Deception Pass 25K Trail

The good news is my right foot injury is gone! And without taking the 2 months off that my doctor recommended!! The bad news is my left foot now hurts, in a different place. It's the top of the joint on my big toe. I tried on every pair of running shoes I own and it hurts too much to run. So, I took an old pair that I'm about ready to retire and I cut a hole in the top to relieve the pressure on that joint. It worked like a charm.

Today, I ran a 25K trial run. I only felt the pain when I was running downhill.

This race is one that I highly recommend. It was a beautiful course, challenging, and well supported with volunteers. And the food (and beer) at the end was plentiful, including wood fired pizza.

Before the start of the race.

 

View of the Deception Pass bridge.

 

Views from the Deception Pass bridge.

 

 

 

 

The trails took us along the water . . .

 

 and on bluffs above the water.

 

Quadzuki - 4 Halfs in 4 days

I went back to my podiatrist to get new orthotics. He had advised me that I would need to take 2 months off from running to recover from my foot injury. The new orthotics will help prevent me from getting the injury again once it is gone. I told him I would take January and February off.

Meanwhile, I've got some runnin' to do. I signed up for 4 half marathons in 4 days over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving Day) - Widdle Waddle along the Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle. I ran this one with my dog. It seemed to be the season for squirrels to gather their nuts. They were everywhere, and Hero wanted to chase after each one of them. It was really warm out!

 

Nov. 28 - Wishbone Run along the Green River Trail. I ran with friends, Tina and Sarah. It was a nice day for the first 11 miles. Then it began raining really hard and I got cold. Thank goodness it was just the last 2 miles!

 

Nov. 29 - The Ghost of Seattle along Lake Washington Blvd. It snowed over night and there was a little white on the ground at the start but it quickly melted. The gusts of wind coming off of Lake Washington were brisk, to say the least.

 

 

 

 

Nov. 30 - Seattle Half Marathon. Such a big race compared to the first 3! I ended up having digestive problems on this race and walked the last 7 miles. What a bummer. I'd love to do this again next year to see if I can be more successful. But I won't. These races took a lot of time away from my family on a holiday weekend and I don't want to do that again.

 

 

And the weekend ended with a nice blister from my new orthotics.

 



 



Mud & Chocolate 4.5 miles

My daughter and I signed up for the Mud & Chocolate 4.5 mile trail race. This is a popular race and it filled up. We entered early to be sure we could get in.

 

They serve everything chocolate at the end of this race. My daughter was motivated!! She did a great job of holding a steady pace. At one point, we turned at an intersection and I knew we had a long hill ahead. I remembered it from the Reindeer Romp race I did last year. I shouted ahead that she should take it easy to get ready for the hill. Her pace never changed and she motored up that hill. I struggled to keep up!

Obstacle!

Chocolate cupcake.

A little bit sad

Boy, I have reached my running goals (52 half marathons in a year, and 2 marathons in 2 weeks). I am injured. And I am depressed. I didn't expect this . . . .

Dog Lake Marathon

Dog Lake Marathon - what a beautiful course! It started just east of White Pass on Hwy 12 and headed east, downhill. I ran in my new Hokas (shoes). I know it is not smart to try something new in a race, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. I could run in my old shoes and I was sure not to finish with my foot injury, or I could run in the Hokas and maybe have a chance to finish. This was one of those rare times that trying something new worked! I was able to cross the finish line, but not without some issues. The shoes rubbed my feet in new places where I didn't have calluses--superficial, no big deal.

The hardest thing for me was dealing with Hwy 12. The road is canted and my right knee hurt. I tried to go to the part of the road that was flattest without running down the middle of the road. The next best place was as far off the road as possible and next to the guard rail. I was afraid that I was doing some lasting damage to my knee, but it didn't hurt the next day. Luckily, we detoured off of Hwy 12 for a few miles on some back roads and that was nice.

The views along the course were picture-worthy!

 I met the youngest aid station volunteer.

 

With this race under my belt, I qualified for the Marathon Maniacs! I am not sure when I'll be ready for another marathon though. My injured foot started hurting again a few days after the race. I am back in the boot for a week of rest, taking anti-inflammatories, and icing several times a day.

Leavenworth Marathon

My first marathon in almost 2 decades. I was a little nervous. Recently, I finished a half marathon and I thought to myself that I couldn't imagine doing it all over again!

I was hurting in my joints around mile 20 and really feeling it around mile 23. But this race ended up being very fun! I ran with some really entertaining women.

I remember doing the Disney World Marathon sometime around 2004 and it took me over 5 hours to finish. Beyond that, I don't remember what my other past marathon times were exactly. I ran the whole way on this one and finished in 4:34. I think it might be a PR!

Before the start of the race, (left to right) Sarah, April, Tina, me. We loaded onto school busses in Leavenworth at 6am and drove 10 miles up Icicle Creek Road where we were dropped off in front of these port-a-potties.

 

The sun was just about to rise when the race started at 7am.

 

Running down Icicle Creek Road.

 

Santa was on the course to direct us at a turn.

We crossed bridges.

At the finish. This was Sarah's 7th marathon in 2 weeks! Tina set a new PR by something like 20 minutes! And April (not pictured) qualified for the Boston Marathon! I was in good company.

 

I am now a Marathon Maniac!

 

 

Two days after the race I developed a pain in the ball of my foot. I visited my podiatrist and learned I have an inflamed metatarsal joint. I am now taking an anti-inflammatory, icing a lot, and resting. I guess I won't be running the 30K trail run at Point Defiance this weekend! I want to be ready for Dog Lake Marathon in less than 2 weeks. 



"Resting" in a boot, and my new Hoka running shoe. I am hoping the Hokas will provide cushion so I can run while I am recovering.

Race for a Soldier

Last weekend, I went to Gig Harbor to run with some of my girlfriends. We spent the night at a hotel so we wouldn't have to get up early and drive the next morning. It was a community supported race for a really, really good cause. The money goes to help veterans suffering from PTSD.

Our colorful shoes.

 

We ran through this Seahawks helmet at the finish line!

 

There were tons of aid stations and cheering squads and even a few bands!

 

A high school marching band.

 

 

A high school grunge band.



 

Any resemblance?

I had pictures taken with my daughter this fall. I decided to bring along my year-long collection of race medals to capture them in a photo. It reminded me of Mark Spitz when he posed with his Olympic gold medals! Do you see any resemblance? Younger people probably don't know who Mark Spitz is so I found a recognizable face--Michael Phelps--in the same pose!

 

 

 

By the way, here are my favorite pictures with my daughter.

 

Sky Pilot 18K (although my GPS says it was 20K)

 

This was an amazing race. Last Sunday was the inaugural running of the Sky Pilot. It was supposed to be 25K but they shortened it to 18K when they couldn't build a longer safe trail, and then the course was changed again to just around 19K or 20K. They said it rained, and streams and waterfalls showed up out of nowhere so the loop course was nixed for an out-and-back in the interest of keeping runners safe.

The race director was all about being safe. Here is the list of items we had to carry with us (just in case we went off course and had to spend the night out there).
Mandatory Gear Items Are:
1) Whistle
2) Jacket
3) Buff or Toque
4) Gloves
5) Cell Phone
6) Space Blanket
7) Working Headlamp or Flashlight
8) Matches or Lighter
9) Evidence of Having Carried 600 Calories From Aid Station
10) Evidence of Having Carried Two Liters of Water From Aid Station
11) Printed Course Map

The race director was also all about making it the hardest race you'll ever want to run. I thought the turn around would be at a saddle that I could see high above us. Boy, was I wrong! After we ascended to that saddle, we climbed the mountain next to it! And that is where the views were incredible.

Here is a video at the highest point in the race.

 

This video is at the turn-around, just below the highest point.

This course was challenging. There was a lot of waiting during the first 2 miles. There were ropes to aid in getting up the trail and it took some time to get everyone through those sections.

These were the lines waiting to go up the ropes.

 

Here was a rope section.

Other challenges included rocky trails and boulder fields. One section was a scramble up switchbacks in loose duff. One the way down, I pretty much "skied" down. I didn't have any traction in the slippery stuff so I was happy to just slide down.

Is this a river bed? No, it's really the running trail.

 

Here is one of the boulder fields. There are people in this picture but they are so small you can't see them very well (that's how big these rocks are).

 

Another boulder field. I did pretty good on they way down through these and passed a few people. My legs were pretty tired and I was a little worried about twisting an ankle or breaking a wrist on the way down. This was about the time that I realized it probably wasn't a good idea to run a half marathon the day before this race.

 

Aid station 2.5K before the end. I was soooo happy to see these folks and to eat some potato chips.

 

There were tons of blueberries everywhere. Near the top, a course monitor was hanging out, picking berries, and offering them to us as we ran by. By the way, I knew I was in a foreign country because I never heard so many "eh?"s in my life. Canadians have to end every sentence with a question . . eh?

 

The finish line was at the top of the Sea to Sky gondola and Summit Lodge. I crossed the line with my son running beside me, and then the race director gave me a big 'ol bear hug. It almost made me tear up.

Here's my hug, with my son looking back.

 

 

This cool suspension bridge is also near the finish line.

 

This race is part of the Coast Mountain Trail Series and I would really like to do another one of their races soon. I'm afraid to admit that to my husband . . .

#52 of 52 - Beat the Blerch

The Beat the Blerch was a good ol' fun race! Not to mention that it was number 52!!!! The weather was just right--cloudy and cool. I ran with two wonderful friends, Tami and Lisa.

Tami, Lisa, and me at the start of the race. Thank you, girls, for sharing my monumental day with me!

And hear is how the race organizers made it fun.

They provided a couch at each aid station! We sat down and rested with a few Blerches.

 

Sasquatch was lurking in the bushes at an aid station.

 

They served cake at the aid stations!!

 

Lisa is enjoying the cake at mile 10.

 

The costumes were fantastic.

The signs along the way kept me laughing.

I'm at the end of the road--this was my last race! I completed my 52nd race in 365 days today, with one week to spare.



Just a week ago, I reflected on my year-long journey. And I realized that not once did I feel like a race was a chore that needed to be completed. Instead, I looked forward to each running event. I ran in places that I never would have gone to before, and met people that I would have never had the blessing to meet.

I amassed a few things along the way:

Shirts

Medals

Bibs

 

I also spent a few dollars, $7,260 to be exact. That includes some gas to travel overnight to races but doesn't include all gas. It also includes new shoes, hotels, a few massages, Gu, a couple of 5Ks with my daughter, and some other running gear (socks, gloves, shorts). I tried to go as inexpensively as I could so I usually opted out of buying a race shirt if I had to pay for it separately.

Am I really done running?? NO WAY!!

Tomorrow I am running a 19K trail run in Squamish, BC. I can't wait!