#45 and 46 - Trail Running Weekend

I had a great weekend of running on trails. And, I am only 6 races away from completing my goal of 52 races in one year!

#45 Foothills B&O Half Marathon (7/26/14) - This race was around my old stomping grounds. I grew up in the Buckley/Enumclaw area. I was so excited when I signed up for this race months ago, and it did not disappoint me. I spent Friday night at my parents' house and walked to the start of the race Saturday morning. The race was from Buckley to Orting mostly on an old railroad grade that was turned into a bike path. The bike path is not yet completely connected so there was a section of unpaved trail. The weather was beautiful, I brought Hero along for the run, and my family came out to support me along the way and at the finish! Even my sister was on the course as it passed through South Prairie. I wish I had gotten a picture with her. We ran over some of the coolest old railroad trestles. I want to go back with my camera soon. I'll add the pictures of the trestles then.

 

Here is a picture of the trail section. I copied it from the Foothills B&O facebook page. There were some racers ahead of me trying to tip toe around the edges. I just ran down the middle with my dog and passed them all. It's just mud, and it'll wash off!

 

Here is one of the trestles that has been rebuilt. The original one was removed in 1983. I also copied this picture from the Foothills B&O facebook page.

 

At the same time that I was starting my race, my daughter was running the 5K in Enumclaw.

That's my girl! (with Dad guarding her right flank)

 

#46 Chuckanut Mountain Half Marathon (7/27/14) - I drove to Bellingham Saturday night to attend a "Drinks on the Deck" party that my best friend from college, C A, was having (really, I call her C A). The food was so good, as usual! I made sure I fueled up for the race the next morning. I decided not to drink any alcohol but it was fun to watch everyone else get a little tipsy. The race on Sunday morning didn't start until 10am so I had a leisure morning. C A made pancakes with fresh blueberries for breakfast.

This was a challenging course with 2,000 ft of elevation gain, but it was so worth it for the views! It started on the Interurban Trail where I had run the Wind Horse just the week before. Then, the course started to climb, and climb, and climb. There was a point during the race that I was running along the top of a ridge with a view of Mt Baker to the east and Chuckanut Bay to the West. Then, the course dropped down to Fragrance Lake and then down further to the finish at Larrabee State Park. Some parts of the trail where pretty technical with lots of roots and rocks and switchbacks but it was all worth it!

Interurban Trail

Mt Baker to the east

Chuckanut Bay to the west

Fragrance Lake. I wanted so much to stop and go for a swim!

 

 

 



#43 and 44 - From Boarder to Boarder and RUNNING WITH YOUR CANINE

Well, not quite boarder to boarder. Saturday's race was in Bellingham, near the Canadian boarder. And Sunday's race was in Battle Ground, near the Oregon boarder. I only have 8 more half marathons to go! I noticed I am counting down instead of up now! I do that during every race, too. After about 8 miles, I stop counting up and start counting down--5 more miles, then 4, then 3. At this point, I start counting laps around a track--12 more laps, then 8, then 4. It's the accountant in me that likes to work the numbers in my head while I am running.

#43 Wind Horse Half Marathon (7/19/14) - I drove to Bellingham with my family Friday night. Actually, my husband started at noon and road his bike, and I drove. He took the ferry to Whidbey Island and did a nice 100 mile tour. We spent the night at Christine's house. She was the volunteer coordinator for this race! My family was part of the volunteer corp and they directed runners at a road crossing.

There are several reasons why I enjoyed this race:
1) It was put on by the Bellingham Sister Cities Assoc and all of the proceeds went to Blue Sky Education Project, a nonprofit organization that sponsors elementary students in Mongolia who would not otherwise be able to attend school. They also provide funding to send students to teacher college. I think education is so important, all the way around the world.
2) The course was amazing! It was an out-and-back from Fairhaven Park all on trails including the Interurban Trial. The scenery was beautiful. I forgot to carry my camera with to take pictures, darn it!
3) The weather has cooled off, finally. We've had some hot weather lately but on race day the temp dropped and it even drizzled some rain on us. I was able to take my dog with me!
3) I love the horse logo and the finisher's medal. The Mongolian phrase for the “Wind Horse” is pronounced Khiimori and it refers to one’s spirit or soul.
4) It was a small race and was well organized. There were aid stations with water every couple of miles. Volunteers at corners and crossings. The trail was very well marked with chalk. Mile markers every mile. Barbecued beef skewers at the finish!

 

 

I took this picture, and the 2 below, the following weekend when I was running the Chuckanut Mountain Half Marathon (both races shared some of the same trails). This bridge is in Arroyo Park.

 

This trail was also in Arroyo Park.

 

I also took this picture during the Chuckanut Mountain Half. This was a view of Chuckanut Bay from the Interurban Trail.

 

 

#44 Harvest Hay Half Marathon (7/20/14) - After returning home from Bellingham, I showered and then packed up again. I drove to Vancouver, WA and stayed overnight at a friend's house. I was up early the next day because I had a half hour drive to the race and the start was at 7:30am. I was so impressed at how quiet it was in the neighborhood where I spent the night. It was completely silent. I wanted to just stay in bed and rest, and skip the race. But then I thought about how I had driven so far for this race and I had better not miss it.

 

The weather was cool and overcast. I thought it was perfect for running. The course was a big loop on the road. It had some big hills and the scenery was rural. I made some small talk early in the race with a few folks. I met a couple who is trying to run 50 halfs in 50 states. They are heading to Oregon for their next run. Somewhere in the middle of the race, I met Don. We ran the rest of the race together. He was very encouraging and our pace was looking good for finishing at 2hrs. I really wanted to do a sub 2 hr, so we worked pretty hard those last few miles. I finished in 2:00:31. Bummer.

 

I saw a few pennies on the road during the race. Maybe I should have stopped and picked them up.

 



Not the best picture, but this is me and Don finishing together.

 

I carried my camera with me for this race but didn't use it.

 

RUNNING WITH YOUR CANINE: I love to run with my dog. I grew up with a dog on a farm, but I am not an expert on dogs. Maybe I should give my dog more credit, but I worry about pushing him too far. I worry about his feet hurting if the ground has crushed gravel. I worry if his feet will be too cold on frozen ground. I worry that he hasn't taken in enough water, or that he is too hot. All worrying aside, once Hero does a little sniffing and poops, he gets into a nice stride next to me and he can run and run and run.

I always bring a poop bag with me. I'd rather pick it up and carry it during a race than leave it behind with bad manners. I also keep a bowl and big bottle of water in my car to offer to him after the run.

 

I use a "Wonder Walker" harness and a Spindrift nylon leash with elastic similar to this one. It goes around my waste and leaves my hands free to hold my water bottle, etc. There is a loop about 12 inches away from the snap that allows me to grab and pull him close when needed.

Harness with leash attached to top of harness. I find that Hero is less likely to get the leash between his legs when I attach the leash on top.

You can also attach the lease to the front of the harness. If Hero catches a scent, he wants to go after it. It is easier to bring him back to me when the leash is attached this way.

Lease attached to my husband's waist.

Family Backpacking Weekend

I intentionally did not sign up for any races last weekend so we could go backpacking. We headed up to Summit Lake by Mt. Rainier. I have never been there before so it was great to check out a new place. It was an easy 3 mile hike with gradual elevation gain. We tried to get there Friday and spend 2 nights but we didn't leave home early enough on Friday. We made it as far as my parents' house and spent Friday night there. We spent Saturday night at the lake (full moon!) and headed back home on Sunday.

There was snow and the kids loved playing in it, especially to cool off in the heat. We hiked to the top of Summit Peak 2 times, too.

It felt soooo good to get out in the mountains. We will be doing our annual hike to the coast on the Olympic Peninsula in September and I am looking forward to that. However, I wish we could go up in the mountains again but I am racing every weekend from now until the end of September (except for the coast trip).

The crew.

 

Floating on an ice burg!

 

 

On top of Summit Peak.

 

Visiting my mom Friday night.

 

 

#42 of 52 - Cook Park Half Marathon and WHAT TO WEAR

I just completed my 42nd half marathon, and I only have 10 more to go!! By September 27, I will have run 52 half marathons in 365 days.

My family and I and our dog headed to Portland, OR last Saturday. We spent the night at a friend's house and got up at 5:30am Sunday to drive to Tigard, OR for the race that started at 7:30am. The course was pretty flat on a mostly paved path. The course had lots of out-and-back sections. It was 3 laps for the half marathon so I got to see other runners many times. I did the first lap with Hero but it was hot and I didn't want to push him in the heat, especially since he was wearing his sunscreen cover that could make him even hotter. The sunscreen cover is essential for keeping him from sunburning his back where he has no hair.

This race was the 3rd of the Firecracker Triple. The first race was the Foot Traffic Half Marathon at Sauvie Island, OR on the 4th of July. The second was the Stars and Stripes Half Marathon in Beaverton, OR on the 5th of July. And the Cook Park Half Marathon was on the 6th. Everyone who completed all 3 earned an additional medal, and potentially a winner's plaque. I would love to do the triple if they have it next year!

Crossing the finish line.

 

It was a small race with 46 half marathoners (and 31 marathoners and 8 5k-ers).

 

Posing with my family. They aren't really my cheering squad because my kids would rather go play than wait for me to run by.

 

 

WHAT TO WEAR:  In my quest to run 52 half marathons in a year in the Pacific Northwest, I have encountered quite a large variation in weather. Temperatures have been as low as 24 degrees and as high as 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I've run in rain, sleet, and wind. But haven't had to run in the snow, yet. The ground has been frozen, muddy, dusty, and paved.

 

I like to wear moisture wicking material like Coolmax. And I like to layer my clothing. My base layer can be a spaghetti-strap top. Over that, I wear a short- or long-sleeved shirt. In extreme cold or rainy weather, I'll add a thicker long-sleeved top or a rain shell. I tried arm warmers this year and I loved them! Instead of a long-sleeved shirt, I wore short-sleeves with warmers. The warmers are called FiveLo Arm Sox and are in the Seattle Seahawks colors. They were so soft. I would like to buy them in other colors but, unfortunately, it looks like the company only makes them in certain sports teams' colors.

 

On the bottom half, I like to keep my legs warm. I wait until it is above 60 degrees before I will wear shorts. In freezing weather, I will layer a pair of Coolmax sweatpants over my running tights to keep my legs warm. I ALWAYS wear Coolmax socks. I learned early on that cotton socks give me blisters. I am allergic to wool so I stay away from anything with wool in it.

 

When I need gloves, I were knit ones. I've tried the high-tech running gloves and they seem to cut the circulation off in my fingers and make them feel even colder. Knit gloves are soft, and smooth on my nose when I blow my nose in my gloves (yes, I do that--I blow my nose a lot when I run). Sometimes I will start out with a moisture-wicking beanie. But I usually take it off when I am running after I have warmed up, and carry it in my hand for the rest of the race.

 

Have I missed anything?? Yes, the foundation (the underwear)! I just had to experiment to find stuff that doesn't chafe. My favorites include an Underarmor jog bra that I found on the Wonderland Trail around Mt Rainier. It was dirty and gross but it washed up just fine and now it's my fave. Speaking of found clothing, the jacket I wear to the start of races is a fleece thing I found while I was letterboxing once. It has no value to me so I don't care if it gets lost in the baggage check at a race.



4th of July - Running with my family

Today, my family ran the Four on the 4th 4K run with our dog. It was a fundraiser for the Humane Society. The sun was out and we had fun with our Hero dog.

 

 

 

Hero had a tumor removed from his back 9 days ago. The biopsy results came back with fibro carcinoma. The news was very disheartening. Hopefully, we had it removed before it spread to somewhere else in his body. This cancer is slow to spread so that is good news. However, it has "fingers" and it's possible the vet didn't get the whole thing out. She did remove tissue one inch all the way around the tumor so I am hopeful that it is all gone.

 

 

 

He is healing up very well and will get his stitches out in a couple more days. The vet was also hopeful that the rest of the scar on his back will shrink over the next year. Meanwhile, we have to keep it covered when he is in the sun so he doesn't get sunburned!



#41 of 52 - Taylor Mountain Half and GPS WATCHES

This is my kind of race! M. U. D. (My Ultimate Delight)

I mean, it was really muddy, and we even crossed a stream . . . without a bridge. It's been noticeably dry this spring in the Pacific Northwest. But Taylor Mountain didn't disappoint. It rained during the week before the race and the trail was sloppy. The mud was deep enough and thick enough in spots on the trail that it felt like it could suck your shoe off.

This race was 1,900 of elevation gain. The race started immediately onto single track. Often, trail races start in an open area or on a dirt road to give runners an opportunity to seed themselves and spread out before hitting the single track. Not this race! I started out toward the back of the pack. I got a kick out of seeing tender-footed runners try to dart around mud puddles and tip-toe through the mud. I hope they didn't think I was rude but I just yelled "PASSING" and splashed past them. We reached the stream crossing just before 1 mile. I stopped and took a few pictures.

Then, it was an uphill climb through the trees. And then it was downhill. And then an aid station, and uphill, and downhill, and uphill and downhill, and aid station. You get the idea. It was a great place to run. I enjoyed the company of several different runners along the way.

GPS WATCHES: I have a Garmin forerunner 310XT. It is the only GPS watch I have ever used. It gives me splits by the mile so I can see how my pace is doing. I love how it downloads to a website and graphs my pace and elevation. The watch came with a heart rate monitor and when I where the chest band, it also graphs my heart rate!

It is just a fun toy for me. I like to see how far I've gone when I am on the trails. That way, I know how much farther I have to go before I am finished! I've noticed that when I am running a half marathon, I count up the miles at first: mile 1, mile 2, mile 3, etc. Then, somewhere around mile 8 I start counting down: only 5 more miles to go, only 4 more miles to go, etc. I even go as far as saying to myself, "only 20 more laps around a track" or "only 16 more laps around a track." When I get down to "only 12 more laps around a track" I'll even remind myself that I could crawl that far if I ever needed to! It's the funny things we say to ourselves when we have nothing else to do with our brains while we are running that keep us going.