Jingle Bell Run

 

Christmas Eve! What a great way to spend the morning before all of the Christmas festivities began. My friend (Tami), my girl, and our dogs headed to Tacoma for a super fun 5K in a park. Everyone was dressed up in Christmas outfits! The course was 3 undulating laps on a gravel path. It was cold, but calm and sunny. Tami is recovering from knee surgery. She's following doctor's orders and doing fabulously.

  

 

 

 After the run, which we started at 10am, it was time to get home and cleaned up so we could begin cooking Christmas Eve dinner. I always look forward to Christmas Eve and having cheese fondue! It's my tradition. I love using the china, silver, and crystal. It makes the table so festive.

 

The table is set for dinner!

 

 

After dinner. It was a success.

I hope everyone had a peaceful Christmas full of love, family, and friends.

Reindeer Romp 5 Mile

Photo by Michael Lake

It's already been a busy holiday season. My daughter sings in a community choir and she has six performances during the next nine days. So after this morning's race, we headed straight to Benaroya Hall to sing. She changed her clothes in the car while I drove. It rained during the whole race and we were soaked to the bone.

Our race was at the Redmond Water Shed. I love running races on the trails there because they are smooth and wide. This race was 5 miles--the longest race my daughter has done. She is used to the 5K distance, and she admitted those last two miles seemed a lot longer than the she thought the would be. This was her second of four races in the Winter Trail Series.

Singing at Benaroya Hall

Volunteering

 

The kids are out of school this week for Thanksgiving. Even though I'm not doing the Quadzukilla, I figured I could volunteer at one of the races, and bring the kids along for some running culture. We dressed up as pilgrims and headed to the Redmond River Half Marathon. We did some check-in duty before the start of the race, did some course marking with chalk, and cheered people through the finish line.

 

Ross Comer, you make a fine race director! And I hope you do this again next year. By then, maybe my family will let me ruin their Thanksgiving week/weekend by running a bunch of races.

 

And for volunteering, we received these beautiful mugs!

 

 



Ravena Refresher 4K

This is the start of my Girl's winter trail series. She has to do at least 4 of the 7 Northwest Trail Runs races to be ranked.

It was a cool morning, but dry and clear! We ran in Ravena Park in Seattle. It's is a beautiful spot and it was hard to believe we were right in the city. We brought Hero along for some fresh air, too.

 

This day was the start of the Quadzukilla. That was something I really wanted to do (4 half marathons and 4 marathons in 9 days). But I am sticking to my promise that I made last year after running through the Thanksgiving weekend. Good luck to everyone running over the next week!!

In Unity We Run

 

I ran the In Unity We Run Half Marathon last weekend. This is my second time running this race (see first time here). It started raining about 30 seconds before the race started and didn't stop. We were dog sitting Baxter for the weekend so I brought him and Hero along for some exercise. It was a slow start--one dog pooped twice, the other pooped once, and I stopped at an outhouse at a golf course to do the same. It became clear after the first mile that Baxter might not make it for the long haul. Fortunately, we have friends that live along the course at mile 2, and they were home! They happily took Baxter in and warmed him up while I continued on the course to the turn-around with Hero.

Baxter lounging with Butler while Hero and I ran.

I picked up Baxter on my way back to the start/finish. We were soaked to the bone and ready to head home right away!

Carkeek 12-Hour

(Photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama)

I've been looking forward to writing about the Carkeek 12-Hour race as soon as I could find time. So, here I am, writing during commercials between SNL skits. Does anyone else notice the volumes of commercials that air during Saturday Night Live??

Back to the race. I don't know how I learned about the Carkeek 12-Hour, but I do remember drooling over the idea of running a 2-mile loop on a hilly trail for 12 whole hours, IN A COSTUME on Halloween day! I sheepishly mentioned the race to my husband to get his buy-in (since I would be gone ALL day) and then signed up!

The race started at 6 am, in the dark, and finished at 6pm when it was almost dark again. I was planning to bring a headlamp, but on the night before the race I had not yet pulled it out of my camping gear. My husband suggested I use the hand-held Nathan flashlight I recently purchased, and I decided that was good enough. I also packed some roasted baby potatoes, and mixed up a couple of Nalgene bottles of water with Tailwind. (I think I've finally decided that Tailwind is my endurance drink of choice.) The weather was supposed to be moist, so I packed extra shoes, socks, shirt, and jacket. Everything went in a big cooler. It's a great place to store things so they don't get wet in the rain, and you can sit on it as your chair. Most importantly, I had my skeleton costume ready to go. I spent about 4 hours during the week preceding the race painting the design on an old pair of running tights (they were too big so I put a big safety pin in the waist band to keep them on) and a race shirt that I turned inside out to paint on. I also had temporary tattoos to put on my face to look like a Day of the Dead skull (but more about that in the next paragraph).

Here is the hand-held flashlight that I used. The brightness was good--it illuminated the trail well. But the beam was constantly moving as I pumped my arms while running. If I am going to run for hours in the dark, I would prefer a head lamp. The beam from a head lamp is much more steady.

I planned on getting up at 4am Saturday and leaving the house by 5am. That would give me time to drive the 30 minutes to the start of the race. But I set my WEEKDAY alarm for 4 am rather than my WEEKEND alarm. My husband work me up at 5:15am. Yikes!! I got dressed and ran out the door--no breakfast, no time to put temporary tattoos on my face, no time to go to the bathroom. I arrived at the race as the race director was giving a 2 minute pre-race speech, and then we started running.

I had never run at this park so I just followed everyone in the dark. After a hour and one half, the sky started to lighten. Soon, I could turn off my flashlight and see the trail and the orange flags that were marking trail. And, at this point, everyone was strung out on the trail and I was running alone. It was peaceful, and raining. The wind blew as a leaf skittered across the trail like a little field mouse. Or maybe it was a mouse.

By the time it was completely light out, I had run 4 laps and the route was starting to feel like an old familiar friend. Here was the course.

The loop started out in the parking lot, next to the ocean and the train tracks.

Right away, the trail crossed a field and started heading uphill.

Uphill. The stairs say it all.

A peek-a-boo view of the ocean near the top of the hill.

The trail meandered through the trees. It was a very nice path with few rocks or roots.

First bridge.

Almost immediately after, second bridge.

This section of the trail was paved. It was short and flat, and near a sewage treatment plant perhaps.

Lovely stream.

Next stream. Another runner saw salmon running up it!

This rock was named the "happy rock" by another runner because it is just a few feet before the top of the last hill. It's all downhill from here to the start/finish/super-awesome-aid-station.

Super-awesome-aid-station. Around lunchtime, they warmed up home-made soup. I had Chicken Noodle and Butternut Squash with Fennel. Not only did the warm soup feel good, it was also a really nice break from the Gu. I think I had 18 packs of Gu that day!

There was so much more to the course that I didn't capture on film unfortunately. I ran 20 long (2-mile) laps and 3 short (.5 mile laps) for a total of 40.22 miles. The course is forever engrained in my brain. Throughout the day, I saw the daily life-cycle of the park. There were morning runners on the trail getting their exercise, late morning parents with babies strapped to their chests and Starbucks in their cups getting a little fresh air, and dog owners walking dogs of all sizes all day long. Every now and then I would end up running a lap with another 6- or 12-hour participant. Those miles always seem to go the fastest, probably because I am pleasantly distracted with light conversation. My last few laps were with Ellen Lavoie, my new trail running friend. We pushed each other along and tied for second place together!

Lap counting score board.

Check back in March when I hope to report in on the Cottontail 12-hour race on the same course!

Me and Ellen at 6:00 pm.

Preparing for the Grand Finale

2015 was supposed to build up to doing a 120 mile trail run in early October, the Big Foot 120. My training was all about trying to catch up after taking July and half of August off completely from running. I had to squeeze in long runs on the weekend mornings, and I had no time at all during the week to run. I would get up Saturday morning and head out the door. I enjoyed a few sights around West Seattle.


The Ladies near Salty's Resaurant

 

An eclectic neighbor

 

 

The grapes must have been good because there was only one left! (near the top of the picture)



 

I was getting nervous about the distance and, especially, the elevation gains on the race course. Two weeks before the race, I dropped down from the 120 mile to the 100K distance. I ordered my SPOT device for tracking, and started preparing my drop bags with food. And then, the week before the race I came down with a cold. I probably could have prevented it by taking better care of myself. I was staying up late at night working and I wasn't getting enough sleep. I hoped to improve, but I pulled the trigger and dropped out of the race on Wednesday before the race. I was disappointed, although I tried to look at the positives:

1) I still felt crappy on race day so I knew I made the right decision.

2) The weather was terrible. I heard reports of 60 mph winds on the ridge. And rain, and sleet, and hail. One woman got hypothermia.

3) I wouldn't have seen any of the lovely views from the trail because the weather was so bad. And I signed up partially because of the views. I planned on taking lots of pictures along the way.

4) I got to watch the race online via trackleaders.com as it followed everyone's SPOT devices! That was very cool.

 

It's time to look forward and get excited about what lies ahead.



Tehaleh 5K

 

I was going to run the Tehaleh Half Marathon last weekend, but I didn't feel fully recovered from the Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon the weekend before. So, I opted to do the 5K and invited my daughter to join me. It was a sunny day. Mt. Rainier was looking bold from this area near Bonny Lake, WA. I wish I had gotten a picture. What a difference from when I ran this race 2 years ago in the rain.

This area is a beautiful place to run. The course included some paved paths, but mostly gravel paths. My girl is doing the Northwest Trail Runs Winter Trail Series so I'll be posting about those throughout the winter!

Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon

 

Photo by Glenn Tachiyama

 

The Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon was September 19th. I've waited too long to write about it! That's what happens when I let work get in the way. My work load has been overwhelming lately. After successfully completing a half marathon and marathon the week before, I figured doing some hills was next on my crash training schedule for my 120 mile trail race in October. So four days before the Crystal Mountain Sky Marathon, I decided to do the race. It was a race up and down the mountains a few times at the ski resort -- about 9,400 feet of elevation gain.

Sunrise at the base of Crystal Mountain

The starting line
I woke at 4:30am Saturday morning and went through my pre-race routine of eating breakfast and giving myself time to use the restroom. Then, I made the two-hour drive to Crystal and arrived in plenty of time to register and get my race number. The morning was crisp and clear. It was a small group of runners and we were all excited to get started. The first three miles were an uphill climb. The sun felt good, and I loved the smells of mountains. Ahhh, it felt good to be on the hillside and working up a sweat. I reached the aid station at the top of the gondola. Mt. Rainier was out in all of his glory. I love it up there! I wasn't in last place, and I was feeling good.

Gondola aid station

Gondola to Sand Flats (7 miles)
I was looking forward to heading down the ridge and in to a bowl on the way to Sand Flats. This area is my favorite area to ski at Crystal! It looked much different without snow. The grass was tall. I was able to pass a few folks on the way down. Somewhere along the way, I got stung by a bee on my ankle. Ouch. Bee stings usually hurt so much but running through this one seemed to lessen the pain. Thank goodness. When I arrived at the Sand Flats aid station, the volunteers said I was about the 7th person to say they got a bee sting. I'm still feeling pretty good, and almost half way to the finish!

Heading into a bowl

Sand Flats to Crystal Mt. Road (4.5 miles)
I continued downhill after the aid station, and now I am all alone. Lonely and starting to get tired. The clouds had rolled in and it was misty. I was disoriented and it felt like I was going way off course. But I kept seeing the confidence flags so I knew I was going the right way. Then, the course made a sharp left turn and started heading uphill. I was out of gas and needed more fuel. I had some Gu and soon reached the next aid station at Crystal Mt. Road.

Crystal Mt. Road to Gondola (6.5 miles)
This is where the uphill really started. Wow, it was steep, and never-ending. I went uphill for a long time. I tried not to look at my watch. I didn't want to see how fast the time was slipping by as I inched my way up. My GPS beeped a mile - 17 minute mile. Someone slowly passed me and we chatted a while as they went by. He did this ridge two weeks ago to prepare for the race. I told him I thought he was crazy to come back and do it again. My GPS beeped a mile again - 40 minute mile. I passed someone who was having muscle cramps. It beeped again - 43 minute mile. I started worrying about making the cutoff time. I ate a lot of Gu, Electo-bites, and Shot Blocks along the way. I finally reached the bee sting area and was happy to be back in familiar territory and close to the Gondola aid station again.



Climbing back up to the top of the gondola. The path is marked with pink and yellow flags.

Getting close to the top! (Photo by Glenn Tachiyama)



The gondola aid station didn't have the same view of Mt Rainier as it did a few hours earlier.

On the trail back to the base, and the finish line!

Gondola to finish (4 miles)
I planned to spend some time at the aid station refueling, but it was windy and cold now. Mt. Rainier was hidden somewhere in the clouds. I grabbed my coat out of my backpack, stuffed food and drink in my pockets from my drop bag, and headed out, this time the course skirted us around another part of the ski area. I was happy to be going downhill again. After all, the finish was at the base of the ski area. But wait! There was one more climb around mile 23. It was about 500 feet up to the Pacific Crest Trail. I had to stop at this trail intersection for a moment, not because I needed a rest but because I had been there a few times about 40 years ago backpacking with my family, including my mom. It was a bittersweet moment and I took a picture of the signage to show my dad. Coming into the finish line was pretty cool. Everyone watched and cheered as I came down and ran under the blow-up arches. The race director gave me an awesome hand-made finisher's medal. I loaded up a plate of pulled pork, beans, and corn on the cob; and sat down to cheer more finishers as they crossed under the arches.

Intersection with the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail)

Tunnel Light Marathon

When I signed up for this marathon last spring, I thought it would be good training for the 120 mile race I am doing in October. In fact, I thought I would be so far along in my training that I would be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon at this race. Not everything goes as planned.

After taking 2 months off this summer (unexpected break), I've been running for the last couple of weeks.

However, this was a fun race. I ran about 15 miles with my friend Sarah. She was running her 100th marathon!

This course is on a gravel trail that used to be a railroad. A couple of miles are through a dark tunnel near the beginning of the race. And the best part is that it is a slight downhill grade the whole way!

This video shows what it is like running through the tunnel with headlamps. It seems barely wide enough for a train to fit.

 



Aid station at the exit of the tunnel.

It was misty, and just the right temp for running.

The course was scenic with trestles to cross.

I ran by my family and friends at mile 16. They were rock climbing!

Celebrating Sarah's 100th marathon at the finish line.