowly past their house, talking to him the whole way. He didn't bite me but he barked and jumped on the back of my legs until I passed by. Whew! Next a large brown dog comes bounding out, but he quickly retreats when his owner calls "Rocco! Come here!"At least I knew his name. Then, a german shepherd comes barking down the driveway. I turn to him and say, "Listen buster, I've had enough of you guys for one day. I'm not in the mood for this so you just turn around and go home." He gave one last bark, and did just that.

This route had no stores or gas stations until mile 21. There the only potty option was an overused port-of-john. I think I would rather go in the woods. But just down the road was a large Baptist church. It was amazing to see such a big church stuck in the middle of nowhere. At first they thought we just wanted to get a donation, but relaxed when we said that really all we wanted was to use the bathrooms!

Now the miles were ticking down pretty steadily. It's interesting that at some point you look at how far you've run, and all the miles you still have to go and you think you'll never get done, but before you know it, if you keep pushing forward you're down to the last couple of miles.

We made one final crew stop at about 1/2 mile from the end, and Lindsey walked the rest of the way with me. We ended at a Rescue Squad Station! They had an ambulance for sale, we thought it would be neat to buy it and convert it into the crew mobile.

What really struck me as I was running, is that in front of a small house was a motor boat for sale. The price tag was $47,000! For something to entertain a few on a weekend here and there. We're trying to raise $25,000 and the effect of that money spent will be put to far greater effect - the training up of a multitude of youth, reaching into new communities, and serving the homeless and the poor. The sad thing is, someone will buy that boat, and walk past a homeless person without giving him a second glance. What would Jesus do? That's what motivates me to keep running.

15 in 15 Run - Day 7(Aug 23) - Fredericksburg to Lake Anna

2010-08-23T23:37:00.000-04:00

I started out the day rummaging through my bag and realizing I had no shorts to wear! Since we were headed back to Fredericksburg anyway, I decided to go to Walmart and see what I could find. In Walmart, I looked for technical wicking shorts. The only women's shorts they had were stamped with local high school mascots and were way too short - chafe city! The men's shorts were too big! (Although I tried on a pair of UVA shorts, which I would have bought just to irritate my VA Tech husband - hehe) Finally, in the boys section I found shorts that fit just right (well, except boys must not have hips) and they were only $4!

So day 7 started in the parking lot of the Walmart shopping center at around 10am. I ran west out of Fredericksburg on Route 3, mainly by running through parking lots of the various shopping centers. At one point, I ran by a Crab Shack. Eww! I thought I was going to puke! Rotten seafood and running don't mix. I was feeling hot and kept trying to roll up my sleeves. That didn't work, so Steve bought a pair of scissors and cut off the sleeves for me! Finally, we turn off of Route 3 and onto Old Plank Rd. This was the worst road of the whole day - but I'm starting to get used to it; lots of traffic and no shoulder. It was also in the sun and the temperature was starting to rise. Fortunately, it never did get as hot as yesterday.

When I first started running, I was feeling pretty good, so I tried to keep the pace up. I wanted to be done with 10 miles before 12:30pm. I almost made it. By that point, I had turned off of Old Plank Rd. and onto Catharpin. This was a nicer road, less travelled, but I was still pretty hot. Physically, I was starting to struggle. My stomach and bowels just didn't feel right. Fortunately, this were short waves that passed pretty quickly when I slowed down. The hardest miles were from about mile 5 to mile 16. After that, the road became more shaded, and I seemed to turn a corner on regaining my strength.

At one point, I was able to run down the length of the telephone poles where the electric company had fashioned a dirt road. I put my trail shoes on for that section and had to dodge some pretty big mudholes. I was feeling some rubbing of my toes and changed shoes at about mile 16. Now, it was a matter of counting down the miles. Fortunately, a lot of this section was shaded. I would call the terrain rolling hills. Nothing really big, but some big enough that I decided to walk up them.

My goal was to finish by 5pm and that's what I used to keep me focused. But I was a little disheartened when as I ran by the entrance station to the park, the sign said the lake closed at 4pm. So much for my after run swim. Even today, with no running partner, I never felt alone. So many people have come into my life to support me and cheer me on in whatever way they can. I never imagined the outpouring of love, friendship and prayers going up on my behalf and I am overwhelmed.

As I finished, Lindsey and I walked on a trail in the park for about 1/2 mile. Today, I felt better during the run and worst after the run. I also realized that I am on the verge of a threshold. I am about to cross the halfway mark in this run. At some point soon, there will come a time when I will have run beyond what I could possibly train for, when the physical limitations of my body are going to start to show, and the run becomes more mental than physical. That's when I covet your prayers and your support the most. When I am in a valley, I know that someone is on the mountain top praying for me, and continuing to lift me up as on wings of eagles, so that I can run and not grow weary, that I can walk and not faint.

Until tomorrow...

15 in 15 Run - Day 6 (Aug 22) - Fredericksburg

2010-08-23T23:02:00.000-04:00

I began the day with a speaking engagement at Hopewell United Methodist Church. As I talked about how much it meant to have someone stand with you and run beside you, I couldn't help get emotional. God continues to place people with me when I need them the most. And it turns out that today was the day, I needed Sondra to be by my side. After I spoke, Pastor Mike Browder gave a sermon using Hebrews 12:1, and listed the 7 rules of running. The key phrase I got from his message was "Good habits on the outside, produce good faith on the inside." It reminded me of my own catch-phrase "Belief=action=belief" That's how I lost the weight and took the challenge of the 15in15. When I believed I could lose the weight, my actions followed (I tracked what I ate, exercised, etc.) which brought success, which boosted my belief, which led to more action! When you have the faith of a mustard seed, God will call you to action and when you see what He does in your life, your faith grows!

After the service, Steve turned the crew reins over to Josh and Michelle Orndorff, while he spoke at the late service and went home to get the camper. After the few miles on Route 1 yesterday, I didn't want to run 26.2 miles of it, so after consulting a map, we decided to head into Fredericksburg via Route 3. Not exactly a straight route from where I stopped yesterday, but the important thing was getting the miles in. Sondra followed us to the Center City Shopping Center where she left her car and we headed east. When we got 26.2 miles out of town we began the run back into Fredericksburg at mailbox 9233. This is one way in which God uses little coincidences to show us that He is in the midst of the run. 33 was Kelsey Orndorff's (Josh's sister) number. Kelsey was very active in TOP and, in fact, was the lead organizer of our intitial ministry in Fredericksburg. When Kelsey tragically died in a car accident, we were all devastated. But her spirit lives on in TOP. Our direct aid fund to help provide special needs such as help with rent or utilities is now named Kelsey Kares. And her spirit was with us today as we started the run.

While it rained when we were in the car, it seemed as soon as we started running, the sun came out and the temperature went up 10 degrees into the nineties. Because we had to travel from Hopewell, we didn't get started until almost 12:30, so we were running in the heat of the day from the start. It was hot, hot, hot! The second difficulty was the traffic. While it was 100 times better than Route 1, there was still a lot of it. You had to constantly pay attention, just in case a car or truck wasn't. There were also two sections of road where we totally lost the shoulder. We tried running in the grass next to the soybean fields, but that didn't work too well - it was like running in soft sand and took too much effort. There were also a lot of hills. Hills are okay, but hills and hot make for a long day. My back was really bothering me by mid day, and the heat was starting to take it's toll. I was grateful that we were stopping every mile or two, because I was really struggling. This was the hardest day physically for me, and that's why I was so grateful Sondra was there. At one point, I had her run in front and I just followed her footsteps. "Keep moving, just put your feet down and keep going." I felt like she was pulling me on.

At one point Sondra said she was going to start leapfrogging me. I thought she meant that she was going to run up ahead at a faster pace, and then wait up for me. Actually, the heat was getting to her too, and she wanted to stick with me until the end, so she took a couple of breaks just to cool off for a minute. She still ended up running at least 23 of the 26 miles.

It was beautiful out there in the country, but after a while it was more of the same. If you've seen one cornfield, you've seen them all. It was the first time I will admit to wanting to see some sign of civilization, because it meant the end was near.

At one point a grasshopper jumped on my thumb. Then a ladybug landed on Sondra and hung on for a while. So we became "Grasshopper" and "Ladybug."

Then, just when I was about spent, civilization came into view in the form of a Sheetz! We used the restrooms, and took our time getting through the air-conditioned store. As we began running toward town, a fellow asks us for directions. Like we know where we are! At the next stop, Lindsey gets out and we walk the last mile across the bridge and into town together. Another person asks us for direction! But then, out of the blue, we hear "SuSu!" It was Josh's dad, Pastor Randy Orndorff. What a pleasant surprise. Finally we hit the 26.2 mark and end at a cemetery! How fitting, since I am dead tired. And our running time? 5:33 - Kelsey was there at the end for us too.

We were blessed to be treated to dinner by Pastor Randy. I was blessed at Josh and Michelle's care for us which had to be for them a very long day (since they also took us out to Lake Anna before going home). And doubly blessed by Sondra who drove up all the way from NC to be by my side. It made the heat, the traffic, and the long road ahead all worth it.

15 in 15 Run - Day 5 (Aug 21) - DC to Woodbridge

2010-08-21T23:53:00.000-04:00

We stayed at Aunt Joan Jennings' house last night and had a wonderful dinner at The Village Wharf. Again, it had been years since we had seen her, and there was a lot of catching up to do. But for some reason, I had a really restless night. My legs ached a bit and I decided to take some aspirin, so I got up and rummaged around trying to find the right bag. Then I went in the bathroom and rubbed my special emu oil and bio-freeze on them. I get back to bed and Steve who has slept through all that is breathing heavy. Normally it doesn't bother me, but last night it did. I tried the tricks of bouncing the bed to get him to turn but that didn't help, so I got up again and went into the next room where there was a couch. I snuggled down on that, thought it was real comfortable and tried to sleep. "Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!" that was the loudest clock. I decided that heavy breathing was more bearable so I go back into the bedroom, after going into the bathroom to grab some toilet paper to shove in my ears. I'm laying there praying desperately "Please God, help me go to sleep!" and eventually I drift off.

When we drove to the Lincoln Memorial, we missed the turn that let's you take the bridge across and ended up having to go all the way to Spout Run before we could turn around. Finally, we got to the starting point and I was met by Heidi Vogelsong. The other runners, Melissa Roy, Vanessa Peterman, and her husband Jeff started from the airport and were going to meet up with us. After a few pictures we were off.

Heidi and I ran for a few miles before her phone rang, and we realized that we had somehow missed everyone else. Melissa ran hard to catch us and began running with us. We arrived at the end of the airport where there was port-o-johns and eventually the whole group got together. We realized that we were running at slightly different paces. I ended up running mostly with Melissa and we would make sure everyone was back together by the next crew stop. Everyone loved the crew! We were sprayed, given ice water and gatorade as needed. I think everyone got spoiled and wanted this to occur on all their long runs. Yay for the crew!

The heat was hard on everyone. While running, I was maintaining the goal pace, in fact from miles 10-17 we were running under goal pace, but the breaks were pretty long. Vanessa was struggling with the heat, in fact, we were concerned when she stopped sweating and was feeling shaky. She and Heidi decided to walk until Jeff, who had run back to the car, came and picked them up. I was so happy they could be a part of the journey. Melissa ran with me until Mt. Vernon. The hills were starting to get me and I ended up walking up many of the last ones. Melissa came back and tried to "pull" me up one of the hills with an imaginary rope.

After Mt. Vernon, I was on my own, but only had 9 miles to go. The trail continued on for a while, but eventually disappeared right before Route 1. When we hit Route 1, the first thing I had to do was climb a huge hill. Good thing I ate that Expresso Love gel Vanessa gave me before I attempted it! The shoulder got so narrow by the guard rail, that I ended up climbing over the railing and walking in the weeds until I could get to a better spot. This was going to be a long 5 miles. It reminded me of my Route 50 trip - at least this part was shorter. I walked the long uphills and ran the downhills. In another section where the shoulder disappeared, I had to peak around bushes, see if any traffic was coming, then sprint until I got out of the nasty zone.Finally, there was a paved trail to run on. At mile 25, Lindsey and Reba got out and walked the last 1.2 miles with me. We almost lost Reba, who told us to go ahead and have someone come get her, but after walking a little further we turned around (when we heard an icecream truck - rats no money!) and here she was trudging up the hill. So the three of us made it together. The Garmin and the car odometer obviously had different measurements because I ended up going 26.3 miles! The last 1/10th of a mile is sometimes the hardest.

We then were stuck in traffic on 95 forever, as we made our way to Hopewell where I will be speaking tomorrow. We had another enjoyable evening with our host family Pastor (and TOP board member) Mike Browder and his wife Susan. We also met the youth leader, Jesse, who might run with me on Wednesday.

Today was a beautiful but hot run by the river. Another day where the support of friends made the going easier. I was spent, but blessed, and maybe that's where we see God work the most.

15 in 15 Run - Day 4 (Aug 20) Sterling to DC

2010-08-21T23:19:00.000-04:00

I was looking forward to this day, especially after yesterday's "on the highway" run. Today was going to be bike trail all the way in to DC. We started at the parking lot for the W&OD trail on Route 28 in Sterling. I was met there by Gwen Corley who would be giving bike support and Alan Sowards, an old high school friend, who would run with me for the first 10 miles. This was another blessing. Alan lives in North Carolina and just happened to be in the area on business. Isn't it wonderful how God plans coincidences like that?

Alan and I got caught up on the last 30 years of our lives since we graduated from Loudoun County High. We worked out a system with Gwen, who could bike ahead of us with a spray bottle, and gatorade if we needed it, then she would be ready to spray us down as we passed by. The miles went pretty quickly with someone to talk to, and no traffic to worry about (except at the street crossings). Alan finished the 10 miles and left with his wife, while Gwen and I moved on. Eventually we were met by BJ Freeman who was walking towards us from where she had parked. This was great! From beginning to end, I was going to have somebody to talk to.

Our crew was having more difficulties. While we were running a straight line down the trail, they would have to plot a course through the streets in order to catch up to us. Sometimes this meant that roads they were planning to take had construction detours. By the time they made it to the rendezvous point we had already run by. It was good that Gwen was there with the extra supplies. I was also wearing a hydration pack, which gave me more water, but it was heavy.

Gwen turned around to ride back to her car, but it wasn't very long before BJ and I met up with Jay Jacob Wind who was going to run with us into DC. I recognized him because he was the race director of the Potomac River Run marathon that I did back in May. He was a wealth of running knowledge and he also knew the trail and the city very well. We handed over the logistics to him and he communicated back and forth with Steve on where to meet up. It was another one of those blessings.By now I was hot and tired. I really did feel like they were pulling me into DC and it made the run so much easier.

At one point there was a detour sign on the trail. We decided that it was meant for bicycles only and decided to try to make it through. Not! Now we had to turn around and go back. Fortunately, it wasn't very far. When Key Bridge came into view I was very happy, we were almost there. We crossed into Georgetown and stopped at the Georgetown Running Company for some water. Then, I followed Jay and BJ down to Water St (since it wasn't the original route) which avoided the Georgetown foot traffic and gave us a nice shaded route until we ran the last 12 blocks down to McPherson Square. At the end we grabbed hands and held them high as we crossed the "finish" line. Our crew and the TOP DC coordinator, William Daniels, were waiting for us.

I did get one leg cramp after sitting on the curb a while, but was able to work it out and it didn't bother me the rest of the day. BJ treated us to ice cream, since the store just happened to be across from the park. What a great day of friendship. It reminded me so much that I'm not doing this alone. As the song goes "I get by with a little help from my friends."

15 in 15 Run - Day 3 (Aug 19) Trinity UMC to Chantilly

2010-08-21T22:54:00.000-04:00

The day started off with a special blessing. Dr. Jeremy Busch, a chiropractor in Front Royal, had seen my post about my run and offered for his office to give me a massage and some dynamic stretching. It was wonderful and got me motivated for the day's run. He also sent me a link with some visualizations I can practice while running which would help with the Chi running technique, plus gave me a contact for Fredericksburg and Richmond. What a blessing! In typical Jennings fashion, we got a late start and left Trinity United Methodist Church in Paris, VA about 11:40am. That meant I would be running mostly in the heat of the day.The road began with a gentle downhill slope as I came off the mountain. Today I would spend the entire day on Route 50. The first few miles of the trip weren't bad. There was good shoulder, not too much traffic, and gently rolling hills. At one point, I had to go through a construction zone. They were taking a tree down, and right as I ran by, they dropped a good sized limb.

Unlike yesterday with the pouring rain, it was sunny and heating up fast. And although I started at about 800 ft and dropped down to 300 ft, the road was more uphill than down. I would run up, up, up, down, up, up, up, down. Upperville has these fancy stone shoulders that look nice, but don't really help runners because they are too narrow. At least they had a sidewalk in the middle of town. Between Upperville and Middleburg the hills seemed to get longer and longer. Finally, at about the halfway point we reached the middle of Middleburg. My crew was doing a great job of keeping me sprayed off and my bottle full of ice water. I told Reba to make me drink even if I didn't want to. At Middleburg, she left and Steve and Lindsey became my sole crew.

The next section of the road was horrible. Now we were into the afternoon rush hour traffic, about the same time as the shoulder of the highway became almost nonexistent. And I was still going up. Traffic was whizzing by at 70 mph, and even if there were no cars in the opposite lane, they wouldn't move over one inch, zooming by so close that I almost lost my hat a couple of times. I kept having to jump in the ditch to get out of the way. I began having a little pity party for myself "I'm hot, this is too hard, I hate this road, I want to quit" Then I gave myself a little lecture. "Listen to yourself. You're so focused on you and your misery that all you are doing is making yourself more miserable. Take your eyes off of yourself for a minute and think about why you are doing this, and the people who are supporting you. Run with endurance, the race set before you."

When I got my mental attitude in the right place I was able to focus more on getting the day done. In Aldie, we stopped at the Aldie General Store and they let me use the bathroom. Then it was the last push to the finish. The best part of the trip is when I went down by the Aldie Mill and ran across the foot bridge over the creek. Shaded, no cars - Ah!

The next challenge was the three round-abouts. I had to figure out how to negotiate around them and the traffic that was merging in and out. Plus they didn't build shoulders, they put in curbs instead. I was so focused on avoiding getting hit by a car, that I missed where Steve and Lindsey were waiting for me. Soon I was on the four lane highway. I had good shoulder for a while, but then they decided to put curbs there too!

When I hit 25.5 miles, Steve said I was 1.7 miles from the church. I told him I would go another mile and see how I felt. This mile ended at the top of a hill and I could see where the church was. "I'm going all the way." I said, and ran down the hill and into the church parking lot, where I was greeted by Leroy Jackson who was our host for the evening. He and his wife, Jane, fed us a wonderful dinner and we had a great time catching up over the past 15 years since we had seen them.

Today was a tough day mentally. The traffic bearing down on me just made it really hard to focus. But I learned when we take our eyes off of our self and focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, he gives us the strength to keep going.

15 in 15 - Day 2 (Aug 18) - Front Royal to Mt. Carmel

2010-08-19T07:52:00.000-04:00

I woke up and thought, "What's that sound, someone taking a shower? It couldn't be...rain!" But it was. It was okay because I knew that in 15 days it had to rain sometime. Might as well get it out of the way early, especially since this was trail day. Steve had gone home the night before to take care of the dog, and pick up some things we forgot and didn't get back until close to 7:30. By the time we got to the Gazebo and organized the gear, it was close to 8 oclock. But I was off and running in the rain. It took me about 1/2 mile before I realized I hadn't turned my Garmin on! Oops. The first four miles were on the road going out of town and up to the trailhead. Up, and up, and up I went. My pace was pretty slow right from the start and my trail shoes were rubbing one toe the wrong way. When I caught up to my crew before I entered the trail, I changed shoes and got my pack ready.

The first part of the trail was fairly runnable, but not even a mile on the trail and I ran into a big tree down blocking the way. Crawling under, in and around fallen trees is all part of the adventure. Now I started climbing, and climbing. The rain was steady, but manageable. In fact it kept me cool, but it also slowed me down because I was being cautious on the wet rocks and roots. I really didn't want to fall down. Finally, after about 2 miles I reach the top of the ridge, and after a few technical (rocky) areas begin a nice descent. I made a pit stop at the Jim and Molly Denton shelter and after a long two hours came out on Rt. 638 where I met my crew. At this point I had gone between 9 and 10 miles and was already an hour behind schedule.

The next section of trail was a lot easier. I climbed up the ridge through the woods and emerged in a beautiful mountain meadow enshrouded in clouds. There, under a lonely apple tree, was a bench. At first, I thought wouldn't it be nice just to sit down and relax for a while. But the stronger impression was that it was pew in God's cathedral. I ran across the meadow and back into the woods to begin the descent. About 1/2 way down was a historical sign - apparently, John Mosby and his raiders roamed these trails during the Civil War. I reached Rt. 55, got re-fueled by my crew and headed up the next ridge.

I had a real blessing in the person of Colleen Snyder who came to run with me for a few miles. She arrived when I needed it most, as the next section was another long climb. It's amazing when you have someone to talk to how quickly the miles go by. That really lifted my spirits and got me over the ridge. I had to take a 1/4 mile trail up to the parking lot where my crew was stationed. By now it was 2 o'clock and I still had 10+ miles to go! On the trails I was only averaging about 3 mph.Reba, with her sense of humor, asked me if I wanted to be sprayed down! I think I'm wet enough.

As I left them, I descended down into the woods into a dark cloud. It was like entering a fairy land. I finally was able to get a good trail running thing happening and began to make up time. I was doing so well, that I beat the crew station to their next stop and had already run by. At this point I just wanted to be done, so I kept moving. I noticed that the run was going to be a little short so I took a side trail that went to a beautiful overlook, and added a couple of miles to the run. Good thing I did, else I would have beat them to the next stop.

At this point I was off the mountain and had one mile to go. I gave them my pack and took off down Route 50. I was running down the mountain on the shoulder of the highway and felt free to run, unburdened by the weight of the pack. Finally I make the last turn to my ending destination, Mt. Carmel church and my daughter and I walk the last 100 yards together. What a long day! Almost 9 hours in the rain. I was tired, but only had an hour to get showered and ready to speak at Providence Chapel, our home church. It was a wonderful evening and I feel so blessed to have them supporting me every step of the way.

Day 2 done.

15 in 15 Day 1 - Winchester to Front Royal

2010-08-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

After staying up late to get things ready, we were frantically running around the house in the morning, which meant that we were going to forget something. When we got to Winchester, we realized it was the water! Fortunately, Reba, my faithful crew member had brought water. Running with me was Rachel Carson who is heading off to college tomorrow and three cross country team members from James Wood High School. Also running with me was Kristin Bloodworth, from Braddock United Methodist Church. After the necessary pictures, we start running and make it a 1/4 mile before I needed to use the bathroom. So, first stop! We chatted and ran a nice easy pace. My crew had gone ahead to Sheetz to get gas and so we figured if we didn't need to stop we would just wave as we passed by, which we did. They are supposed to stop every 1 or 2 miles. Well we ran 3 miles, then 4 and the girls need to get taken back to their cars soon and no crew. Finally, they call. "We can't find you." Did I mention that all six of us were wearing bright orange safety vests? And there were five of them supposed to be looking for us running by? And they can't find us? At mile five, we finally get connected. Kristin continues on with me for another 3 miles. Once we turn off Valley Ave. and onto Springdale Lane the road is wonderful, hardly any traffic. But now we get the hills. Some of them were pretty steep. I remember passing a road to the left with no road sign and thinking - that sort of looks like the road we're supposed to turn onto. But because it isn't marked I figure it's a private lane. Steve takes Kristin back to her car and goes to a meeting. Here is where we learn Lesson 1 - make sure you have everything you need when the crew cars get separated. I'm running and running. We're supposed to hit Stephens City at mile 10.5. Well, we've passed that and now it's mile 11. Finally there's a turn without a road name, just a Route number. Eventually I end up on Germany Road and then hit Marlboro. I think that private lane way back there WAS our turn! So I run into Stephens City with 3 extra miles under my belt on a road that has lots of blind curves. There was a lot of jumping right into the poison ivy on the side of the road! Lesson 2 - make sure you bring the Atlas. I'm also developing some chafing issues, where my arm is rubbing against my shirt and umm, my underwear. But Steve still has the bag with the body glide. He also has the short sleeve shirt I was going to change into. Reba, bless her heart, buys some vaseline and I go into the bathroom of the Exxon station and lube up. Then I ditch the underwear (the tights were meant to be worn without them anyway) I'm feeling much better now. As I cross through the Food Lion parking lot, Reba drives ahead and buys me a t-shirt to change into. Except the first one was an XXL. She then turns around exchanges it for a medium. I just keep running. After a few miles, Steve shows up and with him the Channel 3 TV station. As they get their camera set up, I take time to stretch and rest. After a quick interview, I'm off again. Because of the extra three miles I've already run, I change plans and decide to run straight down 522 into Front Royal. Boy, was that an adventure. The shoulder isn't the greatest, but I could get down in the grass and farther away from the traffic in a lot of places. Trucks and cars whizzed by me, but for the most part pulled into the left lane if they could. On one section there was a hedge that grew out to the edge of the highway. I had to wait for a break in the traffic, run a few feet, then jump in the hedge when a car would come by. The other interesting thing in this section is that every step I took, 10 or 20 grasshoppers would fly up. "Just call me Grasshopper," was all I could think. Finally, we're on the outskirts of town and the going gets easier. All day, my crew waits for me in such places as a cemetery, a self-storage lot, numerous gas stations, or perched precariously on the side of the road. As I cross the final bridge going into Front Royal, I had already decided that I was going to run all the way to the Gazebo. But the bridge was long and by the time I finished crossing I was at mile 26. It can't be more than a mile... I'm running and running and mile 27 shows up and I'm still not there. Then, squish, I step right into some bubble gum. Ewwy, gooey! At the shell station, Lindsey joins me, then Reba and her granddaughter, Bethany, and we walk the final 1/2 mile to the Gazebo. 27Then we run up the steps while singing the theme from Rocky. I stretch and we wait for the Northern VA Daily reporter to show up with his camera man. After the interview, the camera man wants to take pictures of me...running. So I run three short strides while he gets his pictures. After he's done, it actually felt pretty good, and loosened me up for tomorrow's run! We had a wonderful dinner at the Dodd's home and a beautiful time of worship and testimony at Marlow Heights Baptist Church. They have very generous and giving spirits there. I'm tired, but don't feel too bad. Tomorrow's a new day, and a new adventure!

My Complete Route for the 15 in 15

2010-08-16T23:07:00.001-04:00

Here is the detailed maps for my 15 days of running! I will be leaving at approximately 7:30am each day except for August 22, when I will be leaving around 1pm after speaking in the morning. If you want to run with me for any or all of a day, please e-mail me and let me know which day and where you want to meet up. I'm estimating an average of 12 minute miles, which may be slower or faster depending on how I feel, who's running with me, and the weather! And you can run 1 mile or all 26 miles; we will have a driver who can take you back to your car. The more the merrier!

Day 1 - Tuesday Aug 17 - Winchester to Front Royal. Winchester ministry focuses on delivering groceries in low income neighborhoods, and is a site for Impact the Valley. Front Royal is the headquarters for Impact the Valley. We have several active TOP youth groups in Front Royal. We will be leaving from the downtown walking mall, near the Court House.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/winchester/254128124101945590

Day 2 - Wednesday, Aug 18 - Front Royal to Mt. Carmel Church - Leaving from the Gazebo at 7:30am, running 522 south until we get to the Appalachian Trail, then running the trails to Route 50, and a short trip to Mt. Carmel. Mileage on this map is estimate, was hard to map the trail but I'm sure it will be at least 26 miles! This will be the most scenic route, but also the hardest! Mt. Carmel is one of three churches on the Paris Mountain Charge. Providence Chapel, where I will be speaking Wednesday night is my home church! So I'm home this day.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/front-royal/676128199324365795

Day 3 - Thursday, Aug 19 - Paris to Chantilly - Leaving from Trinity UMC and running Route 50 into Chantilly. Trinity is the third church in our charge. Ending at Pleasant Valley Church, the church where TOP started!

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/bluemont/243128128470811894

Day 4 - Friday, Aug 20 - Chantilly (Sterling) to DC - Leaving from the W&OD parking lot off of Route 28(Sully Rd). I will be running the W&OD trail until it intersects with the Custis Trail, then taking the Custis Trail into Georgetown across Key Bridge. I will end up at McPherson Square, one of the main parks where we do ministry in DC. A good run without much road to worry about!

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/sterling/424128147920978940

Day 5 - Saturday, Aug 21 - I will leave DC starting from the Lincoln Memorial, and running the entire Mt. Vernon Trail. The run will end on Route 1 as we head to Fredericksburg. Another scenic run (except for the last few miles), and mostly flat!

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/dc/washington/441128155212327983

Day 6 - Sunday, Aug 22 - After speaking in Hopewell, VA I will be shuttled back to Route 1 and will start this run in the early afternoon. We will be running entirely on Route 1 (ugh). This will be a afternoon/early evening run for those who aren't morning runners. I will be ending in Fredericksburg, one of our newer ministry sites - we are still trying to develop the most effective ways to minister in this city. This run is on the long side, we may add the miles on to Saturday's run if I'm feeling good.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/lorton/279128155253872551

Day 7 - Monday, Aug 23 - From Fredericksburg, we begin our journey to Richmond. The nice thing about this run is that it ends at Lake Anna State Park! I think a swim will be in order at the end of the day.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/fredericksburg/413128198178437770

Day 8 - Tuesday, Aug 24 - We'll start at Lake Anna State Park and make our way towards Montpelier, passing through towns such as Beaver Dam.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/spotsylvania/582128198272422000

Day 9 - Wednesday, Aug 25 - Starting at Montpelier, we'll be traveling down Route 33 all the way into Richmond, ending at Monroe Park, the central location for ministry in Richmond.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/montpelier/262128198984418847

Day 10 - Thursday, Aug 26 - Starting at Monroe Park, we'll leave Richmond and travel towards Charlottesville on Route 6. It will take several miles just to get out of the city.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/richmond/444128147570420632

Day 11 - Friday, Aug 27 - Starting where we ended, near Goochland, VA - we will continue on Route 6 for this leg of the journey and turn north on Route 15.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/goochland/157128147634352936

Day 12 - Saturday, Aug 28 - Starting on Route 15 below Palmyra we will run north, then snake our way to Charlottesville via some back roads. We will finish the journey into Charlottesville by coming in on Route 250 and ending at Lee Park, where most of the Charlottesville ministry occurs.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/palmyra/308128147728639026

Day 13 - Sunday, Aug 29 - Starting from Lee Park, we will head out of Charlottesville on Ridge St/Route 631, ending around Faber.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/charlottesville/946128199070788575

Day 14 - Monday, Aug 30 - We'll start where we left off and do a mix of back roads and Route 29 as we make our way to Lynchburg.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/-amherst/203128199113730297

Day 15 - Tuesday, Aug 31 - Last Day!! We will spend most of the day on Route 29, taking the business route through the towns and ending at Fort Hill United Methodist in Lynchburg!! Lynchburg is the home of our UNO ministry - Urban Neighborhood Outreach.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/-lynchburg/348128199194647935

Hope to see you along the way!

15in15 Day 3 Route - August 19th - Paris, VA to Chantilly

2010-08-08T13:40:00.000-04:00

http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/va/bluemont/243128128470811894

Another day mapped. This starts at Trinity UMC in Paris, and ends at Pleasant Valley UMC in Chantilly, the church where Teens Opposing Poverty started!

Route for Day One of the 15in15

2010-08-08T00:27:00.000-04:00

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/va/winchester/254128124101945590
Check out the route for day 1 of the 15 in 15 - Starting in Winchester and ending in Front Royal. If anyone wants to run part or all of the run, let me know. We'll be leaving from the Downtown walking mall about 7:30am on August 17th. Come join the fun!

My Speaking Schedule for the 15in15

2010-07-29T15:49:00.000-04:00

Here is my speaking engagements so far. If you know of a church, running group, or Weight Watchers group who would like to hear me speak about my weight loss adventure, becoming a runner, and why I'm doing the 15in15 please let me know by e-mailing me at susujennings@usa.net

Specifically, I would like to have evening speaking engagements in or near DC on the 20th and 21st, in the Fredericksburg area on the 23rd or 24th, and in the Richmond area on the 25th or 26th.

Monday August 16, 2010

7:00 PM

Braddock Street United Methodist Church Chapel

116 Wolfe St

Winchester, VA

Tuesday August 17, 2010

6:30 PM

Marlow Heights Baptist Church

517 Braxton Rd

Front Royal, VA

Wednesday August 18, 2010

6:30 PM

Providence Chapel United Methodist Church

27 Providence Lane

Bluemont (Frogtown), VA

Sunday August 22, 2010

8:45 AM Chapel Service

Hopewell United Methodist Church

Corner of Broadway and 6th Avenues

Hopewell, VA

* Steve Jennings will speak at the 11:00 Chapel Service

Saturday August 28, 2010 6:30 PM

6:30 PM

Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church

750 Hinton Avenue

Charlottesville, VA

Tuesday August 31, 2010

7:00 PM

Fort Hill United Methodist Church

106 Oakridge Blvd

Lynchburg, VA

Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 July 2010 14:05 )

Summer Solstice Run - June 19, 2010 - 36 miles

2010-06-21T13:46:00.001-04:00

An urban trail running adventure. The goal was to run Day 4 of my 15in15, with the starting point being the parking lot for the W&OD bike trail at Route 28 in Sterling.Since I would be running in the heat of the day, with limited access to water, I carried my large hydration pack as well as a smaller waist pack. So, I was carrying about 10 extra pounds of gear and water. There were a lot of bikers on the trail. Apparently on Sunday, the Tour de Cure - a 100 mile bike ride, was going to take place on the W&OD. A lot of the teams were out, getting a feel for the trail. "Passing on your left!" was yelled in my ear, over and over again. I preferred the "ding!" of a bike bell. Sometimes the biker would get right next to me and yell "PASSING!" causing me to about jump out of my skin. I ran on the adjacent horse trail when possible - it was graveled trail, less crowded and more shaded.

Even on an urban trail there is wildlife to be found. I'm running along when a small groundhog runs onto the trail and stops right in front of me.

"Pay the toll, or I won't let you pass!" he chirps, his eyes darting around.

"What's the toll?"

"You got anything to eat?"

"Just gels," I reply, rummaging through my pack.

"Hmph, not good enough," he says, scratching a flea with his back foot.

"Get out of my way, or I'll kick you to the moon!" I threaten.

"You wouldn't," he protests.

I raise my leg back. He scurries off the trail into his hole.

The trail runs in and out of towns. Often, there is a stop light just for the trail. Sometimes I have to wait a minute or more before crossing. That's okay, I welcome the breaks. In Vienna, the trail runs right by the old train station. There is a farmer's market and I take a break to wander through the stands. I guess there's no way to add a pint of tomatoes to my backpack, and the one booth selling drinks is all sold out. I press on. It's about mile 17 and I'm somewhere in Falls Church. My water is running low, and I'm hot. Off the trail to the right, I see some kids with a lemonade stand - 25 cents a cup. I give them a dollar, drink 3 cups and tell them to keep the change. Refreshed, I hit the trail again. Finally, about another mile down the trail I see a water fountain. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. But wait! The ultimate aid station is across the street, a 7-Eleven store. I buy a 50oz bottle of water and a protein bar. Sitting down at one of the tables outside the store, I refill my hydration bladder and eat the bar. Now, I'm really ready to roll - less than 10 miles to DC!

The miles click slowly by. I'm not trying to set any speed records, just trying to sustain a maintainable pace. When I cross interstate 495, I stop to take a picture of the traffic below. Hey, the ultimate urban scenic trail overlook. Eventually, I reach my intersecting trail, the Custis Trail, which will take me into the city. It runs right along Route 66, the barrier walls the only thing separating us. I can feel the heat coming from the highway, it's probably over 100 degrees in spots. I'm counting down the miles because I'm not really sure when I cross Key Bridge and enter DC - 20, 21, 22 (where is it?), 23, 24. Finally! As I cross the Potomac, I notice the boats on the river, most of them anchored, some in a cluster of 2 or 3 boats - a floating party.

Now, I'm in Georgetown (mile 25). I stop at the Running Company, leave a brochure, and buy some Body Glide and Sport Beans. They might put my 15in15 run in their monthly newsletter! Next stop is McPherson Square, the ending point for Day 4. Weaving through the hoards of people, stopping at all the crosswalks - how do people run in the city - and eventually ending at the park with 27 miles under my belt. This park has a large homeless population, and a church group is there getting ready to do a fish fry. I talk to them for a while, explain what I am doing, and give them a brochure. They may also be in touch about speaking at their church.

I'm feeling pretty good, so I decide to keep going and start the Day 5 route. I run down to Constitution Ave. and buy some more water from one of the street vendors. Leaving DC by way of the Lincoln Memorial, I cross the bridge into Virginia and head to the Mt. Vernon Trail. This trail runs along the river and will take me about 15 miles. But I don't go quite that far today! I maintain a steady running pace until I hit the 50k point (31 miles) and then take each mile as it comes. I'm basically running until Steve and Lindsey, who just started from home catch up to me! Even in the late afternoon/early evening the sun is beating down hot as Hades. Steve said it was 94 degrees as they drove in. I approach Reagan National Airport and as the planes land, they fly right over my head. Apparently, this is a great Saturday pasttime, watching the planes land, because the trail winds right behind the airport. People are gathered on the hill, taking pictures, picnicking, or playing soccer.

Now, I realize I'm out of water again, and I see no place to get any. I try to keep running but eventually I slow to a walk. I sit on a bench and rest - boy, it's hard to keep going. Finally, I see the marina and I straggle into it having done 34 miles. With 2 bottles of water and a soda in me, I perk up. Since Steve and Lindsey are close, I jog around and near the marina until they arrive, 35 miles. Then, together, we walk one more mile to make it 36 miles for the day. We drive the rest of Day 5 and Day 6 and happily discover that it puts us right at the edge of Fredericksburg. The 15in15 is shaping up, and so am I.

1/2Sauer1/2Kraut Marathon - June 13, 2010

2010-06-14T18:02:00.000-04:00

I was sitting in my car about to pull out of the driveway. Do I have everything? I just felt like I was forgetting something important! Then it dawned on me - my running shoes! That would have been interesting come tomorrow morning. The 3 hour trip to Pennsylvania was uneventful except for driving through a few thunderstorms. Thankfully, they seemed to have passed through the area by the time I got to the campground. I was going to sleep in the back of my car again, but this time I had a tent that attaches to the back and makes a nice entrance way and room for changing. Of course, I had never set the tent up before that evening and hoped I wasn't going to look like a fool. On my first attempt I forgot to run the poles through the sleeves on the tent. I struggled to get it standing and realized it looked awfully funny just hanging there. Down it went, now I had to slip the long poles through the sleeves. Not as easy as it sounds - the joints in the flexible poles kept wanting to separate and snag on the sleeve. In the meantime, a young man from the campsite across the way comes over and asks if I need help (okay, so maybe I do look a little foolish). I thank him, but wave him off because I really need to know if I can set the tent up by myself. But I told him I would call over to him if I got into trouble. Finally, I get the poles in their proper place and lift the tent up. I'm running around from side to side, trying to keep the whole thing from toppling. It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be! I back the car up to the tent and and attach the entrance way to the hatch. No time to figure out how to tighten it though; now, I have a new problem - there is thunder sounding in the distance, raindrops starting to fall, and I still need to put the rain fly on. This thing is like 8 ft. tall - I'm trying to throw the fly over the top of the tent and it just keeps sliding down. Where did that young man go? He's disappeared into his own tent. Now it starts pouring. I'm standing inside the tent and it's pretty misty.I open my umbrella inside the tent and hang it from the ceiling. Well, at least it's not raining under the umbrella. Then, I throw a poncho on, set up my folding lawn chair, and pray it doesn't collapse while I stand on it. Three attempts later, I finally get the rainfly on the tent. By this time, I'm soaked and there are little puddles on the inside of the tent. But the back of the car is still dry and cozy. Good thing that's where I'm sleeping. The storms keep coming, so I finally just try and go to sleep. It's comfortable, but I sleep fitfully, and because I didn't tighten the gap between car and tent, I'm sharing my space with more than a few insects.

Morning arrives and I sleepily get dressed and head to the race site. There are 500 runners in the half-marathon and 300 in the full. They say they will get us all parked, checked in and ready to go in one hours time. I end up having to park in the farthest possible location to the race site. That means I need to go get my race packet, go to the potty, go back to my car, and be back at the start in less than an hour. Packet pick up goes smoothly, but the lines to the bathroom are atrocious. I wait, and wait, and wait - my bowels feel like they are going to explode. 20 minutes to the start and I'm still waiting, and I still need to go back to my car. I get out of line and head to the car, hoping that they will start the race late. Now, I realize that the potty is out of the question - I can't wait. There is a nice grove of trees and bushes that afford enough privacy to do my business - relief! I'm a trail runner, I'm used to it.

Thankfully, the race hasn't started when I get back. I'm standing there, not moving, and I'm sweating. Finally, we're off! Not really - we are trying to squeeze 800 people onto a small biking trail. Even with the bit of road we run on first, we get jammed up when we make the turn to go on the trail. I'm weaving in and out of people, and bumping elbows. Mile One is a 10:20mile. Eventually, it starts to spread out and I can pick up the pace a bit. I'm still trying to hit the halfway point between 2:00 and 2:10, but know with the heat it might be hard. My pace for the next few miles picks up a bit - 9:18, 9:25, 9:15, 9:45. From miles 4 to 5 I climb the only major hill of the course. It also happens to be in the direct sun. At about mile 5 is the first turn around point. So now there is runner traffic going both ways. If you want to pass, you have to wait for a clear spot and then sprint in front of the person you're trying to pass. I could feel my body temperature rise as the sun beat down on me. I was making sure to walk through the aid stations, drink and pour water on my head. My pace started to slow over the next few miles: 9:53, 9:44, 10:53, 10:09, 10:47. People around me are talking about switching to the half-marathon. At about mile 12 you had that option - the half marathoners turn around to go back to the finish line, the marathoners continue on. I spend a lot of time at that aid station, getting my bottles refilled and watching the halfers turn back.

As I head in the direction of the marathon, a guy passes me and asks "Wasn't tempting enough?" I replied, "Well, it was tempting, but not enough for us crazies." Now, the runners are starting to spread out. I can only see one or two runners in my near vicinity. Soon, I exit the trail and start running down a road. It seems like a vacant section of town, and there are no trail marshalls directing the way. I cross a bridge and then loop back down towards the river and the trail. There is some Jamaican music blaring from a building and a couple of guys just hanging out, watching me run by. They weren't cheering, just watching and I felt a little uncomfortable. I hit the halfway point at around 2:16. I knew it was going to be a slow day, and decided to stop pushing the pace. My averages slowed to the 12-13 minute range. At this point, I was running alone and wondered if there was anyone behind me. Finally, a young man ran by, at least I was going the right way. The trail led out onto a railroad track, and I ran along side of it for a bit, there was a lot of broken glass on the ground. I passed a girl who said, "Where the heck are we? I'm afraid of getting lost, of getting mugged, this isn't very scenic!" She tried to run with me for a while, but then gave up and walked a bit muttering "This is going to be a long day."

The next aid station had the alternative energy drink. It was Mountain Dew! Yay, sugar and caffeine so I partook. Now, I began playing the mental game - if I run to the next aid station, then I will let myself walk a bit. If I make it to mile 16, there are only 10 miles to go. The trail changed from gravel to dirt to paved path, with a few road sections. Along one road, there was an "unofficial" aid station. They had ice! I put some in my hat. My legs and back were really starting to hurt. More mental games - if I make it to mile 18, the turn around point, I can walk the last 8 miles in 2 hours. But as I make the turn, the volunteer yells, "You're looking strong, keep going!" So instead of walking, I pick up the pace. When I do walk, it hurts as much as running, so I resort to my "ultra-running jog." Slow, but steady. A lot of people are doing walk/run intervals. I pass them on their walk, they pass me when running. It was a game to see who would be ahead at the end of the race. At about mile 19, a lady is flying on her bike through the middle of the runners, screaming, "Help me! Help me! I don't have any brakes!" A couple of the guys were able to grab her and stop her. Dark clouds loomed in the distance. I welcomed them, hoping they would bring some rain, but not thunder and lightning. By mile 20, I was spent. I refilled my bottles and started walking out of the aid station, as drops of rain began to fall. I want to cry, but know if I can just keep moving I will finish. I start running, and begin the mental games again - if I run to mile 21, there will only be 5 miles left. It starts pouring rain. It feels good, but there are puddles and streams of water everywhere. I reach mile 21, keep running there's an aid station at mile 22 - the Mountain Dew station. Four miles to go! I run out of the aid station and the rain finally begins to slack off. It immediately becomes hot and humid again. Steam is rising off the paths as the sun shines down. But I have hit my rhythm. I know I won't beat 5 hours, but I'm trying to get as close as possible. I pass one of the couples doing intervals and never see them again. I turn back on the road to cross the bridge and those men had disappeared. As I climb up towards the bridge, a rock drops very close to me. Where did that come from? When I get on the bridge, I see the culprit, a young boy who was obviously the rock thrower. I want to say something to him, but decide to let it go and keep moving. The road section seems longer this time and I wonder if I have missed my turn. I am the only one out here, no traffic directors, no other runners. Finally, I see the yellow arrow indicating the turn. I have less than two miles to go. I breeze through the last aid station and head down the trail. I keep looking for the mile 26 marker, as my Garmin is showing an extra 1/4 mile. I never see the marker, but as I approach the bridge there are people sitting on it, cheering as I come closer. I run up and across the bridge and to the finish. 5:12:29. I get my medal and find the German food - Brats, sauerkraut and German potato salad. For this race, I accomplished my goals - I made it to the finish before the 6 1/2 hour cutoff (there were a few people behind me, after all), I survived the heat, and recovered well. Could I do it 14 more times in a row? I guess we'll find out in August.

Strategies to remember for the 15 in 15: start as early as possible, stay hydrated and go slow. 6-7 hours a day is not unrealistic.

June 8 Training Run

2010-06-08T13:06:00.000-04:00

It was beautiful this morning, not at all like it will be in August. I ran into work along the bike path, took my time and it was one of the most effortless 10.4 mile runs I've had in a long time. I will run back to my car this evening for a total of 21 miles today.

15in15 Schedule

2010-06-08T12:59:00.000-04:00

Check out the schedule where I'll be running this summer. If you want to run with me, let me know. I also need crew and water stops.

Potomac River Run Marathon: May 2, 2010

2010-05-03T20:20:00.001-04:00

This race took place in the Carderock Recreation area, on the C&O tow path in Maryland. The race was billed as “the easiest marathon in America” because it was flat and on a softer running surface than pavement. The only thing the Race Director couldn’t predict was the weather. The race had two start options, the early start at 6am(for those who want to start early or need more than 5 hours to finish) and the regular start at 7am. I kept going back and forth in my head about which start to do. I finally decided on the regular start, because even though it was a training run for me, I wanted to be with the “regular” starters – it made my race seem more official. In retrospect, especially with the heat, I should have taken the early start. It was actually like two different races, each with about the same amount of people. I also think I would have done better with that hour of cooler weather. But, alas, that’s not what I did so no use fretting about it.

I set my alarm for 3:15am and was on my way shortly after 4am, arriving just before 6am (I probably still could have taken the early start!) I met Dana Casanave who was doing her 15th marathon of 52, while raising money for 25:40, a group that works with children in Africa affected by the HIV/Aids epidemic. Her article was featured in the Washington Post. I wanted to see how she was doing, because, in August, I am planning on doing 15 marathons in 15 days while running across Virginia. My goal is to raise funds for Teens Opposing Poverty (teensopposingpoverty.org). Her IT band was bothering her and she was hoping just to finish.

We walked to the starting area, where a very beautiful Mrs. Maryland International said something (that I couldn’t hear) to start the race. A trumpeter and a french horn player played the National Anthem. Then they ran back to put their horns away, because they were both running in the race. Shortly after they got back, the race began.

I decided my goals for this race based on my 20 mile training run Tuesday. I felt I could hold a fairly decent pace for the first half – try to hit as close to two hours as possible, then do more of a long, slow jog for the second half, but trying to maintain a consistent pace.

So I had in my head:
1 – Under five hours
2 – First half: 2:00 but not more than 2:11 (a 10 minute pace)
3 – Second half: try to maintain a good steady pace
4 – If things are going well, try to get a PR (under 4:48)

The race was two out and backs. So I divided the race into 4 legs and focused on just finishing a quarter of the race at a time. It was pretty flat; there are some small dips and rises but nothing serious and all the aid stations were at the top of these rises (so a good excuse to walk for a moment). I started off well - the first leg and was averaging between 8:54 – 9:39 min/mile pace. I hit the turn around at 1:01, so I thought maybe I could make it back in 2:05. However, the sun was getting hotter and I was unconsciously slowing down. The second leg averaged 10:00-10:56 min/mile, the slower miles were when I stopped to refill my water bottles. I was drinking a lot, and pouring water on top of my head. As I neared the half-way point, I passed an older gentleman who was speed walking. He had started at 6am. His shirt said “Dr. Roy, Born 1932.” Well, if a 78 year old man can get out in this heat and run, I certainly can. (It was his 102nd marathon – he wore Bib#102). I was beginning to have another serious problem. My arms were rubbing against the edge of my tank and were red and raw. At one aid station, I ran up to the table and asked “Do you have any vaseline?” She replied, “No, but we have Gatorade.” I almost burst out laughing, I guess she thought vaseline was some sort of drink! I was running steadily along trying to focus on just keeping moving and was averaging anywhere from 10:49-12:00 min/mile. A gentleman kept leap-frogging me (I think he was having bathroom issues because he would run ahead, then disappear, only to come up behind me again). At one point he said I looked like a veteran, a nice steady pace. I guess when you evened them out I was probably running about 11:30 minute miles. But then I think I made him mad, because he wanted to talk and I told him I wasn’t much of a talker. I mean I would have talked to him, but he just took off ahead of me again. I turned the corner for the last leg. If I could keep that pace, I could maybe, might PR! But did I say it was hot? I was taking the endurolytes, but I could feel my legs starting to get tight. Miles 20-22 were at 11:38, 12:39, 11:39. Then right after mile 22, the legs did cramp and I was forced to walk a bit. I tried to run as much as possible those last four miles but my pace slowed considerably: 13:46, 13:02, 14:10, 14:01. Around mile 24, I just felt terrible, poured more water over my head and kept going. By this time my arms were raw. I was trying to hold them out from my body so they wouldn’t touch anything. I think the pain of them is what made me feel so rotten at mile 24. The last .38 miles (according to my Garmin) were at a 12:57 pace. When I hit the mile 26 marker, I mustered up enough gas to pass one of the 6am starters right at the finish line. She was a runner in the 1980s, did ultras, had done the Vermont 100 and some others (she liked the road ultras), had gotten out of running and this was her first marathon and her first venture back into racing. I talked with her for a bit after the race as we went to get our post race snacks. They had tons of food for the amount of people racing: Smart Puffs (which were gluten free!), pizza, bagels, bananas, etc. He had enough gift certificates that everyone got an award. I got a $25 gift certificate from www.sub4usa.com. I thanked the race director for the certificate and asked if he would provide better weather next year. Apparently, Mrs. Maryland is a meteorologist, and he already put his request in with her. We’ll see what she can do.

I realize now that if I could have just maintained a 12 minute pace in those last four miles I would have had my PR. But what are you going to do when your legs cramp? This has happened to me before and I have not found a suitable solution to the problem yet.

The good things – I made it under 5 hours, I was within my time range for the first half, and I maintained a fairly consistent pace up until the last four miles.

The bad things – I sweated a lot which threw my electrolyte balance off, I cramped, I chafed (I screamed in the shower when I got home, it hurt too much to even put pain relief gel on the skin).

My husband looks at it this way – “just think of all the things you learned to help you when you do your 15 in 15 in the middle of August, the hottest month of the year!”

This distance haunts me. I do fine up to a half-marathon. The ultras are only about finishing, and I am content to be a back of the packer. But the marathon… The Warrior Princess rises up within me – she’s mad! “We are going to battle! We’re going to conquer the marathon. We’re going to run it into the ground until it can haunt us no more.” Battle plans are being made. We’ll be back.

Umstead 100 - March 27/28, 2010

2010-04-02T15:32:00.006-04:00

Before I begin my race report, I really have to thank 3 people who without them, it wouldn’t have happened. Steve and Lindsey, my husband and daughter, were there to crew me and cheer me on. Even before race day, they endured long hours of “loneliness” while I was out running. (At least that’s what I imagined. Steve was usually on a ministry trip and Lindsey was doing the same thing whether I was there or not. But they let me go without complaint.) At the race, they were my “servants.” When you’re focused on the race, you get pretty bossy – the p’s and q’s go out the window. “Get me this, fix me this, etc.” So for all the thank yous I didn’t say during the race, I give you my thanks and all my love. You guys are the best! I also want to thank Sondra Jarvis for pacing me. I thought she would go one loop, maybe two. After all, she had run a marathon the weekend before and had never run an ultra distance. But, because she felt I needed the moral support, she pushed aside her own fatigue and ran 3 loops with me! Amazing! A special bond is formed when one goes the distance for you. She really is my “running” sister.

Notes: I listed my loop times from the Umstead official records. This time includes all my stops, such as at my crew station to change socks, etc. The start time of each loop, is when I started running from my crew station. This could be anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes after I came in from a loop, depending on what I needed to do. That’s why you will see me coming in at 8:31am but starting loop 2 at 8:40am. Aid station is the race organized aid stations. Crew station is where Steve and Lindsey were.

Pre-Race

The night before was the pre-race briefing. After a long drive down to NC, we pulled in just in time to go to the meeting. Meaning, we had to pull our popup camper with us into the narrow winding road to get to our parking spot. The meeting lasted an hour and gave detailed instructions, introduced prior winners, recognized folks, etc. At one point, they called up the designated first timer who represented us all. Then she led us in the Ultramarathoner’s chant: “Drink before you’re thirsty, eat before you’re hungry, walk before you’re tired.” The race director then said, “Your training got you to the starting line, your will gets you to the finish line.” Well, I got teary eyed, right then and there, but I noticed I wasn’t the only one. Now off to set up the camper and get some sleep. Sondra showed up and helped. Then we talked while Steve and Lindsey went to get a few supplies: first camping trip of the season restock, and because it was going to be so cold, a car battery that would keep the fan on the heater running.

Saturday Morning

I thought I had plenty of time. After all, we were right there in the park. 4:30am. Get up, throw the clothes on and get to the race venue in time to deposit the drop bag for Aid Station #2 by 5:30am. Umstead is a loop course – 12.5 miles over wide, smooth and sandy trails/roads. There was an aid station at the beginning/end of each loop and one at about mile 7(Aid Station #2). There were also some unmanned stations along the way. 8 loops, 30 hours to finish. But, back to my story. I just couldn’t seem to move that fast, trudge down to the bathroom, decide what to wear since it was in the 30s and rearrange a few items between drop bags. Finally, I was ready to go and we had only 5 minutes to get to the race site! We followed the long line of traffic and parked in our assigned area, and ran up with the drop bag. They were already loading the truck and getting ready to pull out! Fortunately, we were able to stuff it in the back with the others. Whew! Of course, I didn’t use it at all the entire race – I think I forgot what I had put in it. Then, I realized I had no hydration system with me. Steve runs back down to the truck and comes back with the Nathan hydration pack, because he couldn’t find the fuel belt. I load it with water from one of their coolers, and then I start to get real emotional. I was scared, excited – I was about to do the impossible, it truly would have been impossible 3 years ago. Did I have what it took? Was I ready? Teary eyed, I turned to Steve and said, “Pray for me” So right there in the middle of a crowd of people, he held my hands and prayed. Now all that was left was to go out and run the course. We were standing in the headquarters building with about 50 other runners, when suddenly someone said, “I think the race has started.” Slowly, because we all had to file out through one door and down the steps, I finally made it across the starting line and onto the course. I think I was the 248th person out of 251 to cross the line.

Loop One – 6am

A lot of people were walking, maybe they were taking the first little bit to warm up before they broke into their running/walking routine. I began running, trying to stay calm and at a casual pace. My first few miles were between 10 to 10:30 min, and I ran up all the hills until Aid Station #2. After Aid Station #2, I hit the “sawtooth” section. There were definitely some hills I would not be running up on this section. At least they were followed by some nice long downhills to make up time. My pace settled into 12min miles. Mentally, I was not feeling the “groove.” My hamstrings were tight, my form was stiff and I just didn’t feel like running a 100 miles – ha! Then I took a swig from my hydration bladder and yuck! City water. Now I knew I would be underdrinking on my first loop. Not a good way to start the race. But, I kept plugging on, hoping things would begin to work themselves out. Finished the loop at 8:31am, about what I wanted to do, since my race plan was to get to 50 miles in 12 hours and then hang on until the end. Any time I could bank without burning myself out was good.

Loop Time: 2:31

Loop Two – 8:40am

Steve and Lindsey had set up chairs and my bags full of gear and food right by the course. It worked out really well. I would go up to the end of the loop, clock in, meander by the food and drinks at the aid station and then head back down to where they sat waiting. I stopped long enough to take my outer layer off, change hats, and eat a rice cake with almond butter. I also grabbed a few gels and sport beans. Steve had found the fuel belt and got it filled with gatorade for me. I figured I needed to drink more than necessary in order to make up for the lost hydrating on the first loop. And I also needed the calories of the Gatorade. I started out, still feeling tight in my legs. My fastest miles this loop were in the 11:30min range. That’s okay, as long as I finished the loop in less than or right around 3 hours. Now I was having calf twinges, sharp pains like they wanted to cramp up. I slowed my pace and walked some where I wanted to run. I have had calf issues in a lot of my races. I knew I was drinking enough by the amount of times I was going to the bathroom. In fact, every time I passed a porta-potty I had to use it! This was annoying too, so my mental game was not there. I kept telling myself that a lot of people were praying for me, rooting for me, and thinking about me today, so I had no right to be a wimp. I thought about how Pastor Karen and the rest of Providence Chapel had prayed for me at the end of the service and presented me with a Good Luck card. I pulled up in my mind each of my facebook friends well-wishes, and thought about my running buddies on the Weight Watcher’s marathoners board, who were up, doing their morning run, racing somewhere, or checking the website to see if the tracking had started. The 100 miles still seemed way beyond my mental reach, but I would keep going as long as I could for them. Another issue I started having was my shoes seemed to be digging into my ankles. I was wearing the same shoe/sock combination I wore on my long runs, so this shouldn’t have been happening so soon. By the time I got done with the loop, at
11:21am, I was concerned. “This is going to be a long day,” I told Steve.

Loop Time: 2:49, Cummulative: 5:21

Loop Three – 11:35 am

I stopped at my crew station, sat down in the chair and pulled my shoes off. I take one of the pair of socks off, and change to my trail shoes. I decide to run with the one pair because of how tight the shoes were around my ankles. This was actually a mistake. Now, I was sliding more in the shoes and I could tell that this would be a good way to get blisters. But, I was on the road and still moving forward. I talked with several people along the way. One person I ran with for a while wanted to break 11 hours for the 50 miles to qualify for Western States. Then, if he had it in him, to go for a sub 24 hour finish. But he had an ankle injury and my guess is pushing for the Western States was his biggest goal. We were pushing up a long gradual hill. This was the third time I was running up it instead of walking it. It was fun, because you end up passing a lot of people. I think we kept each other going and ran until Aid Station #2 where he went on ahead while I went potty (again!). I had a new strategy of walking out of this aid station while eating a pack of Sport Beans. I could finish the pack in just enough time to toss it into the last available trash can. That is another rule of ultras and trail races – no littering! While my feet were not doing right, I started finally to feel my legs loosen up. It was a mystical moment. I figured now all my friends were awake, they were doing things and their collective energy was being sent my way. Suddenly, I felt stronger and more confident. The doubts went away. My focus shifted from self-pity to race strategy and banking time. I finished the loop at 2:21pm feeling better, but needed to do something about the shoe issue.

Loop Time: 2:58, Cummulative: 8:21

Loop Four – 2:30 pm

I changed socks, putting on my compression socks, adding a thinner second layer of socks and switched back to my other shoes. It felt pretty good. Sondra had called and wanted to know if there was anything I needed. A Dr. Pepper! Because I’m a pepper, he’s a pepper….. The day was still cool so no wardrobe changes. I had 3 ½ hrs to get back by my 12 hour goal. As I started on the loop, I talked with a man who said I looked like I was getting blisters. I told him they were just hot spots. He said to be careful because he ran Badwater (135 miles across the desert) and got blisters so bad that he couldn’t run for 4 months. Of course, it was 137 degrees when he ran it, so it explains a lot. They probably weren’t blisters but 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his feet. Interestingly, most people I would run with for a while had done more than one 100 miler. I also was leap-frogging a lot of people. I would pass them on the ups and they would pass me back on the downs. I was surprised because I thought my down hill running was better than my uphill. When I walked, I tried to push it as hard as I could and maintain as close to a 15min mile. The shoes were still a little uncomfortable but I was starting to feel good. I ran a strong second half of the loop and came in at 5:28pm! I had beat my goal by 32 minutes. It was also a new PR for 50 miles for me (11:28) by 7 minutes. As I got my bottles refilled, one of the aid station attendants told me that I needed to change everything down to my running bra, because when the sun went down it was going to get cold. “Are you wet?” she asked, then touched my arm. “Yes, you need to change to avoid hypothermia. Well, I couldn’t argue with her, even though I thought I was just going to get warm once I started running again.

Loop Time: 3:07, Cummulative: 11:28

Loop 5 – 6pm

Sondra had arrived and since I was feeling good, she decided to nap in the car while I did the next loop; then she would start the 6th loop with me, which we estimated it to happen right around 9pm. I did as instructed, went into the bathroom and changed everything. I left the same socks on because I thought they were working pretty well, and the compression on my calves seemed to ease the cramping. I also put on compression tights for my legs. Instead of a jacket, I put on a vest and a long sleeve shirt. I figured if the temperature started dropping I could get the jacket out of the drop bag at aid station #2. I also decided to switch back to the trail shoes, and would leave them on for the rest of the race. This was the longest stop of the day, but I figured I could take up to 6pm and still be on schedule. Off I went again. One thing I didn’t like about the course is that it was open to everyone while we were racing. Groups of runners would come sprinting by, making me feel really slow until I realized they weren’t part of the race. The bikers were the worst. They would not slow down, but rather weave in and out of us at top speed. I was really surprised there weren’t any collisions. So as the sun started to set I was happy, no more bikers! I also noticed that the runners around me were starting to get smaller in number. After the aid station #2 stop, the sun started to set. I was running along trying to avoid using my headlamp until I absolutely needed it. I noticed this light shining behind me. It seemed too bright to be someone’s headlamp. Was it a vehicle? Maybe a 4 wheeler coming to restock the unmanned station? But there was no noise, just this light following me and lighting the path. Then I realized it was the moon rising! I told some runners that as I passed by and they laughed. “Hallucinations. Isn’t that what we do this for?” I said, “Yea, the acid trip without the acid.” The more I ran, the stronger I felt. My mental mind had shifted. I felt I was going to finish, but I still wanted to bank time. My goal was to finish as many loops in the second half of the race in less than 4 hours. As I reported in it was 8:57pm. Right on time!

Loop Time: 3:28, Cummulative: 14:57

Loop 6 – 9:15pm

I noticed feeling cooler when I stopped, so I added a light weight jacket to my ensemble. Sondra was ready to go, and off we went. She was very good about keeping a nice fast walking pace when we walked and that really helped to keep our pace up. I told her I hadn’t really practiced walking like I was supposed to, and she laughed. We alternating running and walking. The pace was slow enough that you can have a good conversation without getting winded. This wasn’t about speed, but endurance. So we talked and talked. This was the first extended face to face time I had with Sondra, but it felt like we were old friends. Since we had met through the Weight Watcher’s marathoner’s forum, I also felt like she was representing the whole board. She was the ambassador for the group and when she was running with me, the whole Weight Watcher’s group was running with me. Time passed quickly and before I knew it we were back at the start. It was 12:29am

Loop Time: 3:31, Cummulative: 18:29

Loop 7 – 12:45am
Sondra said she felt pretty good, and was up to continuing for a second loop. I was glad for the company, and she seemed pretty enthusiastic about continuing on, so I readily agreed. After all, it was the wee hours of the morning and things can get really weird that time of night. Another change of jackets, and I was ready to go. Our walking gigs were getting much longer than our running gigs. And boy, on those downhills were my quads starting to feel it. “Ow! Ow!” sometimes I would cry out, just for the heck of it. Okay, so by now we were probably getting a little loopy and silly. Whenever a tall fellow with long legs would stroll by (it really wasn’t fair, these guys’ legs were almost as tall as we were – of course they could walk faster), we would say “there goes one of those long legged tall guys.” On one occasion, the guy retorted “I weigh more than both of you, and am a lot older too!” Another problem I was having, was that when we passed the porta-potties, I didn’t have to go (plus by this time of night they smelled really bad!), but the urge would hit me out of no where and it didn’t matter where we were, I would need to rush into the woods to relieve myself. Fortunately, it was dark and there were not that many people still on the trail. I figured they were way ahead of us, or way behind us. I was trying to tell Sondra the saying – “Drink before you’re thirsty, eat before you’re hungry, umm, ummm….” For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the third point. Sondra did offer helpful suggestions, “pee before you have to go?” The longest miles were from mile 6 to the aid station, and from mile 11 back to the start of the loop. Mentally, you know you’re going to get a short break soon, but that makes it all the longer to get there! At Aid Station #2, I sat down just for a few minutes, but not before I learned “walked before you’re tired!” The man and lady next to me were pretty discouraged. They were doing the math in their head. They still had 2 laps to go after this one while we only had one. They would have to get back by 4am, to even have a chance of finishing, and be able to make the last two loops in 4hrs or less each. They had pretty much given up. There wasn’t much I could say to lift their spirits. The warmth was lulling, but I knew we needed to keep moving. I kept seeing road block signs ahead. It was the way the moon filtered through the trees. Did we take a wrong turn? But as we moved towards it, the mirage went away. Once I thought I saw a cute animal sitting by the trail, but it was just a stump. Physically, I was tired and starting to really hurt, but mentally I was on a high. We passed a couple of guys and they called out, “Susan?” Sondra said, “I don’t think we’re who you’re looking for.” And I said, “I am Susan, though.” So then he started singing “Wake up little Suzie” (or some other song with Suzie in it). I think we heard him for the next ½ mile. We finished the loop at 4:16am (never did see the couple arrive, sad for their sakes), and prepared for the final loop.

Loop Time:3:46, Cummulative 22:16

Loop 8 – 4:30 am (The final loop)

Sondra had been reasoning with me (and maybe with herself) about doing the last loop. While Steve said he thought he could do it, he really hadn’t been on any long hikes in a while and his knee was bothering him some. I was thinking I could start the loop and he could walk it in reverse and meet me for the last few miles. Sondra said that because we would probably walk most of the loop, she shouldn’t have any problem doing it. “You sure?” I kept asking (and I was thinking, oh we have to run some of it!). On one hand, I really wanted her to come with me (and she deserved to be there at the end), on the other hand I was concerned for her well-being because she would now be entering the ultra distance (I was going to make sure I saw her drinking and eating). I’m sure she was concerned for me too. In the end, Sondra came with me, and Steve began packing up my gear. The first few miles were very quiet. We were both tired and focused on keeping moving. I was already getting emotional, but I told myself I wasn’t going to lose it until mile 12. After all, things could still go wrong. Yet in my heart, I knew that no matter what, we were going to make it. I thought about the journey to this point, a journey that started in May 2007 when I first walked in to the Weight Watcher’s meeting weighing over 270 pounds. I thought of all the miles I had walked, the weights I had lifted, and the points I had tracked in order to lose the weight. The transformation was more than outward, my inner thought life changed. My life verse became “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I can do anything with God behind me and the power of belief fueling my desire. I quoted it as I hiked the mountains, as I lifted the weights, and as I refrained from food I really wanted to eat. And then came the running - a few steps at first, a slow jog around the park, and then finding the freedom to run without stopping. Losing the weight was like being set free from heavy chains draped around my neck. Running was like being given wings to fly. And the farther I could run, the freer I felt. My runs became longer and longer, fueling the desire to fly to the limits of my ability. In my first year after losing the 135 pounds, I ran 7 ultras including two 50 milers and a marathon in the span of 6 weeks. My body recovered amazingly well, and now I was ready to challenge myself even more. Why a 100 miles? In one way, it was the ultimate step from impossible to all things possible. To prove to myself that I had the courage, the perseverance and the determination to keep pushing myself, to keep believing that there was no such thing as impossible, and finally, because I felt like Eric Liddell when in the movie Chariots of Fire he said, “God made me for a purpose…but he also made me fast (well not that part – for me it is that he gave me this gift of running), and when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” To run was to commune with God and I believe that God will use my running for his purpose. “Okay, let’s run now.” I said, breaking the silence. We run about 10 feet and I say, “Okay, that’s good.” We did manage to muster up a decent shuffle down one of the steeper inclines, passing an older gentleman that kept switching his light off and on. We climbed that long hill one final time and started into the endless mile to Aid Station #2. That’s when the blisters on my left foot popped. There was a lot of pain under my toes and it hurt to walk. We slowed to a shuffle. Eventually, if I curled my toes in my shoes just right it didn’t hurt so much. Finally, we slouched into Aid Station #2. I sat down and tried to decide whether to have them look at my feet. Despite the slowing down, we were still making pretty good time, but I knew with my feet we probably would not get back by 8am and a chance to beat 26 hours. The older gentleman entered the aid station. When we told him I had blister issues, he said in his German accent “You can crawl, you can swim (moving his arms like he was swimming).” Then he left. Okay. I just wanted to be done. I could deal with the feet when we crossed the finish line. 5 ½ miles to go. The moon was setting and the woods began to be filled with the songs of birds. At one point a deer crossed our paths (I think it was earlier in the loop). We started seeing runners with headlamps. “Someone doing night time running,” I commented. Then Sondra reminded me that it was almost day. “Someone getting their run in before church.” Oh yea, it was Sunday morning! The hills seemed really steep this time around. Finally, on another long down hill I mustered up enough power to jog for a while. We passed a couple of other racers. I tried to get Steve on the cell phone to tell him we were getting close but couldn’t get a signal. Finally we were climbing the last few hills. “Is that them up there?” I asked. Sondra said, “I don’t think so, one of them is black.” Did I mention that my eyesight isn’t exactly 20/20? Where was that gate that signaled the final turn? I really think they moved it! Then as we popped over the hill, I saw Steve and Lindsey. We waved and began the final ½ mile to the finish line. I looked at Sondra as the tears started to flow and said “I’m going to do it, Sondra.” She squeezed my hand and gave me a hug. My family jogged ahead and turned around to take pictures. All I had to do was walk down the lumpy trail and up the hill to the finish. Physically, I was wiped. I couldn’t run up that last hill, but I did shuffle a few steps across the finish line at 8:31am. A cheer of triumph, then I collapsed into my husband’s arms and began sobbing, “I did it, I did it” I kept saying over and over. On of the race director interrupted me to give me the finisher’s pendant. And there was Sondra. A hug for my pacer, my friend.

Loop Time: 4:13 Cummulative: 26:31:24

Post Race

We went inside the building and found the Red Cross people who could look at my feet. The problem was I was wearing both compression tights, and compression socks. They pulled the compression tights up over my calves to get to the socks. Okay, now the circulation in my legs was being cutoff. Then I felt like I was going to have diarrhea. So they quickly bandaged the feet and tried to get the compression tights back down over my calves. No going and all I was thinking is I have to go to the bathroom. Because I had slipped some capris over the tights on the last loop, I told them I would go into the bathroom and pull the tights off backwards, then slip the capris back on. Poor Lindsey, they made her go into the toilet with me in case something happened (they didn’t want to have to break the door down if I keeled over). After finding relief, I worked and strained and finally got those dumb tights off. We left the bathroom and then everything started spinning. Yowza! I leaned over with my head down and told Lindsey to go tell someone that I was about to pass out. She calmly walked back out to the main room and got someone(she just told me she was only calm on the outside, inside she was near hysterics but was able to calm down by doing things). Next thing I know, they’re carrying me out and lying me on a bench with a pillow under my head and a blanket on top of me. One of the ladies tried to take my pulse. She couldn’t find it. “Are you still there?” she asked. “Yea, I’m still here,” I mumbled. Steve told her that my pulse was normally in the low 50s and not to be too alarmed. Eventually, they turned me on my back and she was able to get the pulse. They said the effort of taking the tights off, probably triggered the blood pressure drop. Then I started feeling cold, but well enough to move up by the fire where they had mattresses, pillows and blankets. I wasn’t the only one lying down. It looked a little bit like a war zone. I needed to get out of the wet clothes, so they surrounded me with blankets and I changed. It was hard to get warm. I also had Lindsey grab one of the “barf” buckets off the table because I felt nauseous. That eventually subsided. Sondra left to take a shower, but graciously offered to let me come and shower at her house since the campground had no hot water. I probably lay there for a couple of hours. To be honest, I felt good the entire race. I hurt and was tired but I never felt sick. I did take some pain relief during the race. I could hear the other runners trickling in one at a time. I knew that soon the last one would cross the finish line. Finally, I got up and we got ready to leave. The German gentleman who passed us at Aid Station #2 was packing up too. “You finished.” He said. “Yes,” I replied, then for good measure “See you next year?” His response was “I’m never running again.” I smiled. “Okay, I’ll ask you next week.” Turns out our splits throughout the entire day were almost identical. I ran with him the whole time and didn’t even know it. He was either 1-10 minutes ahead or behind me at the end of each loop. He finished 15 minutes ahead of me. The other interesting fact is that he was listed in Ultra Running Magazine as the oldest 100 mile finisher last year at age 69 in the Cascade Crest and Wasatch Front 100 mile races. We headed to Sondra’s and while I showered, my family visited with Sondra’s family. I did have another bout of lightheadedness in the shower when I leaned my head back to wash the shampoo out of my hair. I got out of the shower and sat down on the toilet, grabbed a running magazine that lay conveniently nearby and put it on the floor to read it with my head down. Now, I knew this time it was because I needed to eat. Steve came looking for me, and brought me a banana. Much better. After popping and redressing the blisters, having fun watching the pug chase the red light around the floor and the cat chase the dog (it reminded us all so much of our own home), we bid the Jarvis’ goodbye and headed out for a bite of food and a nap. I groaned a lot while trying to sleep, rubbed biofreeze liberally on my legs and generally felt miserable for several hours. Then somewhere in the middle of the nights, I felt my legs relax. It was the weirdest sensation. While next day, I was stiff and sore – we made lots of stops on the way back – my legs didn’t feel any worse than after any race I had done. The soreness by Wednesday was negligible and in fact, the main thing stopping me from exercising was the one blister on my left foot.

Miscellaneous

251 starters, 133 actually finished the 100 miles, the rest did anywhere from 25 miles to 87.5 miles. Many stopped at the 50 mile mark (some intentionally). My place was 102 overall. At the 50 mile mark I was 163 overall. Then, either by attrition (people dropping) or slowing down, I passed 61 people in the last 50 miles. That made me feel good about my race strategy. For once, I didn’t go out too fast. Will I do it again? Well, I was making notes on the best campsites as we were leaving. Honestly, I don’t know. Could I finish in under 24 hours? Could I get faster, stronger? For now, I go back to “when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” I want to give back, to run with a purpose and a cause. That’s why I’m going to run for Teens Opposing Poverty. In September, I will be running 15 marathons in 15 days as I travel to all of TOP’s ministry sites, to spread the word of the good that is being done and to help raise funds to support the cause. And so, I strap on my shoes, head out the door, and with wings on my feet, I’m ready to soar.

Roanoke Canal Half Marathon - Trail Race

2010-03-16T14:40:00.003-04:00

Friday night I loaded my car with sleeping bag, pillow, race gear and a change of clothes and headed south to Roanoke Rapids. I left home about 8:30pm. It was rainy, and the farther south I went, the heavier the rain was. I also have to confess that my snacking wasn’t the healthiest in the world, probably had some effect on my performance the next day. Finally, at about 12:30, I pull into the RV campground near the race site. Their website mentioned $15 overnight sites. It was a self-register thing, and soon I was snuggled in the back of my Honda Element. Well, as snuggled as you can get sleeping in a car. With all the seats down, there really was plenty of room, it was just a little lumpy. I knew I should have brought my backpacking sleeping pad, it might have evened things out a bit. It rained off and on all night long, and at 5:30 when the alarm went off it was grey and drizzly with a slight coolness in the air. I was not ready to get up and tempted fate by resetting the alarm to 6:00am. Fortunately, the race was not too far away and I was dressed and at the site before 7. I got my race packet, and did a small run to loosen up my stiff joints. Bonus! I found a bathroom with no line! Now I realized I was way overdressed. The temperature was rising and it was humid, so I ran back to my car and changed into a t-shirt (already had long shorts on).

The race started in waves. Some people were confused because when the first wave left, it was more than just the fast people. With that surge gone, I somehow was right on the starting line. He said “Go!” and I took off like a rabbit out of a hole. Where is everybody, I wondered, not used to being out in front. And hey, I don’t know where I’m going! Oh yea, this isn’t a 5k, I better slow down if I want to last the whole race. Fortunately, the race was very well marked and pretty much a straight shot and as I settled into my pace, some people passed me and I caught up to and passed some from the first wave. My goal was to do just under 9 minute miles for the first half, which would give a little leeway for the return trip.
Mile 1: 8:23
Mile 2: 8:45
After mile 2 is when we hit our first slick spot of mud. The path was on a rise and sloped down on both sides. The middle was the muddiest, but if you got to one side or the other, you started slipping off the trail! So it felt like for every two steps forward, you slid one step back. When you finally got off the mud, it clung to your shoes and they felt about a pound heavier. A woman had fallen and was in pain. But she had people helping her so I kept moving on.
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 4: 9:15
Mile 5: 9:28
The trail went in and out of the muddy spots, and then it went into this series of ups and downs and around bends. Down 10 feet, back up 20, around the corner and down again. Some of these were gravel, some were pure mud. At one point I tried to run up a slippery muddy bank. I slid back down. I tried it again, down I go. Finally, hands and feet, I crawled up the bank and made it to the top.
Mile 6: 10:02 (the muddy bank)
I reach the turn around point right at the hour mark. I could still make my 2 hr goal!
Mile 7: 9:10
My joy was short-lived. The muddy spots were now even worse since over 200 people had run on them. I had to do a little negotiating in my head. After all, I had a 100 miler in 2 weeks. It would be really stupid to hurt myself in a race that was just supposed to be for fun. So I pulled back and let myself enjoy the trails without pushing the pace as much.
Mile 8: 10:11
Mile 9: 9:42
Mile 10: 10:14
Mile 11: 10:05
Mile 12: 10:13
Mile 13: 10:11
For a course that was supposed to be flat and fast, it had a lot of dips and rolls. My garmin says that from mile 11 to mile 13, we were climbing. The sun came out at this point and warmed things up even more. With about ½ mile to go, this lady passes me on the climb. I keep her in sight, knowing that the last 2/10 of a mile is downhill. As we crest the hill and head towards the finish line I start to close the gap. The trail makes a sharp right turn, a full switchback and she makes the tactical error of swinging wide to make the turn. I slip by her on the inside and then it’s the sprint to the finish! Don’t look back, she’s breathing down your neck, don’t let her pass you! Got her (by ½ second)! She says “Thanks for pulling me in.” My pleasure. Final time: 2:05:54. 5th out of 32 in my age group, 18th woman (out of 100) and 80th overall (out of 231).
After a quick change of clothes, I jumped in the car and headed back to VA. It started raining again half way back, but I only had to ford one flooded creek to get home. Next up – the Umstead100!

Blizzard Run - February 5, 2010

2010-02-08T14:12:00.004-05:00

The snow was falling, changing the landscape into a Winter Wonderland. The weather forecast called for the heaviest snow to come later at night, so I figured it was a good time for a little mountain run. Considering that conditions could change quickly, I loaded up my pack with extra hand and body warmers, had dual and triple layers everywhere, and headed down the road. Six inches was already on the ground. In the woods, it was double that since the snow of earlier in the week had not melted. This was not going to be a fast run. After negotiating a couple of creeks and forging a new path through the woods I was ready to climb the first ridge. Pushing through the knee high snow, I felt like Sir Edmund Hillary climbing Mt. Everest. The higher I climbed, the faster and more furiously the snow fell, till I was staring at the small spot illuminated by my headlamp two feet in front of me. The trick was I didn’t know if I were on rock, tree limb, or solid ground. With each step I could sink 4 inches, or 2 feet. Traveling along at the blazing speed of 1.5 mph, I made it to the top of the ridge and began my descent down along the “seven switchbacks of Bolden Hollow.” (Not to be confused with the Seven Hills of Rome). This was great fun. I would build speed on the almost level straight away, until I hit the dreaded turn. Then I would lay on the brakes, skid, slid, grab a tree and try not to careen into the woods as I made the turn, then build speed again until the next turn. By the time I reached the bottom, it was completely dark. Now the fun began. I negotiated the creek crossing by jumping from one white spot to another (hoping that it really was a rock under there), and headed up Piney Ridge. My pace slowed to one m.p.h. I slid, fell, crawled and pushed through the snow. Finally, I was nearing the top of the ridge. In an instant the weather changed. Wind whipped the snow horizontally, blasting it into my face. I pulled the balaclava up over my nose until only my eyes peaked out. I was working my way down the side of the mountain, the snow blowing, obscuring the trail and creating drifts that were thigh high. I was thinking “Donner Pass” as I fumbled downward, knowing a misstep could be disastrous. I laughed, this was Warrior Princess stuff! Pure craziness! After negotiating a particularly rocky turn (backwards), my feet were once again on solid ground and I felt the pure joy of running with abandon down the side of the mountain. Then snow was deep enough that there was little chance of falling and even if I did, the impact would be soft. Crossing a creek, I began the final ridge before I hit the roads that would take me home. My legs were burning by the time I came out of the trail. Here, I was half way up the mountain. Why not run to the top on the road? I started out strong, running in 10-12” of snow, but soon the conditions worsened – the snow blowing directly into my face, stinging the exposed parts. After a half mile of that, I decided it was time to head down the mountain. Things were going smoothly until I hit the steep descent. Then, bam, I was on my backside. I struggled to my feet, started to move, and whop, down I went again. Eventually, I made it down to the bottom by walking in the ditch and the snow banks. On fairly level ground, I was able to run again. A fellow pulled out of his driveway and was plowing the section from his house to the main road. I followed him out, grateful for a smooth path to run on. Now it was simply follow the road home to my house. Even that was not so simple, because with the limited visibility it would have been very easy to miss the driveway. I walked into the house, covered with snow and looking like the abominable snowman. Another great “run” – 7.69 miles in 3 ½ hours! I think I’ll run on the treadmill today and watch “Into Thin Air.” (Which I did - 29 miles and 3 movies, including The Longest Run and Rocky).

Lost in the Woods

2010-01-26T12:30:00.008-05:00

Two to four inches of snow and ice had fallen the night before, coating the mountain with white and obliterating the distinction between trail and woods. I arrived at Keyes Gap, WV at about 2:30am, backpack full of body and hand warmers(just in case), as well as my usual mountain trail running paraphernalia. As I started on the trail, headlamp illuminating the way, I noticed a single set of footprints headed in the same direction. Despite the flickering thought that the tracks could be those of an axe murderer, I was relieved to have something to follow that would keep me on the trail. The night was clear and cold. Bright stars flickered above the trees, and the lights of the valley could be seen whenever the ridge narrowed. The trail climbs up for a 1000 feet or so, then runs along the ridge for several miles before hitting the section called the roller coaster - a series of climbs and descents to weary the best of hikers/trail runners. The first few hours were uneventful; the night was quiet with only the soft crunching of my trail shoes to break the silence. As I got into the higher elevations, the ice became harder and the axe murderer's tracks began to fade. Now, I had to look down to watch my footing, and look up to keep an eye on the white trail blazes. I was cruising down a steep descent when suddenly those white blazes disappeared. There was no distinct trail anywhere. I ventured forward and around the bend shining my light into the surrounding trees for the trail markings. Not seeing any, I turned around to retrace my steps back to the last marker I saw. Everything looked the same, and I had left no footprints in the encrusted snow. I wandered up, to the left, back to the right, down the hill - nothing. A little surge of panic welled up. "I'm lost!" I took a deep breath and thought it through. I was heading south and was more on the east side of the ridge. If I headed back up the ridge - west and north - I should cross the trail eventually. If I start going down the other side I missed it. While I was contemplating this action, nature called, and I found a tree to squat against to have my "mystic moment." I turned my headlamp off for privacy. As I sat there contemplating life, I saw a light through the trees. "I wonder what that is?" Another hiker? It wasn't moving. A house? Then I heard a voice from within, deep and low "Go toward the light." Okay, I thought as I finished my business. Getting my bearings I headed toward the light and low and behold within minutes saw the familiar white blaze of the trail. I sighed with relief and hugged the tree just for good measure. Heading down the mountain, I next came to a power line road. Several limbs and trees had fallen and the power company had cut them up and pushed them to the side of the road. The problem was, they blocked and obscured the trailhead. I ran up the road until I passed the federal park boundary signs. I ran back down the road, looked from where I came out of the woods to the road and saw nothing. Eventually, I crashed through the woods and was able to pick the trail back up pretty easily. Now I was climbing again. As I crested the top of the ridge and arrived at one of the few overlooks on this section of trail, the first rays of morning were creeping over ridge. I stopped to let the sun bid me "Good morning" and then headed down again. At the bottom of this ridge, I also made a wrong turn on one of the many switchbacks, but knowing I had to cross the creek at a certain point, I just followed it back to the trail. Now I could turn off the headlamp. Up the next ridge and back down again. A couple of early morning hikers greeted me. I reached Route 7, crossed it and began the next section of the Appalachian Trail. By now, I was in rhythm with the woods. Up and down I went. The sun's rays sparkled against the ice-enclosed branches and trees creating a winter fairyland. I crossed a raging stream, getting my feet wet, and surged up another steep ridge. I was getting close to home. At the next road crossing, I realized that my time was up so I ran that last three miles on the roads, reaching my driveway in the warmth of the noonday sun. I never did discover what that light was on the mountain, but I learned this: When you're lost and need direction, go towards the light and you'll always find your way home.

Swinging Bridge 50K - January 16, 2010

2010-01-19T12:19:00.002-05:00

The race advertisement said 80% trail, no significant elevation changes but crosses up to a dozen creeks and numerous short hills. Doesn't sound too hard, right? So, I crawl out of bed at 3am to dress and make the 3 hour drive down to the race site. After an hour of driving, I stop to get gas and realize I've left my purse at home. I had stuck $20 in my pocket, but didn't know if that would buy enough gas to get down and back, plus we were supposed to pay for parking at the state park and I didn't know how much that was going to be. Panic! I spotted a Sheetz gift card sitting on my dash that was slated for someone else - and decided I could use that and just replace the card when I got home. Onward I went. Finally, I pulled into the state park and found the race site. There were three port-a-potties at the registration site. Those were it for the duration of the race (and the start/finish line was a little ways down the trail). I figured there were about 100 people there for the race, but I didn't know how many were going to do the 35K and how many were doing the 50K. Some were probably like me, sitting on the fence until we actually were running the race. Besides, there was that little thing called a cutoff time that could pose a problem. It was cold and I was shivering, but it was supposed to warm up to the 50s later in the day. I was happy they finally said "Go!" Off we went, single file through the woods. The trail started off fairly wide, but the farther along we ran, the narrower the trail became until soon it was a glorified deer trail. The hills started right away, nothing really steep, but I began to realize this was going to be a lot hillier than I first thought. The second obstacle was logs. Logs were down on the path everywhere. Some you jumped over, some you climbed over, and some you climbed under. After about a mile and a half, the line of people I was following reached the first intersection of confusion. "Where did the white trail blazes go?" We went one way, but it didn't seem right. Finally, someone went off in the opposite direction. "Here they are!" Now we're climbing an even bigger hill. The path widens out and several people pass me, then on the down hill I pass several people back. I just love to open up and let gravity take me down the hill. Now we're running along a creek. Oof! Down I go. "I'm ok!" I say, and pick myself up. Down a slippery bank, sliding backwards this time onto my rear-end. "I'm ok!" The first couple of streams were shallow and in the woods. They were still frozen and you sort of skated across them. Then we came to the real stream. The larger streams had fairly steep banks on either side. So you would have to climb down to the creek, wade across it, then climb back up the other side. These banks got muddier as the day went on. The water was freezing and calf high, in some places knee high. When you climbed out to the other side your feet were numb until you got moving again. I was moving along and felt the presence of a few people behind me (not much room to pass on the trails), so I stopped to let them go by. There were 10 people or more right behind me. They go by and then they miss the trail and end up behind me again. As we came out of the woods at one road intersection, I fall flat on my face. I'm thinking "I'll just lie here a while and contemplate life" But then, these two guys come by and literally pick me up and set me back on my feet. They did point out the ambulance down the road. So it's 7.5 miles into the race, and I don't know how many times I've fallen, but I'm having a little pity party. I've about given up doing the 50k and thinking that a 35k training run in these woods might be enough for me. One of the guys walks with me and then runs with me once I start moving again. He is in the army and was in Iraq back in the summer. He tells me of the RPG that he could have reached out and touched as it shot by their helicopter, the pickup truck full of Iraqi policemen that was blown up right before his eyes, and the mortar that landed near him but didn't explode. His wife told him that he didn't come back the same. How could you? It reminds me of the incredible sacrifice our soldiers are making, and of the challenges they face on a daily basis. Real challenges, life and death stare at you in the face all the time. He helps me down one of the slippery banks and up the other side of the creek and then he moves on. Now I'm content, as I watch the runners move farther away from me. I like running alone in the woods. But I really have to go to the bathroom! Finally I reach the aid station at the 10.5 mile turn around. No porta-potty. "You don't happen to have a bathroom, here?" I ask. "Well you can go down the road there, and turn left into the woods." Ha ha - that's exactly what I do. As I head out of the woods there are 4 other women squatting in various places. I head back on the trail, enjoying the peace and quiet, when the 4 women catch up to me. They seemed pretty content to stay behind me, and so I lead for a time. The women talk nonstop as they run. Some people love to talk during a run - the companionship makes the miles go by. But me, I love the solitude of the woods. I stop to get a rock out of my shoe and they move on. Now I'm really alone. I begin to relax and view the race like I intended - as a training run. I'm recontemplating the 50k. After all, I'm the warrior princess, I can't wimp out at the 35k mile marker. I think about all my friends who just completed the Disney marathon, for some their first marathon ever, or of those who did the Goofy (half-marathon on Saturday, marathon on Sunday), and how they pushed through and finished. So I decide that if I can make it back by 4hrs 30 min, that gives me 3 hrs to do the extra 10 miles. Piece of cake, right? For the first 10 miles, my paces ranged 10:34min to 13:55, depending on the hills, the number of obstacles etc. On the next 10 miles my paces ranged from 12:44 to 16:59, depending on whether I needed a potty break or how many times I fell down, etc. So by the time I got to the 35k mark the time was 4hrs45min into the race. 15 minutes before cutoff! I asked them if they would pull me if I didn't make it back in 7:30. When they said nope, this was the only cutoff that counted, I headed down the new path for the last 10 miles. As I headed out, other runners were coming back. I realized that most of the runners did the 35k. Up and down the hills I went - some of the climbs were not "short" as the advertisement said. This was as gnarly a trail as any I had been on yet. On one creek bank, I sat on my rear-end and slid down to the creek, crossed it, then crawled on my hands and knees to get up the other side. At the final turn around and the last five miles, they informed me that there was one other person behind me. I said, "Oh, maybe I should slow down, so I can be last." I did slow down, but not intentionally, although I knew that as long as someone was behind me I was okay. In the end, I passed a guy who seemed a bit lost. Now there were two behind me. Right at the end, one of the guys caught up and passed me, finishing about 30 seconds ahead of me. Next, I crossed the finish line in 7:36:48 and the final guy was 3 seconds behind me. 31 people did the 50k, of those 4 were women, so I was 4th woman overall! And of us 4 women, we were all 40 or older. Go masters women! I was proud of myself for sticking with the game plan. It would have been real easy to quit after 35k - it wouldn't really have been quitting since it was an official race distance, but for me it would have meant taking the easy route out, of not pushing myself to the limit. How will I get better unless I test myself, to know what it will take to finish the race strong (no matter what place you come in). So that's what I did.

Seashore 50k - December 19, 2009

2009-12-25T13:30:00.005-05:00

My daughter and I headed down to Virginia Beach on Friday, planning on making a stop to check out Regent University. All week, the weather forecast kept changing. First, it was supposed to be dry on Saturday, then a chance of showers, but by the end of the week a full blown winter storm was forecast. I debated the wisdom of driving down there, but with race paid for and room reservations made - away we went. By the time we checked into the hotel room, the snow was already coming down up north, and high winds, heavy rain and possible flooding were predicted for VA Beach. It was too late to change our minds and turn around, because we would have had a hard time making it back home in the midst of the storm. The race was still on with a slight modification to the course. Now instead of two loops, it would be three loops (or more correctly - 3 out and backs), with part on a paved road inside the state park. This little change made for mentally a tough day. Never-the-less, I showed up for the 7:30 start ready to go. Temperatures were rainy and in the forties at the start, but were predicted to drop during the day. I had on 2 layers on top, with my rain jacket over all that, plus running tights and rain pants on the bottom. Two pairs of socks, gloves and a hat. I wore my hydration vest, plus also carried a small bottle in my jacket pocket along with numerous gels and sport beans. We ran about half a mile and entered the trail. Already it was pretty muddy. Most people were running on the sides of the trail to avoid the puddles in the middle. I followed for a while and then because it was impossible to keep the feet dry, and I was expending extra energy dodging back and forth across the trail, I decided to run straight down the middle. This worked for at least the first loop. The paved part was a nice break from the mud and I kept a good pace. The first 10 miles were done in 1:36. Now, for the second loop. The rain comes and goes. It would taper off for a while, then begin to pour! With 160 people moving up and down the trail, the footing gets worse. My strategy of running right through the middle of the puddles gets harder because the ground is getting softer and softer. We are also running in a green tunnel. While the trail had markers every 1/2 mile, it seemed like forever before you come to the next marker and everything looks the same. As I approach the paved section for a second time, the wind and rain pick up once again. Right before the turn around point, the road is flooded! Other people are plunging in, so I follow. In the middle of this new lake, the water is over my knees and freezing cold. When I finally trudge through to the other side, my feet are numb until I get them moving again. Turn around, and then I have to go through it again. Soon, I was on the muddy trail again. By this time, I was stopping to get extra gatorade at the aid stations. I hit the 20 mile marker at 3:33. I thought I was doing pretty good and figured if I could even maintain a 12 minute mile I would finish in less than 6 hours. A lady in a red outfit ran by me, and I decided to try to keep up with her. We had been playing tag for the last 4 miles. But mentally, I didn't want to do the third loop. The mud was getting to me. As we ran down the trail, she seemed to get farther and farther ahead. Lots of people were starting to struggle - you could see the toll of the rain and mud on their faces. Plus I could feel the temperature starting to drop and was so glad this was my last loop. I waded through the "lake" one more time and then on the way back finally gave in and took the route through the woods. My legs were really starting to ache. I walked for a little bit with a guy doing his first ultra, having never run over 14 miles in training. He was also wearing Vibram 5 Finger shoes. I left him to try to run as fast as I could while still on the pavement, knowing that the 3.5 miles of trail leading to the finish were going to be tough. My time at the marathon mark was 5:00. I still had a chance to break 6 hrs, but even when I was running I felt my pace slipping closer to 14 and 15 minute miles. The trail was so muddy that I could only walk through the slipperiest and softest spots. At about mile 29, I was thinking "I quit. I'm just going to go to the next aid station and drop out." Of course the aid station was right before the finish line and I would have to walk past the finish line to get to my car. So I just laughed at myself - it was my running internal joke "I quit, I'm done," knowing that it would get me to the finish line. Weird about what works when you're tired. Finally I saw that last aid station, picked up my drop bag(which I didn't use) and ran/walked to the finish. Done in 6:10:44 - over half an hour slower than my 50k PR, but what an adventure! I went back to the hotel, took a long hot shower and jumped into the in-room jacuzzi. Nice! Va Beach got a dusting of snow that evening. The next morning on my recovery run I saw people surfing! I guess you got to catch a good wave when it comes!

JFK 50 Mile - November 21, 2009

2009-11-23T13:20:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning I woke at 3am, dressed, got my gear together and made the drive up to Boonesboro for the start of the race. I reached the intersection going into town just as the 5am starters took off and I had to wait for them to go by. They were jogging or walking up a small hill going out of town. Couldn't help but wonder if I should be with them instead of the 7am starters. Finally, I'm allowed to go and I find the educational complex where I pick up my race packet, make a potty stop and wait for the pre-race meeting. Mentally, I'm running through my race strategy and trying to decide if I should wear the knee pads for the Appalachian Trail section. When I did my training run on this section, I fell hard and bruised the side of my knee. But the things aren't the most comfortable in the world, and since I have no crew to hand things off to, I would either have to ditch them, or wear them the whole race. Finally, I decide to wear them. I am also using the Nathan Hydration racing vest for the first time. I am determined not to get dehydrated today. Of course, I first had to figure out how to get the liquid out of the bladder and into my mouth. I fiddled with the hose while we walked to the starting line in the middle of town. I also wore my many pocketed vest over a long sleeve technical shirt and had the pockets stuff with gels, sport beans and s-caps. On my arms were wool socks with the toes cut out. Suddenly the horn sounded and we were off! I kept looking for a mat to cross over, but there was just a chalk line drawn across the road. As the road started to climb up the mountain I decided to continue running, slowly. My splits up those first 3 miles were 10:39, 11:32, 12:39. Then we turned onto a trail. I saw an open porta-potty and took my first bathroom break. This trail didn't last very long before we began a long climb up a paved section. It was steep! I walked and ran up this section which topped off at about mile 5. My pace definitely slowed here. Finally, the real Appalachian Trail - a narrow single-track rocky path. This section rolled up and down, actually more down until we got to the first aid station. I had my one and only tumble here, hit the rocks hard - my knees were protected but got a nasty bruise on my thigh. I was a little surprised that no one stopped to make sure I was okay, but rather used the opportunity to pass me (not typical ultra runner behavior). I was feeling pretty good at the first aid station, so kind of ran through that one and continued on the trail. This section had more uphill and was more technical. Overall, the A.T. section was fairly runnable, but the section I didn't like was the last mile and a half down the mountain. It was very technical and my feet were starting to hurt. I should have stopped and adjusted my shoe laces but just wanted to get off the mountain. At 3hrs, 30minutes into the race I finally came down to Aid station #2 and the C&O canal. I ditched the knee pads which were getting extremely uncomfortable and downed two glasses of gatorade and took two electrolytes. I knew I needed more hydration, my legs were already tight, I felt pretty spent and I still had 35 miles to go. Now, I needed to worry about time cutoffs. I decided to shoot for 12 minute miles and calculated that if I could make it to 26 miles by 6 hours, I could finish the race doing 15min miles. My goal was to bank time. My second decision was to stop at every aid station and drink at least two glasses of something, and to take two endurolytes. I would sip from my hydration bladder between stops. At the 20 mile aid station, near Harper's Ferry, a group of about 10 people on horseback were headed down to get on the path. I didn't think that was a good idea with all the runners. Suddenly, BAM! BAM! BAM! Loud gunshots go off over the water (duck hunters!) The horses spook, one rider gets thrown and they take off in the opposite direction. "Horse loose!" I yell. Someone runs up to the thrown rider, but she's more concerned about the horse than herself. I head back down the trail, glad no one was hurt. About this time, a runner, who had stood up at the pre-race meeting with a 10 hour goal, passes me. I was surprised he was still behind me, but at the pace he was now running, I knew I would never see him again. So, I plodded along at my 12 minute miles, doing a lot of self talk. Where was that deep inner fire that kept me going, relentlessly forward when things started to hurt? "Hello, Warrior Princess, I know you're in there somewhere. Come out, come out wherever you are." I prayed that the Lord would give me the strength to keep pushing, to not quit unless they pulled me. Many people passed me. I was afraid to look behind in case there was no one left. I played leap frog with a lot of people. They would run by me, then take a walk break. I would jog by them in my relentless, plop, plop, plop. Or I would catch up to them at the aid station or when they took a bathroom break. Each aid station, I would stop drink two glasses and, if needed, refill my hydration bladder, eat a few chips, take a couple of endurolytes and move on. I also did 4 or 5 gels and a package of sport beans during the day. Sometimes, I would stop and stretch out my calves. Then I would continue my plodding along. My pace looked something like this: 12:25, 12:35, 13:13, 15:14(aid station), 12:26, 13:30, etc. At the 39 mile aid station, I pulled in and the lady said, "Good job, you made it just under the time cutoff." What?! I thought I was doing pretty good. Now I was panicking. I'm not going to make it. They're going to pull me from the course!! This was the lowest point for me. In my mind, I was rationalizing "Why keep going? They're going to pull you anyway?" But then I kept doing the math in my head - I actually had an hour to get to the next aid station which was only 3 miles away. I was still hitting 12-13 minute miles. And I was still banking minutes. A little spark lit inside. Just keep going! You're not a quitter! You're the warrior princess. Nothing can stop you. I kept going. The one couple I was playing leap frog with passed me again. The lady touched me on the shoulder. "You're an inspiration. You just keep that steady pace, and we'll get to the finish line." Then, I pulled into the last aid station on the canal path, where I was given a bright orange reflective vest to wear. I was at 9hrs and 40mins and a little over 8 miles to go. We turned off the path and started heading up a large hill. Ugh, my confidence started to slip, it's not in the bag yet - but then something happened. The spark inside me grew and the Warrior Princess returned. I started running even on some of the uphills. I began passing people, one after another. It got darker and darker. The road was not blocked off and cars were coming and going, forcing us onto the shoulder. I thought it was downright dangerous! I had my headlamp tucked in one of my vest pockets which I pulled out and carried like a flashlight. Then I kept my head down and just kept moving. As I spotted people ahead, I made it my goal to pass them. I ended up passing at least 50 people if not more. My legs suddenly felt good, not tight at all! I was enjoying myself! And I knew I would make it. At the 46.5 aid station they finally had one lane blocked off, so I could breathe easier about the traffic. With 1.5 miles I passed a guy who was getting his head bandaged up (so close and then that to happen)! Down a hill, into the town. I could hear the finish line, then I could see it! I raised my hands in victory as I crossed in 11hrs and 35 minutes! The Warrior Princess was back! Then I promptly threw up. After retrieving my bag, I climbed on the school bus for the ride back to my car. It was a day of ups and downs - a lot of introspection - learning not to quit when I'm down - that there's always something left, if you just hang on. And in the end it all comes back to God and His grace and mercy. Acts 20:24 - "But I don't place any value on my own life. I want to finish the race I'm running. I want to carry out the mission I received from the Lord Jesus-the mission of testifying to the Good News of God's kindness."

Marine Corps Marathon

2009-10-30T17:48:00.001-04:00

The race that didn’t happen. If I don’t write about it, then it didn’t happen, right? If I ignore it long enough, it will go away. But I still have that big clunky medal and the $80 official jacket! Oh and the way too big race shirt.

So this is the short version (the long version no one but me will read because I poured out my soul on the paper and you really don’t want to see it, trust me):

Shivering, teeth chattering cold at the start, too many people, pushing crowding against me, weaving through the crowds, long lines at the potty – held it for 26+ miles. Noise, noise and more noise – horns and people. I can’t think, I can’t focus – just got to get away from these people. I’m tired and its only half way. Slowing, slowing. Maybe I should just stop, maybe I should find my family and go home. Can’t hear my inner voice – no drive, no ambition. Tired, dizzy, I think I’m going to pass out. Walk, run, cramp, walk, dizzy. Crying. why is this so hard? Want to drop to my knees and crawl to the finish. Dizzy. No! stay standing! Musn’t quit, musn’t quit……done. Give me room to breath, fake smile for the camera, where’s my family, crowding, never again…
Time: 4:48:05

Oil Creek 50 Mile - October 10, 2009

2009-10-13T12:09:00.000-04:00

I seem to be developing a pattern here with my races - schedule other activities right up to the last minute, drive long distances to get to the race, and make sure not to get much sleep. I really did plan to leave earlier on Friday, honest, but I just needed to finish one little task at work... then, of course, traffic was terrible as I drove to drop off my daughter at her cousins. My other little problem is that I was driving with only one contact lens. Don't ask me where the other eye disappeared to, but I ended up taking a small detour back home to pick up the missing lens. Normally I wouldn't bother with trivial little details such as being able to read road signs, but being as I did eventually want to arrive at the race site, I decided to be prudent. At last, I was on the road. The first part of the trip was uneventful. I was happily listening to my books on CD and letting the miles click by. I ignored the gray clouds thickening to my west. By the time I got on the Pennsylvania Turnpike I could no longer deny the fact that, yes, it was going to rain. This part of the trip could only be described as rain, trucks, traffic, road work, fog, rain, trucks, traffic.... so much for making up time on the speedy interstate. Finally I was on the last part of my journey. Within 10 miles of my destination, a big sign loomed in front of me: "Road Closed Ahead - DETOUR". Detour! That's not on mapquest! By the time I rolled into Titusville, it was after 11pm. Since I had come into town a different way than intended, I was totally turned around. Eventually, some nice teen-aged boys hanging out in the McDonald's parking lot directed me to the school.

Squeaking into the school (wet shoes), I laid out my sleeping bag and pad in an empty spot on the gym floor and tried to get some sleep. I settled down into my comfy bag, closed my eyes and.. "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!".......cough, cough........flush! I just had to laugh (note to self - earplugs next time). Just when I was starting to fall into that nice REM sleep, the 100 milers were waking up to get ready for their race. I laid there listening to the morning noises and wandering how long I could delay the inevitable - that soon I would need to get up and start getting ready.

The next hour was a flurry of activity. I dressed in my black skin-tights with the blue spider-web (compression) lines running down my legs, my pink camo shirt, my "Warrior Princess" vest (I had written that on the back of it). My arm sleeves made from colorful toe-socks, and my Dirty Gaitors over my shoes. I was ready for battle! Fortunately, the rain had stopped, and the air was cool and crisp. Headlamps on, we 50 milers lined up and were off. The first couple of miles were on the bike path. I was running with a group of people, all the while wondering why my headlamp was not putting out a strong light, since it had fresh batteries. This was fine for now, I was in a group of people and feeding off their light. I kept fiddling with the lamp but couldn't get it to go brighter. When we turned up the mountain trail, it was impossible to see. I stumbled and fell over something and let a few people go by me. Finally, I realized that the red cover was down. Duh! Rookie error. A few more adjustments and now I could see. It's interesting running in the dark. Your world becomes very small, it consists of a space of about three feet in diameter. Upward we climbed, an occasionally "Woot!", "It's time to party!," and "Gnarly!" As the early morning birds began to sing, we fell into a rhythm. I followed whoever was in front of me, walking when he walked, and running when he ran. I slipped in the mud (that's 2), then going down a steep descent I fell hard on the side of my left knee and my Garmin flew off my wrist, the band breaking. Someone behind yelled, "Man down!" Ultrarunners, being the nice people they are, waited to see if I was okay and we headed down, up and around to the first aid station. Jack O'Lanterns led us in, the glow from the pumpkins was welcoming. Quickly, I fueled up and was ready to tackle the next section. After being pointed in the right direction (guess it wasn't time for the short cut yet). I began a long climb up. Here, the runners started to spread out. I got passed by a lot of people, and passed a couple myself. I had stuck my Garmin in my pocket and there it stayed for the rest of the race. Now, I wouldn't know distance, pace or time - I would just keep moving forward.

The trails were beautiful and I was surrounded by shades of red, orange, yellow and green. There were several long stretches of single track, smooth dirt trails where I felt I was keeping a good 12 minute pace or better. These were broken up by an occasional downed tree to climb over, or a stretch of climbing that left me winded. I arrived at Aid Station #2, where the volunteers helped me retrieve my drop bag and offered me a multitude of food and drink. I drank a VESPA, and grabbed a protein bar from my bag.

The next section, after a nice brisk climb, led us into some cross-country ski trails. These trails were nice and wide, and a bit grassy. While the 100 milers and 50kers turned around, the 50 milers proceeded on a little further for a little out and back loop. On the way back I noticed the girl in front of me heading off a trail to the right. Our trail had a tree partially blocking the path, and she had taken the path of least resistance. "Wrong way!" I yelled, imagining what it would be like to go several miles before you realized you were lost.

Down and around, up and over, I ran. I talked with a runner who had been deployed in Iraq. He said one of the women in his unit had been given the name "Warrior Princess." I told him it was really a joke, I'm sort of a novelty for running the longer distances, and after encounters with bears, and bobcats while training, the name stuck - as a motivating force for me to keep going when the going gets tough...
We had another longer loop for the 50 milers. At one point it went straight up a steep incline under the power lines. It was on this loop that I was starting to feel fatigued. I thought I was keeping a consistent pace, but I'm sure about 10 runners passed me at this point. I was either slowing down, or they were speeding up. I didn't even know how far we had come, but I was hoping half-way. "Nope," one of the runners said, "probably about a 1/3." Without my Garmin, I had no reference for time or distance.

At some point we ran through an area where there were small cabins. In the middle was an unmanned table with some water and gels available. I grabbed a gel, filled my water bottle and headed out to where I thought the sign was pointing - up a wide road. However, I began to realize that there were no little pink flags marking the way. How strange. Perhaps, I missed a turn (I am, afterall, a bit directionally challenged). I turned around and ran back down the hill, and arrived just as some runners were heading down a single track trail off to my right. Yea, I just wanted to run a little extra mileage. Parts of this section were run on beautiful paths under the pines. Somewhere in here (I think), the 50 milers also had their final extra out and back. At last, I came out of the woods and onto a road. "Half a mile to the aid station." What a relief and to find out that I was at 28.5 miles was pure joy. Over half way! Again I was offered an array of foods and drinks. It was time to start drinking GatorDew - half Gatorade, half mountain dew. From here on out it would be my choice at the aid stations. Being gluten-free, I had to turn down many of the delights, like grilled cheese sandwiches and the variety of crackers and cookies - but chocolate covered expresso beans were a nice pick me up as well as a couple of slices of cheese which I took, and ate as I walked to start back on my journey.

This next section was the hardest for me of the whole day. It started with a steep climb and then I entered the "Twilight Zone." Seriously, where did everyone go? I ran and ran, what seemed mile after endless mile of trail, and trees. Was I really going anywhere? Had I entered an alternate reality? Then I started thinking about the next aid station. It was at the school and the finish line. But I wouldn't be finished. I would still have over 14 miles left. I didn't want to go back out, and do the loops again, and I didn't want to finish after dark. When I stumbled and fell for the 4th time of the day, a veil of self-pity came over me. My legs were tired, I was tired and felt I was making terrible progress. Every time I thought I was turning down into the final descent, the path would wind back up into another climb. "Relentless forward progress." I kept telling myself. "You're the Warrior Princess, remember. You're strong. Quit you're whining (the inner drill sergeant). And then suddenly I was back on the bike trail heading for Aid Station #4.

My first question was "What time is it?" 2:30pm. I had run over 35 miles in 8 1/2 hrs. It was possible to keep a good pace and finish relatively close to 12 hrs. I got my GatorDew, pulled another protein bar and VESPA from my drop bag and headed back out. For some reason, once I was there the self-doubts had disappeared and now all I wanted was to make good time. I was moving along, having gotten that 2nd or 3rd wind, when my bowels finally decided to start to move and I felt like I was going to burst. This was not good. Without time to make it to the next aid station I ducked into the woods and tried to relieve myself. Not as easy as I hoped. When I made it to Aid Station #1, I handed the volunteer my bottles, and told her to fill it with 1/2 Gatorade and 1/2 Mountain Dew. She looked at me skeptically, "You've done this before, they're not going to explode on me or anything?" I had to smile, then reassured her as I ran off to the port of potty. Why now when I was doing so well? Retrieving my bottles, I was shown the short cut (Yay) and within minutes was at Aid Station #3. Now I like that kind of short cut. A few more treats and then the last and final 7 miles of the journey.

Again, I found myself alone on the trails, but this time a wave of heavenly peace fell over me. Scripture starting pouring out of me - the most powerful being Isaiah 40:31
- those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint

God with with me in these mountains, His mountains, walking with me, and strengthening me. I would make it, I would finish - and maybe, even before dark. Tears started streaming down my face as I felt His presence in the stillness of the woods and my ever relentless forward motion.

Soon I was running down the bike path for the last time. I saw the school and turned to run across the finish line as the dying rays of the sun were slipping behind the horizon. The clock read 12:48:51. About an hour slower than I had hoped for, but I was done. I would have gotten on my knees and said a quick prayer, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back up. So I just smiled up at God and said silently, "Thanks."

Post script:
After stretching and showering, I started the long trip home. No rain, the traffic was much lighter, but I was tired. The books on CD didn't seem to hold my interest as much and I kept stopping to get a snack, get gas, or just put my head back and rest for a few minutes. At 4am I pulled into my driveway, and at 8:30am I was in church leading worship as usual. My journey was over, and now it was time to rest. (until the Marine Corps Marathon in two weeks and the JFK50 in 6 - Aagh! am I crazy or what? No, I'm the Warrior Princess(insert theme song)).

VA 10 Miler - Lynchburg, VA

2009-09-28T12:30:00.000-04:00

I don't recommend preparing for a 10 mile race in this fashion: First, the day before run 14 miles at marathon pace(for me that's 9min miles). Then, wear your contacts too long and irritate your eyes to the point that they're swollen and painful. Schedule a swing band gig the night before and play your trombone until 11pm. Get home at about 1am. Get up at 3am and have your husband drive you 3 hours to the race(at least that part was smart). Try to sleep in the car. Pick the hilliest 10 mile road race in Virginia. Take some Excedrin to try and get the swelling out of your eye and the headache right above the eye (the little boost of caffeine doesn't hurt either). Now for the race strategy: Take advantage of the down hill in the beginning and start too fast (7:35 mile 1). Now settle into your normal hilly pattern - pant, wheeze, huff and puff to get up the hill, then sprint down the other side trying to gain momentum to get up the next hill. Get passed on the uphills and pass back on the down hills. At mile 4 don't get too discouraged when the 4 mile racers turn off to go to their finish line. After all, you're almost half way. Ignore the mile splits being called out. Sure you're at 39 minutes at mile 5, but you've got a mile and half hill to climb at the end of the race. Run next to someone who has your same first name and is from the town. When the crowd yells "Go Susan!" pretend they're cheering for you. Take a few seconds to walk through the aid stations and drink some Gatorade. Okay, so it made you nauseous the first time, but now your legs are wanting to cramp. Keep pushing at mile 8 when the legs really start to bother you. Don't look for the top of the hill when you begin that last climb, you're going to be here a while. And don't look at your Garmin, you don't want to know what your pace is. Talk to your legs for the last quarter mile, tell them not to freeze up or go numb. Threaten to drag them kicking and screaming across the finish line. Don't worry about the other people passing you, just get it done. Rejoice when you see the finish time: 1:26:33. Realize you didn't run the tangents and ran 10.13 miles instead of only 10 with an average pace of 8:32. Be proud you put 100% into a race and left nothing on the table. Feel empowered as it says in Philippians 4:13(Amplified):

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [a]infuses inner strength into me; I am [b]self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

Smile.

VA Happy Trails Running Club Women's Half-Marathon

2009-09-13T20:55:00.000-04:00

September 12, 2009

After I got home from my swing band gig, I laid out my running gear so that all I would have to do is wake up, get dressed and head out the door. Getting to bed at 12:30am and getting up at 5:30am is not the best race day strategy. It doesn't count that I woke up about once an hour either. The weather was cloudy and cool, not bad for a race day run. Once registered, I did the normal pre-race ritual - stand in line to use the toilets, last minute wardrobe changes, warmup jog, etc. I decided to try my race-vest hydration bladder. I was at my car when they said the race was going to start in a couple of minutes. So I jogged down to the starting line and there was no place to go, except on the front row. The men who were volunteering for this all-women race sang "Happy Trails to You." Ha - it was very off-key and they got a wonderful round of applause. Then it was time to go! I was running with the leaders and they had no idea where they were going (neither did I). They started to head out to the road and the poor guy standing there was pointing the way, only it was the wrong way! "This way!" a bunch of women shouted as they headed to finish the parking lot loop. So we had to back track a few yards. The first 1/2 mile or so was on a road and it was fast. I couldn't believe how quickly the leaders pulled ahead of everyone. Of course, I started off way too fast - but that's my normal procedure (first mile was 8:15). Finally we turned to do the trail running and I was in a group of about 5-10 women. The trails weren't as muddy as I envisioned except in the bottom of some of the steeper inclines, and they looped through the woods, which was good, because although it was cool, it was also very humid. I stayed with this group for a while, we would change positions periodically depending on the terrain. At the first aid station (2.8 miles) I kept moving and the group spread out more. This is the "Do Loop" section, complete with relics from the 50s - a Ford Fairlane and a Nash Rambler. How they got back there in the woods, who knows. This section runs down by the reservoir and then back up to the aid station in a series of up and down hills. I was able to pass a few people on these hills and felt pretty strong coming back up to the aid station. I passed a woman who was being helped by the volunteers. She had gotten stung by a bee, tried to keep running, but it must have started to affect her. I again ran through the aid station and left behind the group I was running with. Now I was alone and scared that I was going to get lost in the woods. Plus, how do you pace yourself when you've got no one breathing down your back as you're climbing hills? I went like this for a while and eventually someone caught up to me and passed me. Actually two or three women passed me on the steep hill climbs. I was about at the half-way mark and starting to feel it. On some of the steeper hills, I was pushing hard (now that I had company) and was feeling pretty light headed by the top. I would use the downhills to recover and would usually gain ground on the woman in front of me. This is when the woman in orange passed me. At least I could keep an eye on her. Finally I made it to the last section of the run, an out and back, 2.5 miles each way. Because I had water with me, I again ran by the aid station, but walked a little to take a gel(with caffeine). Dang it, if a couple more passed me. In this section, the hills were both longer and steeper, and because this was an out and back you could see the leaders coming in for their final mile or two. Those ladies couldn't have walked up any of the hills, even the steepest. I usually took my cue from whoever was in front of me. I was so happy to see the turn around even if it meant climbing up a hill. The guy directing traffic said something about the hills and I said "I'll just take the elevator up." Those were the kind of visuals I was trying to keep in my mind. As I passed the aid station, they asked, "Do you need anything?" I called out, "Yea, I need to finish this thing!" They thought that was pretty funny and cheered me on. 2 miles to go. Now I was watching those behind me head to the turn around. Finally, the last hill. Can I push it harder, oh no my calf thinks it might cramp. Slow down slightly, then hear the guy yelling "400 yds to go!" Finish line in sight - time 2:12:18. It's a done deal! Final results 4th in age group, 38th out of 188 overall. The winner obliterated the record and finished in 1:37:38. The field was much stronger this year and the weather was cooler. In 2008 only 7 runners were under 2 hrs, this year 13 runners.
The lady in orange was 3rd in my age group, I had her in sight most of the 2nd half of the race, just couldn't muster up the strength to pass her. Still thinking about fueling, hydration, and nutrition in general. I can be stronger and faster. This is a good trail race to try to conquer again and maybe be one of the sub 2hr runners.

The Run from Hades - Saturday 9/5/09

2009-09-08T11:35:00.000-04:00

I knew it was going to be a bad run when I almost had an accident just getting to the starting point. I was going around a curve on a narrow country road when I came face to face with a speedy sports car. I had to drive my car halfway up the embankment to avoid being hit. That was the second time in a week I had a close encounter with another car. My guardian angels were working overtime, and their job was not yet done. My goal was to start at Route 50 in Clarke County by the river and run through Warren County and into Frederick County, ending at Middletown, VA where my daughter was at rehearsal and my husband could pick me up. 28-30 miles of beautiful, rolling country roads. I gave myself 5 hours. The run started off well, my pace was good and there was hardly any traffic, but this was familiar territory for me until about 8.5 miles. Then I turned towards Front Royal. At least here, the road was straight, lots of hills but straight. However the traffic was a bit more than I would have wanted and the cars were going really fast and not slowing down a bit for a lowly runner. And since the only wildlife I had been seeing were the normal cattle and horses, I decided to count roadkill instead. I was up to 5 when I thought I might become roadkill myself by a pickup truck that thinks ditches are the best place for runners. Then I turned onto Fairgrounds Road. Note to runners, if you value your life do not run on Fairgrounds Road. I felt like I was running on a major highway. Problem is, no shoulder and lots of uphill climbing. You couldn't see if there was a car cresting the hill, and they certainly couldn't see you. So my strategy here became, run/jump-in-ditch/run/jump-in-ditch. It was a short stretch of road, but seemed to take forever. Finally, I turned onto a much less traveled road and continued climbing hills. The views were lovely, and I passed the half-marathon mark at about 2hrs15min. I made it out to the highway, crossed it and continued on towards Middletown by way of Reliance Road. Now it was mid afternoon and the sun was beating down on me. Reliance Road continued to climb up, up, up, and I was drinking, drinking, drinking and still having to avoid traffic on another heavily traveled road with very little shoulder. At mile 17, I ran out of water. Okay, no biggie, the town of Reliance is a couple of miles ahead. Surely, they have a general store. So I run for 2 more miles uphill in the sun. Where is that town? Every house I go by, I look to see if someone is sitting on the porch. Would I be so bold as to ask for a little bit of water? But nobody was in their yard. Finally, I think I'm in the middle of Reliance. It's one of those town where the entering/leaving sign is one and the same. There is a church and they are having a yard party at 4pm with homemade icecream, food and drinks - but that's next week! I'm a week early! I had mapped out a two or three mile spur at this point which would get my mileage closer to 30 miles. I decide that to avoid heat exhaustion, I probably better keep moving on the main road. I take to walking up some of the steeper hills. It was one of the few times I would have jumped into the truck if my husband had come by to check on me. But then I said, "No! I'm the Warrior Princess. This is how I do battle! Relentless forward progress. Get moving soldier!" I remember I have a VESPA supplement in my pack. It is based in orange juice. I drink it, it's only a couple of ounces but it wets my mouth some, and gives me the energy to run again. Finally at mile 22 I reach the Route 81 intersection with a gas station and water! I refuel and continue on into Middletown. I'm at about mile 23, feeling better and still have time to spare so I opt for my Belle Grove loop and hope to make at least marathon distance. Finally I'm back in town with 27 miles under my belt. But where is my ride? I had turned my cell phone off because it hadn't charged properly. Sure enough, they were looking for me, thinking I might be down on the side of the road. So I head back down Reliance Road and get another mile in before we hook up. I'm crusted with salt from head to toe. Even my eyelashes have salt in them. But I had done it - 28 miles in about 5 hrs under not the best circumstances. What did I gain? Confidence. Confidence comes from facing a challenge and pushing yourself when obstacles threaten to defeat you from your goals. It comes from falling down, but still getting up and moving forward. It comes from believing that you can and will overcome and finishing knowing you did your best. You may not finish in the time you wanted, there may be pain or discomfort, and you may have been short of your goal but because you persevered, you have the confidence to brush yourself off and do it again.

Dahlgren Rail Trail 50K

2009-08-10T15:56:00.000-04:00

We arrived at Westmoreland State Park, Thursday evening. As we drove through the campground to pick our site, there sat my brother in front of their cabin. We knew they were going to be here, but finding them so quickly was an added bonus. Our site was just around the bend. This is a beautiful campground and would highly recommend it. After a good night’s sleep Thursday, we wondered around the trails. One trail led down to the Potomac River, and there was an olympic-size swimming pool, picnic area, boat rentals and fishing. Another trail led down to the fossil beach, and you could go swimming in the river here. Between hiking the trails and going down to the fossil beach I got in 6 miles plus some river swimming. Saturday night was campfire night, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows and catching up with my brother and his family. I tried not to think about the race too much, but finally had to excuse myself to get everything in order for the next day. I slept terrible. This was the night I could hear every single noise in the campground, the baby crying, the dog barking. Mosquitos were buzzing around my head but it was too warm to hunker under covers. 4 a.m. came early. I was a little worried because we had actually not driven to the race site, did not have exact directions and did not know how long it would take to get there. But all was good and my husband dropped me off with 7 minutes to spare before the pre-race meeting and ½ hour before the start of the race. Now here I did a silly thing. I was going to call him when I got done so I put my cell phone in my drop bag. I wanted my bag out on the course in case I needed something out of it. I have my own special gels, electrolytes, etc. But then, after the bags were gone I asked when they would be back at the finish line and realized it wouldn’t be until around 2:30(the official end of the race), which meant I would have to hang around even if I finished early. The pre-race meeting was quick. He described the course and how we would actually get down to the trail, but I wasn’t paying attention – I figured someone would be in front of me leading the way. I don’t usually eat before the start of a race – I took my Vespa, and filled my bottles with Ultima, and took an S-cap. Finally we line up and were off. My husband is yelling “Go warrior princess!”

The leaders start off fast, and I’m right behind them, but as we go down into the woods and make all these turns we’re supposed to make, suddenly they are out of sight and there’s no one in front of me. I get to an intersection and think “Which way did he say to go?” Fortunately, there were people coming up behind me and a guy yelled out “Go right!” With that we made it out to the road and down to the trail. This is where it got fun. My strategy was to try to maintain a 9:00min to 9:30min pace for as long as possible. I was in a group of about 5 runners and they were maintaining a steady pace, so I decided to stick with them as long as possible. The ground was lumpy and soft. Railroad ties were still stuck in the ground, sometimes jutting out at weird angles. You would get close to one side of the trail to try and avoid an obstacle and get whacked by a raspberry bush. I pretty much followed the path the person in front of me was taking. In this manner we went about 4 miles out to the end, then turned around and went back over that same lumpy ground. Between the group, we changed leads several times. Another woman caught up and joined the pack, then one eventually dropped back. At that point, I was the 4th woman. We ran by the spot where we got on the trail, and were now into new territory. It was “better” but not by much. Some stretches were thick with rocks. They grab at your feet and tried to twist your ankles. Some of it was packed dirt (I liked that best) and you could pick up the pace a little. Eventually, the pack started to break up, and I was at the end of it, seeing them get further in the distance. I was essentially running alone now. At about mile 13 the trail took a diversion and went onto a single track trail up a steep little hill. Oh, this is what I’m used to. But it only lasted for a minute and then it was back to lumps, railroad ties, and rocks. I passed the ½ marathon mark at about 2:08. I was still right where I wanted to be. Then, at the half way point of the race, this group of runners comes from behind me and passes me. Where’d they come from? Oh well, I slipped into 5th woman at that point and so my goal then was to not let anyone else pass me. Finally I made it to the turnaround point at about mile 19 ½. I had them fill my bottles with coke and gatorade. Caffeine and sugar – here we go! Now I could see who was behind me. I tried to give some encouraging “Great job. Way to go!”

Eventually, I found myself alone again. I passed one person, cruised into the aide station, filled up and kept going. My legs were on the edge of cramping. I started taking the s-caps, one per hour, then increased it to two per hour. I never walked, except at the aide stations, and up the steep hill with the single track trail. I hit the marathon mark at about 4:30. Five more miles, 4 more miles, keep moving forward – watch your form. The last aide station was at 3.5 miles out. “That’s just a little more than a 5k. I can do that!” I keep listening for footsteps behind me, but I’m all alone on the trail. Just keep moving forward. Finally, I see two gentlemen directing me up to the road and final stretch. I yell to them, “I’m so happy to see you, I could kiss you!” They brightens them up and then I throw each of them a kiss as I climb up the embankment and onto the road. The road isn’t closed at this point and I’m running on the shoulder. There are people trying to slow the traffic down, but some of the cars don’t want to move over very much. Then I get onto that last windy trail section with all the turns and no one to follow! Fortunately, I don’t get lost and am up in the meadow running toward the finish line and hoping my legs won’t seize up on me. I cross the finish line. I know if I stop I’ll cramp up, so I grab my finisher’s cap on the run, and the guy hands me a water bottle. Finally, I manage to get my legs to calm down. My final time was 5:35:29. , 5th woman and 17th overall (out of 53 finishers). I’m happy with the time, but I know I can do better. I need to maintain my pace over the long run, and figure out my electrolyte balance. I ate two gels, and one Vespa on the trail. I grabbed a few m&m’s, and other junk at the aide stations and mostly had them fill my bottles with Gatorade. I never really felt like I hit the wall, or bonked, but I really slowed down, especially in those last five miles. I enjoyed talking with the other finishers as they came in. One guy was crazy. He said he had his will all made out, was leaving everything to his brother, and was signing up for this really hard 100 mile race. He also said he almost passed out once on the trail but didn’t slow down. He likes to live on the edge. So I gave him the name of a race where since 1986 only 8 people have actually finished the race. “Where do I sign up?” he asked. My bag finally showed up and I could call my husband. They were enjoying George Washington’s birthplace while I was racing.

Saturday afternoon, I got two more miles while walking back down to the fossil beach for another swim. I was wearing sandals and had a pretty blood blister. A little stick flew up into my foot and ripped the blister open. Yucky mess. Then, Sunday, I did a 6 mile hike/trail run for recovery. My legs felt amazingly well. Tired, but not that sore. I did bring the mini-trampoline and bounced on it, and I think that helped too.

There were no great epiphanies during this race. I stretched myself, but not to the point of breaking. I can feel myself getting stronger, but can also feel where I’ve let myself slack (especially when it comes to diet). So I cross this finish line, and get ready for the next start line. The Warrior Princess has more to do before she’s through.

Friends of the W&OD 10K Race Report

2009-08-03T13:24:00.000-04:00

Saturday August 1, 2009

It was the first day of August and it was going to be a hot one. The race was at 6:30 pm. The good thing about evening races is that you get to sleep in. The bad thing is, figuring out, how much and when to eat before the race. After a little snafu with getting my race packet because I was the last person to register online (it was filed by bib number, not alphabetically), I began my warm up and pre-race necessities(standing in the long line waiting for a porta-potty). The race was being held on the bike trail and with over 300 people registered to run, you can imagine how jam-packed we were. I tried to squeeze in a spot and was pretty far back from the starting line. I didn’t even know the race had started until the people in front of me began inching forward. 20 seconds to cross the line (glad this was chipped time) and then I started to try to weave my way through people. Finally the crowd started to spread out. By this time, I’m sure the temperature was approaching 90. The sun was right in our faces for the first half of the race. Mile one was fast, on a slight downhill incline (7:24), After another ½ mile we took a little spur off into a neighborhood. This had the only real hill in the whole course, and I was glad. Once back on the trail, I tried to concentrate on form, but by mile two (15:24) I had already slowed considerably. I was also beginning to feel the weight of food eaten earlier in the day. When we passed mile 3 (23:15), I thought the turn around would be at the 5k mark, but we kept going, and finally turned around right where a road crossed. Now I knew the reason for the spur, so we wouldn’t have to cross any streets. This was a water stop and I grabbed a cup and threw the water on me. At mile four (31:39), I was happy to see that I had beat my time in the last four mile race. It was then I realized that I might actually be able to get a new PR. The problem was it was so hot! My clothes were drenched with sweat. Sweat was running down my legs and into my shoes. Suddenly, I had a new problem. My bowels started acting up and I had to go to the bathroom bad. I started looking around, seeing if there was a place on the trail where I could duck off. I finally passed mile five(40:29). Focus on the finish, I told myself, then you can take care of business. Just 1.2 miles to go. I concentrated on trying to pass the person in front of me on the trail. Everyone was slowing down. I think I got by 3 guys when finally the finish line came into view. Sprint across the mat – official chip time 50:41, a new PR by 16 seconds! I’m inching down towards breaking the 50 minute barrier. Give me 10 degrees cooler, and 10 less pounds and I’ll have it. I liked the race, and I’ll probably do it again – some people were complaining about the fact that there was no Gatorade. One person was transported to the hospital in an ambulance, probably due to the heat. I wish they had 5 year age group awards instead of 10. I would have placed in the 45-49 age group. I came in 6th in my age group, 20th out of 157 women, and 80th out of 328 total runners.
Now to get ready for the 50K next weekend!

Summer Solstice Run

2009-06-22T11:25:00.000-04:00

At 4:20 am, I felt my husband touch my arm. I don't know if he was asleep or awake, but the touch was enough to wake me up. Gotta get moving! The sun will be rising soon. Friday night I had packed my mule pack with all the essential gear I thought I would need: Food, first aid kit, parachute cord, emergency rain ponchos, emergency blanket, large trash bag (for emergency shelter), water purifier, extra socks, headlamp, knife, toilet paper!, etc. Once I fill the hydration bladder with water, the pack weighs about 10 pounds. Now I just had to get dressed and prepare my body for the longest day run - body glide in all potentially chafing areas, aquaphor on the feet, shorts, tank, combat vest (after all I am the Warrior Princess!) hat or headband, knee pads, weightlifting gloves(hand protection), Injinji toe socks, shoes. I'm ready and it's 5:00am and I'm already late since it's going to take about 2 hrs to get to my starting point - Swift Gap near Elkton, VA. Finally, at 7:30am, I'm at the trail head and ready to start moving south. I meet my first through hiker of the day (those going from South to North on the 2175 mile Appalachian Trail) and he points me in the right direction. The trail begins ascending immediately, but it isn't very technical(rocky) and I'm able to start running right away. It's more of a run/power hike, run until it's too steep then power hike, trying to keep the heart rate up and the pace steady. It's cloudy, hot and muggy - feels like a storm is brewing. The most eventful thing that occurred in the first hour was the black bear that crossed my path! In the second hour, as I was descending and picking up the pace pretty good, one side of the chest strap on my back pack breaks. I tried running for a few minutes and realized that it had to be fixed somehow. So using parachute cord, and my knife, I managed to jury rig it. My husband would be proud. Back on the trail, I pick up the pace to make up for lost time. Now I'm descending down some slippery rocks and sure enough my feet go out from under me and I land on my rear end, my right arm going backward and cracking my elbow on a rock. So much for the knee pads. Well, it was just an elbow, so even if it's broken, I can still run, right? I get up and start running again, and the pain starts to lesson. However, I look over at it and there's blood running down my arm. Another unscheduled stop. Pull out the first aid kit, clean the wound, and put a bandaid on the cut. Time to start moving again. It's starting to sprinkle which feels good, because with every ridge I climb I get soaked with sweat. My mantra is - if you're hiking up hill, make sure you drink. The tops of the ridges were wonderfully breezy, but when you descended into the hollows the air became close. At about 9:30, the rain started to come down. It quickly turned into a full blown storm, with the rain coming in great sheets. I stopped, put my emergency rain poncho on, and kept moving. There was really no place to take shelter and so the only thing to do was to push on. It poured and poured. I thought to myself, "At least it's not thundering and lightening." As if on cue - boom! the first clap of thunder. I just had to laugh and keep going. The storm lasted up one ridge and down the other side, then began to slack off. I pulled the emergency poncho off, stuffed it away and kept going, sloshing through puddles of water. Soon the sun came out, and things began to dry off. There were some beautiful views on the tops of the ridges and one mile began to turn into another. At times the trail was overgrown, the underbrush encroaching on the path. At other times, the forest was mature and the path strewn with soft pine needles. I encountered two snakes along the way, a black snake that took his time crossing the trail, and a big copperhead that was curled up under a log next to the trail. At mile 17 I was near the Loft Campground. I took a quick sidetrip to the campstore and bought a Pepsi (sugar & caffeine, yes!). I tried to convince the store clerk that I was going to Waynesboro. "You'll never make it." he said - 26 more miles. At that point I probably had 8hrs of daylight left. "Sure I will," I insisted. Then he said, "Even in the army they give you 10 minutes break." So I remarked, "Well, this is my break. I'm going to drink this Pepsi and then get moving." I pushed on. At mile 24, I came out on the ledge where this picture was taken. This is the Warrior Princess in all her glory. This is also where I ran out of water. It was midafternoon and hot. I was a little concerned, but I knew that somewhere along the way there would be a shelter with a spring. It happened to be a mile away. These shelters are usually about a 1/4 mile down the side of the mountain, and the springs can be hit or miss. Luckily, this one was trickling out at a nice pace, and the water was cold and refreshing. Since I was getting the water straight from the source, I didn't treat it, just drank it up. That task done, I chatted with the through hikers who were done for the day, and then moved on. From mile 25 to 30, it seemed the uphills were getting longer and longer and the downhills shorter and shorter. At mile 31, I had to make a decision. My cellphone was running low on batteries and reception was in and out. To rendezvous with my husband who was picking me up, he had to know where I was. The mile marker sign showed a gap about 6 miles away. If I stopped there it would be a 12 hour day. With the drive home being close to 3 hrs, I thought that would probably be a good stopping place. I managed to get a signal, called him (got his voice mail) and told him the location of the pickup point and what time I would be there. I hoped he got the message because my cell phone battery was almost gone. Now that I knew how much farther I had, I tried to pick up the pace a bit. Finally, there were some longer stretches of downhill. I passed some people setting up camp along a ridge. I paused briefly at an overlook, took a few pictures and then finished my last descent and climb up to Jarmin Gap. The total mileage ended up being 36.5 miles in about 12 hours. We traveled on the parkway on our way back to get my car. An ambulance was parked at the overlook where I had just been, and it looked like they were going on the trail to rescue someone who had been injured. Then a little further down the road, a momma bear and her 3 cubs crossed the road in front of our car. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my camera out in time to take a picture. We stopped one last time to take a picture of the sunset over the mountains. The Summer Solstice Run was at its end.

For more photos go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026827&id=1443655108&l=53b7880f15

Run Under the Stars 10 Hour Endurance Run

2009-06-04T19:02:00.000-04:00

As I stood at the starting line for the race, I realized that it was my two year anniversary from the day I walked into the Weight Watchers meeting weighing 274 pounds. Now I was standing on a horse track, getting ready to run for 10 hours straight. The journey to this point has had many peaks and valleys, and like the many mountain trails I run on, there have been lots of obstacles to trip me up along the way. Most of these are mental - self doubt, stress, and negative thought patterns that create self limits. Some were physical - a sickness followed by a lingering cough that would not go away. But I was here now, to challenge myself to the limit and to have fun doing it. Did I have a race strategy? Sort of. Start on the fast side and rack up as many miles as possible in the first half of the race, crash and burn, and then hang on to the final whistle. I'm standing on the toe line, trying to make small talk. One of the relay team members is standing there, looking like an Olympiad compared to me. "What's your pace? 8, 7, 6 minutes?" Finally I got it out of him - 6:40s. Whew, I'd see him every time he lapped me! (It was a 1/2 mile loop). His team of five went on to log about 85 miles! That's an average of about a 7 min/mile pace. As we take off, I find myself running next to a pleasant fellow who was taking a pretty good pace. I felt good, and the pace didn't seem that hard, so I ran with him for a while. We were talking and clipping along at a little less than 9min miles. After a while, he stopped to take a walking break and feeling good, I decided to keep going (you know my strategy...) Perhaps, I should have ran with him the whole time (he ended up winning the race with 58 miles logged). I hit the 10k mark at about 54min, and decided to drop the pace a little bit. My mistake in these first few miles was hydration - I didn't drink enough. I was sweating a lot too. But I was still feeling good. Now I was running on my own. I would wave at Carol, a lady I met before the race, as I passed her and kept going. The guy I started the race would catch up to me, he said right before his walking break. So for a while we were pretty even. I passed the half-marathon mark (13.1 miles) at about 2 hours, just as it was time to change directions! Okay, time to slow down a little more. For some reason, the direction change threw my stride off a bit. Then at about mile 16, the first leg cramp hit. I walked briefly and was able to loosen it up, then realized how far behind I was on drinking my water/electrolytes. Drink, drink, drink and keep running. Stopping more to walk and drink. I hit the 20 mile mark at 3 hrs 20minutes and the marathon mark at 4hrs 45min. My marathon goal time is a sub 4 hour, so this gave me an idea of what I needed to work on for that(hydrating early for one). The leg cramps were coming more regularly and I had to take a lot of walking breaks now. I tried not to make them more than a quarter or half of the loop. My next goal was the 30 mile mark which I hit at 5 hrs 35 min. At this point there was still a chance to make 50 miles. From 30 to 40 miles my pace slowed even more, the leg cramps at times debilitating. I would stop and stretch them. An older gentlemen gave me some S!Caps that helped and cranberry supplements. He said I started too fast(didn't bother to tell him that was the strategy..he was a veteran at ultras, I walked with him for a while too). I fueled mostly with gels and Vespa(it works great). Energy wise I felt great, I could have run if my leg would only stop cramping. During this 10 miles, I walked with Carol and her friend Angela for a while. Once I sat down for a brief second at our camper (which was conveniently located right by the track) and let my husband, who happened to be awake at that moment, refill my bottles. Carol came by at that time and yelled "Get your butt up, and get back out here!" I yelled back, "I'm coming, I'm coming." I did a few loops with a gentleman from VA. He was doing a 2/1 run walk interval. He asked me what my intervals were. I said "I run until my leg cramps up, and then I walk until it loosens up." I didn't like the 2/1, just when you got going you stopped, just when you got in a groove walking, you had to start running again! I finally let him go on. Somewhere in the middle of the night, I discovered Coke! Fill my water bottle with coke please! It really perked me up. The 30s slowly ticked off. When I walked, this one girl kept lapping me, one or two times. Then she would walk with her sister and I would lap her. But I knew that somewhere in there, she had passed my mileage count. I did stop and walk with her and her sister for a while. Her sister had been injured and had opted for walking the race. At 8 hours, I finally hit the 40 mile mark. I knew at that point that it would be virtually impossible to get to 50 miles. Now, it was 1 mile at a time. This is when I entered the "zone." I put my head down and started to run. The leg cramps were coming less often and not as severe, so I was back to walking less and running more. I focused on the spot 3 feet in front of me, and just kept moving forward. Aside from the calf cramps, the legs felt better when running than when walking. 41, 42, can I make 43? 44, 45, is it over yet - keep moving, keep going forward. I passed the man that gave me the S!caps "Go get them, Tiger!" Too tired to comment back, 46, 47, could I make 48 - yes at a 11:45 pace! 12 minutes to go, there's got to be at least one lap left in me. I passed the girl that had lapped me "Did you get 50?" I asked. She had. "Looks like 48.5 for me." and I pushed toward the finish line. I crossed it with a 5 min and 30 seconds to go. I ran past the camper and my husband was standing out front, "5 minutes, can I do one more?" And then I took off, pushing with all my might. A guy ran by me. "Last lap," he said. Last curve, the finish line is in sight. Am I going to do it? Yes! One minute to spare! I ran the last mile in 11:15! 49 miles total! I raised my hands in victory. The guy who crossed right before me gave me a high five. Then I promptly cramped up (it was the big one, Ethel) and gave a yell! Three people ran over to me and held me up. My husband ran over and began to massage my calf. Finally it loosened up enough so I could walk around and work it the rest of the way out. I was puttering around, and realized that they were doing the awards ceremony. I knew the one girl had beaten me. Had anybody else? They announced the 3rd place female with a mileage count of 46. Is it really true? I'm second place? As I accepted the trophy, I realized that this was not just about me. It was about my wonderful supportive family who lets me run for hours on end, without complaint that I'm gone or that the house is messy. And it's about my incredible Weight Watcher friends and runners who encourage me, hold me accountable and challenge me with their own victories and goals, and about friends who pray for me, and encourage me with their "Congrats! Way to go! Awesome." Finally, it's about my faith, and the God who sustains me and who has imprinted on my heart, "Nothing is impossible, with God." Nothing is impossible. I stand on the shore of a vast sea, my goals and dreams a shadow on the distant shore. I can hesitate, I can think that they are too lofty and too far away to attain. Or I can believe in the human spirit, and in my God who strengthens me. I take a deep breath and plunge in.

24 Hour Adventure Run

2009-05-04T20:07:00.000-04:00

As race day got closer and closer, I grew more and more worried. It didn’t help that I had read horror stories of all the bad things that could go wrong during a 24 ultra event – things that could land you in the hospital, or even worse, the morgue (kidney failure, pneumonia, severe dehydration, hypothermia, puking up your stomach lining from taking too much aspirin, etc). Then there was the fact that, with this nagging cough, my training wasn’t where I wanted it to be. My goal had been to run at least 50 miles once before the race, but the longest training run I had managed was 26. Thus, my expectations were lowered and I had but two goals: 1) to finish uninjured and healthy, and 2) to beat my distance of 31.5 miles which was attained at the Icy 8 hr race in February.

The race course was an eight mile trail loop in Prince William Forest Park. There were lots of hills to climb, roots to trip over and rocks to maneuver around. At the end of each loop, there were bathrooms, a table laid out with food and drink. This is where you checked in and out for each loop. You could stay there as long as you wanted.

Race packet pickup and the pre-race meeting was the night before. We got to the campground and when we opened up the popup camper, we realized mice had gotten in the camper, chewed through stuff, and left their nasty little droppings. We had to pulled everything out of the camper, throw a bunch of stuff away, clean everything up and then put everything back in. The only vindication was finding a dead mouse that had fallen in a bucket and couldn’t get back out. I said we should put him on a stick as a war trophy like they used to do in Roman times. By this time we had 20 minutes to get to the pre-race meeting. Oops. Fortunately it wasn’t too far away and we made it just in time. They covered the usual information – the course, the aid stations, hydration, etc. There were about 70 runners total, including the teams. One difference between road races and ultras is the size of the crowd. The largest ultra is the JFK 50 Miler and last year had 922 participants. Most are limited by the fact that you’re running on single track trails and in National Parks. It’s not much of a spectator sport either.

My husband and daughter were there to crew me. That was a real blessing as the race went on. It was good to see them there at the end of each loop, catering to my every need. And I’m sure I got pretty bossy as the day went on! I love them and they’re a blessing. There wasn’t a whole lot of room down near the start/finish line, so they set up under a tarp up on the hill. This meant I had to run down the hill, check in (go potty) and check back out before I actually stopped at my crew station.

7:00am
Loop One (miles 1-8)
I had decided to wear my skin compression tights, my TOP Challenge t-shirt, and my vest with which I would carry my gels and things. I also wore my trail shoes because I thought it might be pretty muddy and I wanted the extra traction, and I was using my camel back mule pack for hydration. We started the race (I hung way in the back, didn’t want to get in the way of the speedsters) and off we went. This was the only time I ran up the hill leading through the cabins and onto the gravel road that led to the trail. Once on the trail, I began the series of twisting climbs and descents. I got behind and met a nice gentleman named Farouk who was setting a comfortable pace and let him lead the way. He was walking up the steeper inclines and running everything else. He was an experienced ultra runner; in fact, this was his third consecutive weekend of racing ultras. He had done a 50k and a 50 miler. His goal was about 80 miles. I told him I was going to follow his lead for a while, walk when he walked and ran when he ran. After the aid station at the midway point we began the long ascent up a steep fire road. I was feeling pretty good and went ahead and passed him. The second half of the loop is worse than the first half. There was a series of ups and downs with some tricky footing that slowed you down. Finally I arrived back at the start in 1:45 which was about a 13 min pace. It wasn’t raining but it was humid! I was soaked and hot. I took off my t-shirt and just wore the vest. That felt so much better! I took 15 minutes to refuel, eat a little, go potty and off again I went. I noticed that while I beat Farouk in by a few minutes, but he left for the next lap before I got started. He remained ahead of me the rest of the race and lapped me at least once, finishing with 80 miles. Yay Farouk!

9:00am (miles 9-16)
Loop Two – I started this loop at about the same pace and tempo as the first loop. Now I was running alone. It’s interesting that with all the runners on the eight mile loop, that sometimes you would go for a mile or two and not see anyone. Usually I would hear someone coming from behind me and it would be one of the team runners. Those guys were going fast! The first half of the loop has some nice trails that run along side the creek and are fairly flat. This was where you could make up some time from when you had to slow down to crawl over rocks and stuff. I came up to the halfway point after running about 45-50 minutes. So I was still setting a pretty good pace. As I started the climb up the hill, I did one of my race strategies. When I was walking up a hill, I had to drink. On this hill, I was going to take a gel or eat some sport beans as I was climbing. As I finished this loop I realized I was having some serious problems with my trail shoes. They were too big and my feet were sliding. I was getting some hot spots that threatened to turn into major blisters. I had slowed a bit and finish the loop in about 2 hrs. Still on a good pace. The first thing I did when I saw my husband was tell him I needed my other shoes. Unfortunately, they were in the back of the car and he had come in the truck. I took my shoes and socks off, lubed my feet with Aquaphor and headed back onto the trail. Meanwhile my husband was to go back to the campground, switch vehicles and meet me a little over halfway where the trail crossed the road and there was a parking lot.

11:20am (miles 17-24)
Loop Three - I decided also to switch to the fuel belt with the water bottles. The camel back needed to be refilled and at the mid point aid station there was water and Gatorade but no cups. I was thinking that Gatorade might be needed as the race went on. The Aquaphor helped and I was able to keep my pace up pretty good, and hit the halfway point at about an hour. I had empty two of my water bottles and so refilled on Gatorade. I climbed the big hill ran through the woods a bit and was so happy to see my husband waiting for me with the shoe exchange. That felt so much better. It was still hot and humid, but every now and then a rain shower would sprinkle me and cool me off. My legs were tired but nothing major (now that I had the right shoes on). I came into the starting area at about 2pm, a 2 ½ hr loop. Now you can see that my memory is getting fuzzy on what happened on which loop. Don’t worry; the last loop is painfully clear to me!

2:15pm? (miles 25-32)
Loop Four – I was excited to do this loop because when I finished it, I would have a new PR for miles traveled (by ½ mile) in a day. That meant that anything I ran beyond this loop would be new territory. It was also the first full loop in my road running shoes and I was glad to have them. I think psychologically that lifted my spirits. A lot of the race, I concentrated on form and trying to be efficient with the use of my body. I tried to stay loose and keep my core strong. I was still drinking and eating on schedule. This loop passed without incident and I raised my hands as I went through the chute – a new PR! But, I wasn’t done. After all, it was only about 4:45, another 2 ½ hr loop. Now the fun could begin.

5:00pm (miles 33-40)
Loop Five – My legs were getting tired and I thought I might have to walk more of this loop, but as I started moving I began to feel better. Once I got passed the first part of the trail and it smoothed out a bit, I began to pick my pace up again. I reasoned to myself that the aches I was feeling at 35 miles were no different than the aches I was feeling at 27 miles. One thing Farouk had said on that first loop was to keep moving forward – it was the key to adding up the mileage. So I did. Again I kept focusing on body form and paying attention to whether I needed to drink or eat. I was feeling pretty bloated by now and had cut back on my food in between loops. I was also wondering about whether I should spend so much time before I started each loop. I would often see people come in after me, and leave before me. Sometimes I caught back up to them, and passed them, some of them I never saw again. But I also knew that I needed that short little break, if just to sit down for a few minutes, or stretch. I’m not sure if my leave times are really accurate. I may have spent more time at my crew area than estimated. The first half of this loop went fine; it was the second half of each loop that was getting to me. Somewhere during this loop, I turned on the headlamp as it started getting dark in the woods. Still I pulled into the starting area at about 8:00pm, 3 hrs later.

8:20pm (miles 41-48)
Loop Six
This would be the first full loop in the dark. It would also put me close to the 50 mile mark! I knew that if I finished this loop, I would definitely have at least one more in me to cross that 50 mile threshold. I was still wearing the vest and the skin tights. Showers would come and go and it was finally starting to cool off. That revived me and even though I told my husband I thought I might walk more of this one, after I got my legs going I felt like I could run some more. I also realized that if I needed to go potty, all I had to do was go off the trail a few yards duck behind a tree and turn my headlamp off. No one would see me. (Don’t know why that made me feel better, except knowing I didn’t have to wait until I got back to the start). I actually began to cut my water, Gatorade intact back. My stomach felt alright, just bloated. If I erred, I erred on the side of over hydration. The hooty owls were out, lizards scampered across the trail, and the hills seemed to get steeper and steeper. In fact, I don’t remember some of those hills being there before. It’s amazing what darkness and fatigue can do to you. I finished the loop a little before 11pm. I actually beat my husband and daughter back from wherever they had gone off to. My daughter was going to go back to the camper and sleep. My husband was going to come back and lay down under the tarp. He was thinking of walking my last loop with me, if I had it in me to do an eighth loop. It was getting cooler, so I put on a dry t-shirt under my vest and that seemed to be just enough. I was now getting ready to break the 50 mile mark.

11:00pm? (miles 49-56)
Loop Seven
The midnight hour. I started walking and again was able to run a bit once I got my legs back. Now, I was pretty sure “wasting” time at my crew tent was a good strategy. This loop went okay for a while and then it started raining, and raining, and raining…You could see the rain coming down in front of the headlamp; you could also see your breath. Plus in places it was foggy. It was basically hard to see. I kept my head down and focused on the path, not wanting to be surprised by any rocks or sticks. The amazing thing about the whole race was that I stumbled a few times, but never fell. For my knees, I had the straps that go under the knee and stabilize the leg. I took them off for a couple of loops because I felt like they were rubbing under my knees a little. I had also been doing some targeted exercises to strengthen the whole leg area around my knee as well as the quads and hamstrings. So I think the combination of all that really helped, especially when climbing hills. I had adapted a sort of shuffle run where I could keep moving at a pretty decent clip while not jarring my legs too much. By now, I was forcing myself to drink and eat. I was pleased that I never had GI issues during the entire race, just bloat. It was muddy and slippery. Parts of the trail were like walking through a creek. The long steep hill was a muddy mess. But I thought, if I can finish this loop, there will be still five or six hours left. Maybe I can get one, or even two more laps in. Just think, 64 or 72 miles. And so I kept going, kept telling myself that the aches I felt were the same aches at 30 and 40 miles. No difference – just keep moving forward. Finally I was back at the start. Before I went down to the start area I went over to my crew tent where my husband was sleeping. I didn’t want to, but I woke him up. I had to decide before I went down the hill whether to try for at least one more loop. He decided he wasn’t going to walk it with me. I decided I needed to do it anyway. I took my shoes and socks off and lubed my feet, and put dry thick Smart Wool socks on. I took off everything off my top, toweled myself dry, and then put a dry bra, long sleeve tech shirt and my rain jacket on. Finally, I felt warm. A little bite to eat, then down to the starting line to check in and out. This time I knew it was 1:30 am because I remember saying “Five and a half hours left, right?”

1:30am
Loop Eight – (miles 57-64)
The final loop. I was tired, but I thought I still had a few running legs left in me. Shortly after I started the loop, the rain began to let up. I took off the jacket and tied it around my waist. Once I got on the smoother section I started doing my shuffle run number. The fog was whirling around my face and it was pretty mystical. I remember one runner come running by me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I passed two “zombie” runners. I swear one of them looked over at me and his eyes were glazed over. I seriously don’t think he knew where he was. About half a mile before the half-way point aid station, I started slowing down big time. The shuffle run was gone and I was simply walking. It was 3am when I reached it. An hour and a half to do the first 4 miles. I reasoned to myself that I only had to go one mile an hour and I would make it back to the finish line. I was still thinking, well if I can make it back by 5 am that gives me two hours to get to the halfway point. Maybe I can at least do 68 miles. Ha – maybe I was getting a little delusional by then. The rain began again as I started climbing the hill. The jacket came back on. The hill was even more slippery, and by the time I reached the top I realized I was done for the night. A runner came up behind me. He was one of the front runners and he said he was on his twelfth loop. He was hoping to make the big 100. I was pleased for him. At this point, on the steeper ascents and descents I really was down to a one mile per hour pace. One foot in front of the other, just keep moving forward. I was afraid one wrong step and down I would go. I tried to make up for it on the flatter sections. I began singing out loud to stay awake and keep myself from focusing on the pain. The legs hurt. The feet hurt, my shoulders and back hurt. I had a coughing spell and leaked a little urine. It burned on the legs. (I told you the last loop was going to be gory). I hit the wall. I started crying - I’m not sure why. Was it because I hurt, or because I knew that it was over and 64 miles was my limit. Or was it for joy that I had achieved the 64 miles at all. I don’t know. I just know that I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other and soon I could stop, I could say I had done it. I had achieved a dream that at times I thought impossible. I had tested the limits of my body and my endurance and had passed the test. I was okay, I would survive. I had met and exceeded my goals. One step at a time. As I drew nearer to the finish area, I passed and was passed by runners coming in and out. I saw Farouk; he had one more loop in him. Several runners asked if I was okay. I put on my best smiley face and said yes, I think I can make it. As I traveled down the last hill, I saw my husband walking toward me. He had gotten worried and was about to go look for me. I think he really wanted to carry me to the finish line when he saw my pained expression. I told him he was supposed to tell me how wonderful I looked, that’s what crew members do, but I know it hurt him to see me in pain. So I let him hold my hand as we climbed that last hill. Then I turned and walked down alone to the finish line for the last time. It was 5:30am. I raised my hands in victory! I had done it.

The race director and volunteers were wonderful. While I couldn’t eat a lot of the food due to my gluten sensitivity there was plenty there for everyone. The runners looked out for each other and encouraged one another. I don’t know how many times I heard “You’re looking good.” I tried to return the favor. I got lots of high fives at the end. By the time it was over, we all hurt, but we were still smiling knowing we had accomplished something tremendous, whether it was the first or the fiftieth ultra we had run. I was pleased to meet Bill Sullivan who tried his hardest to get to 50 miles, and Farouk who gave me a high five at the end and when I said I couldn’t keep up with him, he told me it was just a matter of experience. Or Mike Huff who runs to raise money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. I felt privileged to be part of such a group.

My motto still stands. It’s what I live by:

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

PS – I run for Teens Opposing Poverty. This is my first race in the TOP Challenge Racing Series. Anyone can join the series, you don’t have to fundraise to be a part. And if you want to fund raise but not run you can do that too! Check out these websites:

www.teensopposingpoverty.org – the ministry website
http://www.topchallengetraining.blogspot.com/ - details on the race series
http://www.active.com/donate/topchallenge - sign up to join the challenge or donate funds
http://www.active.com/donate/topchallenge/susu - sponsor me using this website address.

I’m hoping to do a 10 hour endurance run at the end of the month. I need sponsors! Consider sponsoring me at $1/mile or per hour!

God bless!

TOP Challenge Racing Series

2009-04-16T18:11:00.000-04:00

Okay runners! Here is your chance to join in the fun! The TOP Challenge Racing Series will run from May 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009. These are the rules:

1. Sign up as a fundraiser at http://www.active.com/donate/topchallenge
This is the site where you will collect donations and establish your goals. You will be entered into the series as soon as you are listed as a fundraiser on the Active Site. (No donation is necessary to sign up). Fundraising materials will be sent to you to help you raise support.

2. Sign up and run races between May 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. For each mile run, you will be awarded 1 point. You can run any race in the world and have it count as long as the results can be verified via the internet. Miles from the running part of a triathlon will also count. In addition, you will be awarded points for placing in the race:
1st overall or 1st Masters - 10pts
2nd overall - 9pts
3rd overall - 8pts
1st in age group - 7pts
2nd in age group - 6pts
3rd in age group - 5pts
Deadlast! - 4pts

3. For each $1 raised for Teens Opposing Poverty, you will also be awarded 1 point. Your goal would be ideally to have someone sponsor you at $1/mile for every race you run. For example, suppose you are running in a local 5k. Get a friend or coworker to sponsor you at a $1 per mile or $3 for the race. It doesn't seem like much but it will add up in the long run. The more people who sponsor you, the more points you will receive.

5k - $3 sponsorship
10k - $6 sponsorship
1/2 marathon - $13 sponsorship
Marathon - $26 sponsorship

4. Weekly, e-mail me your race results at susujennings@usa.net and I will update the list with the number of points you have earned to date. Challenge Updates will be available on this site as soon as I'm able to post them. Just remember some races take several days before they post results on the web and all races must be verified.

5. When your donation level reaches $30 you will be awarded a TOP Challenge T-shirt. Wear it at your races to raise awareness of the challenge.

6. Prizes, certificates and medals will be presented to all finishers who have achieved a minimum of 100 points in the series. Awards will be given to the points leaders, as well as other incentives based on fundraising levels achieved.

7. Special awards will be given to anyone who collects more points than SuSu Jennings, the TOP Challenge Team Leader, who will start the series with a 24hr run.

8. You may participate from anywhere in the world. Even if you are not racing you can accumulate points through fundraising.

9. For supporters who do not want to donate via active.com they may mail a check to:
Teens Opposing Poverty, 136 Poston Lane, Bluemont, VA 20135
Make sure they note that it is for the TOP Challenge Race Series, and who they are sponsoring.

10. You can join anytime before December 31st. Just send me a list of races run to get your points.

Together we can join teenagers in opposing poverty and make a difference in the world.

Check out the website: www.teensopposingpoverty.org

The Icy 8 hr Trail Race - Feb 7, 2009

2009-02-08T22:12:00.000-05:00

Race Report

As the week got closer to race day, I developed a minor problem. First, it started as a tickle in my throat and a dry cough. As the week progressed, the cough became more consistent and congested. I was a little concerned, and Thursday went to the health food store to see what they could give me to help. On Friday, I drank tea, supped on chicken soup and took my herbal remedies. The cough was still there, but seemed manageable. Oh well, the race was on, no matter what. Friday night I drove to my sister in law’s house to spend the night. They lived within a half hour of the race site. We had a nice visit and then it was off to bed. I woke up every couple of hours. At one point I thought the clock said 7:20 and I panicked since the race started at 7:30. But then I realized it was still dark outside, so it couldn’t be that late. I ended up getting up 5 minutes before the alarm went off. Methodically, I got dressed for the race, rubbed BodyGlide all over my body, and made sure my drop bags were ready. I had one for food and drinks, and one for clothes and my racing gear. When I arrived at the race site, it was probably in the 20s. I was freezing and stayed in my car as long as possible. The cough was still there, but I ignored it. The race consisted of 2 loops, one was 4.7 miles, the other 8 miles. You started on the one loop and if you wanted to do the longer loop you turned left instead of right. The loops were on trails throughout the state park. Each time you finished a loop, you would cross over the mat and yell out your number and whether you did the long or short loop. We started the race and within a quarter mile were climbing up a fairly steep hill. I knew that on future loops this would be a walking hill. Finally we reached the top and entered into the woods. The trails are shared with horses and the ground was rough and lumpy from frozen horse tracks. I didn’t know which was worse, hard lumpy ground or soft muddy ground. I would get to experience both this day as the temperature would climb into the sixties. Everyone was bunched up on this first part but most people turned left to do the long loop, so I turned right and did the short loop. There was only one guy up ahead of me. Another guy was right behind me, but he must have been content to let me set the pace, because he never passed me. I was feeling pretty good, but knew I was probably going a little fast. When I got to the end of the loop, I had finished it in 47 minutes. My original goal was just to run the short loop. But now that I was ahead of schedule I decided to do the long loop. I think this was my first mistake. I took 2 minutes to refuel, strip a layer of clothing and head back out. On this loop, I never saw another runner. I thought that was pretty weird. The long loop had more rolling hills. It also ran under some power lines and had a roller coaster affect, short steep climbs and descents. I really didn’t like it at all. But when I finished this loop I was at just over 2 hrs for almost 13 miles! Too fast, I kept telling myself. And that long loop took a lot out of me, so I decided to stay on the short loop the rest of the way. I can’t quite remember what my next loop time was, but at the end, I remember taking a long break, making sure to eat more and going to the bathroom. I left for my next loop at 3hrs 30 minute. I hit 20 miles right around the 4 hour mark. This was right where I wanted to be. However, I was getting tired and began to slow considerably, taking many more walking breaks. On the next loop I had some GI issues and took a little detour into the woods. The amazing thing was on most of the loops I ran many miles with no one around. Occasionally I would pass someone or be passed. Some people were running the loops backwards so you would meet them on the way. There were probably close to 100 people out there running, but I don’t know where they were! I hit the marathon mark at 5hrs 30 minutes and finished the loop and 27 miles at about 5hrs 45 minutes. Okay that meant I had a little over 2 hrs to do another loop. If I did the long loop of 8 miles I could hit 35 miles! If I did the short loop I would get my 50K miles. So I had a real dilemma. By this time, I was walking a lot. I didn’t know if I could finish the 8 mile loop in two hours. That was a 4mph pace, but when I was walking my pace was dropping down to 3 mph. If I didn’t finish the loop I would not get credit for any of the miles and would go home with 27 official miles. (What I didn’t know at the time is that if I finished the loop in the time period I would have been vying for third place – would that have made a difference in my decision? I don’t know). The other factor is I really didn’t like that 8 mile loop. And the trail had gotten muddy and slippery. But I knew I could finish the 4.7 mile loop, I could stroll it at 2.5mph and finish it! So when I came to the intersection, I stood there in a moment of indecision and finally took the short loop. The funny thing was as soon as I made my decision I got a second wind. I almost turned around to do the long loop. But I stuck with my plan and finished the loop with 47 minutes to spare. That meant that I would have had 47 minutes to do the extra 3.3 miles. I think it would have been close! I did my first loop in 47 minutes, but I knew I couldn’t do a last loop in 47 minutes so I called it a day. Many of the runners, came with the plan of doing the 50k and stopping. Some of them finished an hour or more ahead of me and didn’t even stay for the awards ceremony. But I enjoyed hanging around and talking to some of the runners. I knew I was an Ultra Newbie by the conversations. One lady said “Well, I did a marathon last week, and I have another one next week, so I only did 50k. You know you got to take care of your body, not push it too hard.” She was also preparing to do the National Marathon on March 21 and the Shamrock Marathon on March 22. There were several of them planning to do that. Another guy said he had a training run of 10-15 miles scheduled for Sunday, although at least he was thinking of canceling out. I said I ran an average of 70-80 miles a week and the response was, “Well, that’s a good start.” The guy winner ran over 50 miles in 8 hrs! Unbelievable. He was one I saw quite a lot, as he passed me by. It was a humbling, awesome experience. God has been so good to me in these last two years, as I have been transformed from the inside out. There is a place of inner resolve and determination I never knew I had. I pulled from this throughout the day, and even now am reflecting on my next goal, how much farther can I go, how much harder can I push.

Last night was a bit rough. The cough has gotten worse and I ended up getting up and drinking tea in the middle of the night, and reading a book. My body is achy and tired – not the sore legs achy, but the flu achy. I did a five mile recovery walk/jog today and felt good while out there but now I’m wrapped in a blanket and sipping chicken broth. But, I’ll recover. Besides, if I can run 31.5 miles in 7 hrs being sick, just think what I can do if I’m totally healthy!

Snowy Morning Run - Tuesday Feb. 3rd

2009-02-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

The groundhog saw his shadow yesterday. I guess that means 6 more weeks of winter. And to prove his point, it snowed last night again. It was a thick, wet snow that coated the trees and turned everything into a winter wonderland. Of course, I had to go run in it this morning. Plus, I got a hydration vest and just had to try it out. This was an organic run at it's best. I left my Garmin at work, my other watch has a dead battery, and my cell phone wasn't charged either. No pacing, no distance calculations, just running for the fun of it. First I headed up the mountain on my typical "woman vs. mountain" run. But I let the mountain win today, stopping to take pictures along the way. Halfway back down the mountain, I turned into the woods and ran on the Appalachian Trail for a while. The snow was probably 3-4 inches deep and padded the ground nicely. I followed deer tracks along the trail. When I got down to the creek, I couldn't figure out where the creek started and the bank ended. There was thin ice, covered with snow. Usually I have to jump from one rock to the next so I thought this was a good place to turn around. Back up to the road and down the mountain. I turned off down a side road for another mile and a half before I ran back to my car. By the way, the hydration vest worked great and nothing froze! Although, I did look like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

Week in Review - January 25-February 1

2009-02-02T09:53:00.000-05:00

January 25th was my daughter's birthday. It was also a day of rest for me after my 30 miler. She's into Manga, the Japanese comic books, and I had gotten her a cookbook with Manga inspired food. The Asian sections in our grocery story are pitifully lacking in Japanese food stuff. But we were able to make a couple of things - Tako sausage (sausage shaped into octopus and squid), and onigiri (a rice and seaweed creation). I made her teriyaki chicken for supper. I don't think I could eat like that every day! On Tuesday morning, I woke to snow! I just had to go out and play in it. Running in two inches of snow is like running at the beach. Your feet sink down and it's hard to get any speed going. I was trotting along and without realizing it a car a come up behind me. That's the other thing about snow, it muffles sound. By the time I got out of the way, he was going too slow to make it up the hill. Oops. I offered to give him a push but he waved me on. He must have figured it out, because he was gone when I came back by. I managed to do 7.2 miles before I gave up and headed home. The snow turned to ice and sleet by Tuesday evening and Wednesday ended up being a stay at home day. I didn't run, but was able to spend 4 hours in my garage "gym." I jumped on the mini-trampoline, then did combat conditioning, flexibility, balance, core, abs and resistance training on the bowflex. On Thursday, it was time for another run and the back roads were still icy. Not wanting to chance my treadmill dying on me mid run, I went to the gym in town. I was the only person there, so I set up my portable DVD player on a music stand next to the treadmill and watched "Mama Mia" while I did my 12 miles. I got a deep tissue massage in the afternoon - nice.

Saturday was race day again, race 5 in the winter series. The 5k was interesting. It started out on paved roads, then turned down a dirt road where we were running right into the wind. Then, I think it turned down someone's driveway and there was ice so we were running single file in the car tracks. After that it turned into the woods and was on a trail! I felt right at home in that part.Finally we were back on the main road. They rerouted it a little bit to try and avoid the ice, but everyone said it was a little bit longer than a 5k. That's good because my time (25:47) was slow! This was a tandem race so I was paired with another woman who is about my age. We ended up coming in 3rd in the women's division! I'm not sure how that happened as I was actually finished ahead of my partner and didn't think I did that great. I also started TOM in the middle of the race, but I'm glad because now it should be over by my 8hr race - next week! Maybe that's the reason for these carb cravings I've been having. I decided not to do any add on miles. Besides, I didn't have my Garmin so figuring out mileage would have been tricky, at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!

Sunday was beautiful! Sunny and in the 50s. At church, I asked a friend if she wanted to run with me. I've never actually ran with someone before so I was a little bit nervous. Of course, since I'm known for liking to go long distances, she might have been more nervous than me. But we had a great time and a great 3 mile run along the river (see photo above). After that, I felt really good and added 10 miles at my 1/2 marathon goal race pace (8:55 min/mile). I was psyched that I kept the pace for the entire 10 miles and there were hills involved!

Weather looks promising for next Saturday. Lake Anna here I come!

January 23-24th - "Horse Trails"

2009-01-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

Friday, Jan 23 - After staying up until 2am Thursday night, cleaning for my daughter's 14th birthday sleepover, I knew my training schedule would be out of whack. There was no way I was getting up at 4:30 or even 5 to do strength training. When I did rise from my slumber, there was still trash to take out, a horse to feed, etc. I got dressed in my running clothes thinking I could do at least a quick 5 miler after I did these last few chores. Alas, time ran away from me and I needed to head to work. But hey, I was still dressed in my running clothes! Knowing that the temperatures were supposed to climb into the 50s I decided to go to work just as I was, and maybe slip out in the afternoon for a short run. So yes, I show up for work in my running tights, shirt, and shoes. It was so nice to be able to run in just a long sleeve tee and my tights after days of layering and freezing. My run took place along the bike trail. It is a converted railway - 44 miles long. I head west out of town, an uphill climb to the highest point on the trail. Next to the bike path is a horse trail. It is dirt and gravel and has many ups and downs as opposed to the gently sloping bike path. Of course that is my choice for running. I feel good, despite the lack of sleep and try to push my pace. Feeling competitive, I see a woman ahead of me on the trail, and push to pass her before my turn around point. Success! Then I continue on, climbing to the highest point on the trail. I turn around at 4.1 miles and head back. With the slightly downhill grade, I feel like I'm flying. I pass the woman again, he,he. I'm back at work in 1 hr 14 min. It was a 9:30min pace out and 8:30min pace on the way back - what a difference the downhill makes! I did some rebounding, leg and ab work Friday night, so my daughter could enjoy her friends without a hovering mother.

Saturday Jan 24th - After seeing my daughter's friends off, it was time for my last long run before the race. I really wanted to push for 30 miles, but I was an hour behind schedule getting started. The balmy 50s of Friday were gone, the highs were in the 30s and breezy. I headed back to the horse trail, starting at the western end of the trail and traveling east. I know this is going to be the more difficult direction to start, because when I turn around midpoint I will have to climb for 15 miles. But it will be a good test of stamina and pushing through fatigue. As I near the parking lot, it starts snowing and blowing, and I'm thinking 30 miles in this? I pull out the heavy duty hat, gloves and rain jacket, slip on the backpack and start down the trail. Within 1/2 mile the snow quits and the sun comes out. Within a mile, I have stripped off the jacket and hat, opting for the lighter weight head band. I estimate my pack with the water to be almost 10lbs. My pace is pretty fast for a long run, but I'm feeling pretty good. I reach the 6 mile mark in just over an hour and keep telling myself to slow down. I'm fueling with Hammer Gel, and a trail mix of pumpkin seeds and Reese's Pieces (I know, not the healthiest mix). Each hour, I make sure I eat something. I try to remember to drink often, but it's hard when it's not hot. I pass the half-marathon point at about 2:25, which is okay. I think I'll run to where I know there's a port-a-potty along the trail and see what the mileage is there. I pass a girl who had passed me earlier. She's walking and trying to call someone on her cell phone. She looked a little upset, and I was wondering if she bonked. I decided to check on her when I turned around if she was still on the trail. Because the garmin always seems to short change me on the turn around trip by 10th of a mile or so, I run past the 15 mile mark and turn around at 15.29 miles. A cold blast of Artic air hits me in the face! Argh, not only will I be going 15 miles uphill, but uphill into the wind. At the port-a-potty stop, I switch back to my hat. Now, I realize it's just a matter of counting down the miles. 5 miles back to the town. In town, it's five miles to the highest point on the trail. Friday, it seemed easy, today it's one foot in front of the other, and walking many of the uphills. From mile 22 to 25 I was at the wall and didn't see anyway through it, except to keep moving forward. Finally I climb to the high point and have a brief down hill break. I hit the marathon mark at just past 5 hours. Now, I'm having to fight negative thoughts - things like "I'm so slow" Then I remind myself that I'm doing this without a day of rest, having run 25 miles in the last two days. I eat and drink this little bottle of 5 hour energy that I bought at the 7-Eleven, just in case I really needed a kick. I didn't know if it would work or not. At mile 27 is the other port-a-potty on the trail. By this time the sun is sinking fast and the wind is picking up. I'm freezing. I sit in the port-a-potty, taking my time to stay out of the wind. My hands are going numb from the cold and I'm almost in tears. Finally, I start back on the trail and am walking while I try to put all my extra layers back on. I put my rain jacket back on and pull out an extra pair of gloves for my hands. My fingers are so cold, I'm having trouble trying to buckle back the straps of my backpack. Finally, I get situated and start to run again. I'm warmer, and feel a surge of renewed energy coming back. I pick up the pace and finish the last 3 miles at a pretty good clip. It's 6 hrs and 5 minutes when I get back to the car, 30.5 miles, and almost dark. I did it! Now it's taper time.

My life before WW and running

2009-01-22T14:16:00.000-05:00

I will never forget the day I looked in the mirror and saw a stranger staring back at me. "I don't know who you are," I said to the face in the mirror. This photo is that face. Believe me, I didn't want to post this picture, but I need to remember where I've come from and what I've accomplished. It is my driving motivation to keep setting new goals, and to push my body to its limits. I weighed 274lbs in this picture, and I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Despite normal blood levels, I felt like my thyroid problems were still there and would never go away. Dozens of diets and thousands of dollars on programs, books and supplements yielded little or no results. Sure, the diets worked for a while, but I got tired of plateauing and eventually gave up, eating what I wanted since it didn't seem to matter anyway. In my reading, the concept of wheat sensitivity kept cropping up. A large percentage of those with hypothyroidism have also been diagnosed with gluten intolerance. It was worth a shot. I could give up wheat for one week, maybe even one month. In three days, my sleep apnea went away (ask my husband - the snoring stopped). I didn't wake up once with my heart racing and me wondering if I would make it until the morning. In one week, I had lost 10 pounds. Amazing. Maybe this was the ticket to health and wholeness. But the truth was, I also had eating issues. I tend towards addictive behavior, and obsessive compulsiveness, both of which I needed to get under control. It wasn't just what I ate, it was how much I ate as well. When a friend at church starting going back to Weight Watchers and having success, I decided to join her. At the first meeting, the Teri, the leader, was talking about excuses - making excuses for why we can't lose weight. She even mentioned hypothyroidism as a possible excuse. I immediately raised my hand and said, "Well, I have hypothyroidism (she probably thought I was going to get mad at her), but I'm not going to use it as an excuse anymore. It may be harder for me to lose weight, but I will do it this time." And I never looked back after that. I got up to exercise, even when I didn't want to - no excuses. I passed the desserts, even when I didn't want to, and I haven't eaten wheat since, (except the tidbit at communion). I wrote down scripture verses that would motivate me, and I prayed everyday that God would give me the strength to see the race through to the end. I started hiking on the Appalachian Trail, a stone's throw from our house, and the rest is history. I lost the weight in one year and four months. Some may say I traded one addiction for another - running. Perhaps, but it's more than that - I feel transformed from the inside out, and I've been given an opportunity to encourage those who face their own obstacles, whether it be weight or anything else that life throws at us - we can overcome, we can do more than we ever thought possible and we can all be winners. God speed.

Jan 20-22, 2009 Snow, Cold & Treadmills

2009-01-22T12:45:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, January 20th - It was single digits when I woke, but there was snow on the ground. Granted, one inch is not much to get excited about but so far this year it's the best we've got. The graveled mountain roads were covered, so it was my first chance to get out and run in the snow. Despite the fact that I was told to run both trail and roads in regular running shoes, I knew that this occasion called for the Salomon Trails - warmer, waterproof and better traction. Today was the "mountain vs. woman" routine. I start at the bottom of a 2.5 mile mountain road that climbs 1000ft to the top. If I run the whole way up, I beat the mountain, and the mountain wins if I have to stop or walk. Normally, I do it twice. Eventually, I'd like to do it 3 or 4 times - that would get me in shape for some of the more vigorous trail races. I decided to forego the yaktrax on the way up, so I clawed and pulled myself towards the top. Even with a little snow I could tell the difference, every step seemed harder. "I'm still running," I kept telling myself even as my pace slowed to a dismal 4mph, then to almost 3mph. "I'm not moving fast, but I'm still running," I said as I made my final push to the top of the mountain. The snow was thicker here with icy patches, and I decided for the trip down the mountain, the Yaktrax were in order. Downhill grades are easier on the lungs but harder on the legs. Part of me wants to put the brakes on, the other part wants to just let gravity take over and do a freefall. I'm starting to feel the Yak trax under my feet, so I take them off and decide to do a side road instead of a double "mountain vs. woman." Aside from the hose of my hydration bladder freezing and the ice framing my face and clinging to my hat, scarf, and hair, it ended up being a great run. Some Garmin statistics - 13.2 miles, time:2:38:37, avg speed 12min/mile, max speed 7:30min/mile(I always love this calculation) avg heart rate 109bpm, max 158bpm.

Wednesday, Jan.21st - After teaching three classes at the homeschool coop, I decide to forego the outdoor run, and do a little treadmill work at the gym. I start with a 1/2 mile warmup, walking on full incline (15%) at 4mph. Now, it's time for the real workout. Each mile, I start at 9:30min/mile and build to 7:30min/mile, trying to hold the fastest time for as long as possible, before I drop it back and start all over. This is my best 5k time. Eventually, I'd like to push it to 7:00min/mile. 9:30min/miles feel like coasting after the 7:30s. I do this for 6 miles - it gets harder with each mile! Then, I do a half-mile cool-down at 9min pace. A quick and fun hour long workout. A guy comes into the room while I'm running - "You training for another marathon?" he asks. "Something like that," I respond. I do some ab work to cool down.

Thursday, Jan. 22nd - More treadmill work, this time on the home machine which I'm about to throw out the window! The incline won't adjust, you can only increase your speed, and the thing won't turn off once you've started it. The only way to quit is to go 100 minutes or pull the emergency key out of it's slot, at which point you lose all your data. The treadmill has many affectionate nicknames like the "dreadmill," and the "hamster wheel." I just call my treadmill "you worthless piece of junk." In all fairness, this was given to me by some dear friends and it worked great until I started running 3 and 4 hours on it at a time. I think my sweat short-circuited the electronics. Anyhow, to survive long distances on the dreadmill, I watch movies - usually inspirational ones, if they're about runners, all the better. Today I watched "Running Brave," about Billy Mills winning a gold medal in the 10k at the olympics. Then I started watching "Without Limits," about Prefontaine, but I don't know if he ever won anything 'cause I had to pull the plug to get ready for work. At 85 minutes into the run, with a pace of 10:42min/mile, I decide I need to go to the bathroom, only I can't get the thing to stop. Okay, I think I can make it 15 more minutes. Then Billy Mills is running his olympic race. He speeds up, I speed up. He wins with a final kick! He's stopped running, but I can't! I can't even slow back down. Fortunately the 100 minutes arrived, and I was able to take my potty break. I lasted another 84 minutes, pulling the plug at the climax of "Without Limits." 17.2 miles, steady pace of 10:42.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - The Roller Coaster

2009-01-19T12:18:00.000-05:00

It takes me an hour to get ready for a trail run in the winter. Not only do I have to decide what and how many layers to wear, I have to make sure my gear is in order and my water and fuel supply fresh. Gear checklist: first aid kit, mini-survival kit (if I fall and break my leg and it takes them two days to find me), extra food while I'm surviving, knife, headlamp, flashlight, whistle, compass, water purifier, etc. If I'm going to be gone all day or the weather is questionable, I also carry an extra jacket. Now to get dressed - base layer, cover layer, running tights, running pants, knee pads (average falls per run = 2), gloves, hat, scarf, orange vest, wool socks and shoes. I feel and look like the Michelin Tire Man ( argh - it makes me look 20 lbs heavier)! Finally, it's after 3 pm and I still haven't left the house. So much for a long trail run. I decide to "run" my old friend the roller coaster, thus named for the series of 13 hills with elevation changes from 300 to 700 ft. I'll only be climbing 3 hills out and back. When I first started losing weight, I hiked these hills to get in shape. I considered it a major victory when I made it to the top of the first hill, walking. Today I want to see what damage the ice storm did to the trail. I come to the creek and it's frozen, even the waterfalls. Now I just have to jump across it, without falling through the ice. Fortunately, the water is low right now. Next is the climbing part - it seems harder than I remember - I haven't been on this section since November and the beginning of hunting season. I also can't seem to get the rhythm on the technical (i.e. rocky) sections, and my downhill "sprints" are like tiptoeing through the tulips. But no new downed trees. By the time I get to my turn around spot it's been an hour and a half. Looks like the headlamp will come in use after all. As night approaches, the trail becomes silent, the only noise is the landing of my shoes and my breathing. I've become one with the woods, a mere extension of the roots and rocks under my feet. "Now, if it would only snow." I think. As if on cue, flurries dance about my head. I smile as I negotiate the last hill toward my car. It's good to be back on the trail.

Saturday, January 17, 2009 - 5k race day

2009-01-17T21:16:00.000-05:00

It was zero degrees when I got up this morning. What kind of weather is that for a 5k race? Why am I even doing 5k races when I'm trying to run 100 miles? It's all about speed. Without these races I would be tempted to do all long slow distances. So I put on 3 top layers, 2 bottom layers, gloves, smart wool socks, a hat, a bandana (i.e. snot rag) and headed for the race site. There were probably 100+ other crazy runners out there. We're standing there at the start trying to stay warm while this young man is giving us instructions. Right in the middle of his talk, he strips off his top down to his bare chest (remember it's single digit temps) and puts a tank top on to run in. That's crazy! Finally we start. There were these cards strewn along the path that you could collect to win a door prize. I did manage to stop long enough to scoop one up. Both my hands and my feet went numb early in the race. Then about halfway through my hands started to thaw and they burned! The pain was pretty intense, almost enough to make you cry. I stayed with a group of runners most of the way through the race. With about a mile to go the lady that always beats me starts to pull ahead. There are two women close in front of me. This guy pulls beside me and says "You can catch those two." and I say "She always beats me." He says, "Come on, I'll help you. She always beats me too." So we try to pick up the speed but then my quads are trying to cramp up. Now there is another woman behind me, who was on my tail. I'm like come on legs hang in there, but they really hurt. Eventually the guy pulls away, I'm pushing around the track for the finish and the woman behind me passes me. With my quads cramping I couldn't catch her. Finish time: 23:47, my second best time. I think I was in the top ten women. I got a Book-on-CD about natural cures for a door prize. The Garmin says my heart rate jumped up pretty high in the first mile then settled down into a more acceptable range. I think I need to start slower and finish faster!

After going to the bank and grocery store, I figure it's warm enough (in the teens by now) to do the rest of my scheduled run - I did another 10.4 miles for a total of 13.5 miles on the day. I ran from VA into WV and then back into VA! Two states in one run. My legs, hands and feet did fine on the longer run and I did it faster than I expected (10:13 avg. pace) so I was pleased. I actually got hot and had to start stripping layers. My hair did freeze as well as my water.

I used sport beans and hammer gel today.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

2009-01-16T22:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday, I had the brilliant idea to go check out the race course at Lake Anna. I loaded up my car with my pack, my shoes, gloves, hat, bars and all the other accessories I thought I might need. I got the directions off google map and headed to the lake. About two thirds there, I realized I needed gas. Then I realized that with all the gear I had brought for running, I forgot my purse. The needle was getting down to the big E and I was a little concerned. But, I was almost to Lake Anna so I figured I would worry about it later. It was quiet at the lake, in fact I was the only car parked in the lot... I had a trail map of the loops we would be running. How hard can this be? So I put my pack on and headed down where I thought the race was going to begin. The first thing I discovered was a nice big hill going into the campground. Well at least we would be running down the hill on the way back. Then the trails headed into the woods. Since the ice storm on Thursday, the temperature had climbed above freezing and the trails were now muddy with lots of horse piles to avoid. I missed one turn right off the bat. Turn around, try this trail. The name is right, so I'm back on track. At the next intersection I never could figure out which way to go. Finally I just ran the section backward. There were signs "Caution: Steep grade ahead" You crested the hill and down you went only to climb up another steep hill and do the same thing. A regular roller coaster. I ended up back where I got turned around before and this time was able to find the next section. I finished the loop with no mishaps (only two little tumbles). Eight miles in 1 hr 50 min. That's slow. How much time did I lose looking at the map? Oh, the fun of being directionally challenge. I ran the short loop next and finished 4.7 miles in 1 hr. A little better, but not much. How many loops can I run in 8 hrs? Should I just do the short ones or try alternating? Can I make 31 miles? All these questions were running through my head as I loaded the car back up. Then the pressing problem of the gas came back. I scrounged and found $20! Now I just had to find a gas station. But first, to get out of the park. "Please Lord, let the gate be open." (That's another story, getting locked in a national park is quite the experience). Once through the gate my prayers changed "Please, Lord let me get to a gas station." Fortunately my prayers were answered shortly, and I had a successful trip home.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

2009-01-16T22:28:00.000-05:00

Well the trail run was just as I expected and more. I started in the dark and had to weave my way to the woods and cross the creek to get to the trail head. It was slow going in the dark and the ground was really wet and slippery. All the creeks were fuller than normal with slippery wet rocks. Then as I started to climb and the sun rose, I entered a winter wonderland. There was a 1/2 inch or more of ice on the branches. Sometimes the trees formed an ice tunnel that I ran through. But there were also trees down everywhere. I had to stop and either crawl on my hands and knees under the limbs, or crawl over. Sometimes I had to do both. A couple of times my feet got tangled up in the vines attached to the trees, and I had to extract them. Still I pressed onward. On a really steep climb, there was ice all over the trail. Knowing I would have to run back down this section, I put on my Yaktrax. This was crunchy ice, like someone spilling buckets of ice cubes on the trail and the Yaktrax worked great on that. Finally, I came to a great ice wall, 10 feet tall and covering the trail. I didn't see away around it or through it - the branches were hanging down from the bent tree like a glass jail. So I turned around and plowed my way back home. 10 slow miles total.