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.

A Few Small Screw-Ups and One Big Screw-Up

On Saturday, I ran Beat the Blerch Half Marathon. I ran it a year ago and it was just as good as the last time. As I was running, I realized I screwed up on a few things.

Small screw-ups:
1) I haven't been training for a half marathon--I've been running 6 miles a week. What was I doing trying to run a half marathon?!
2) I was registered to run a marathon the next day. (See review of marathon here.) Why was I doing a half marathon the day before a marathon?
3) I registered for this race because my friends wanted to run it. They all bailed, and I was running it alone.

Big screw-up:
I thought the race started at 8am. I got there in plenty of time to use the port-a-potty, and then realized the marathon started at 8:15 and the HALF MARATHON STARTED AT 9:30. Oh no! I needed to be at a wedding 3 hrs away at 3pm. I asked if I could start with the marathoners and run the half. Because I didn't receive a resounding NO, I started at 8:15. I will NEVER do that again. The course volunteers were mad. And after the turn-around, I was heading into oncoming marathoners, half marathoners, and 10K runners. Half of them thought I was in the lead (after getting tired of telling people that I started early, I just ran with my head down in shame) and the other half were disgusted with me. The race director, Roger Michel, caught up with me on the course, and graciously said he would make sure my time was recorded accurately and wished me luck making it to the wedding. I can't say enough about the kindness of this man.

Not only was I running alone because my friends weren't with me, but I was really running alone for the first 6.5 miles, and then I felt like a fish swimming upstream the second 6.5 miles. This must be how lonely the front runners feel.

Here is what I realized at the end of the day. If other half marathoners had seen me start early and decided to do the same, the timers would have had to deal with more of us screwing up their timing records. Ultimately, I should have been a DNS (did not start) and gone home without doing the race.

Training on the Road (Part II)

Last weekend was a blast. It was 4 days, adults only, in Las Vegas. I intended to get up early in the mornings to run, before the streets filled with people and before the temperatures rose. Those intentions were good, but I ended up staying up waaaay too late each night and I didn't get up early enough in the mornings to follow through on my running plans. My friend has an old saying, "YOU CAN'T SOAR WITH THE EAGLES IF YOU'RE HOOTIN' WITH THE OWLS." Except I did make it out the door on the first morning and ran about 5 miles to the University of Nevada campus. University campuses are always fun to run around because they are usually pretty, and they remind my of my younger days as a student.

I was hoping to run the Backpacker Magazine's urban hike on the strip. It would have been a nice 16-mile out-and-back. Instead, I cooled off at the pool during the day, and danced the nights away. Running the strip will be something I look forward to on the next trip.

 

 

Training on the road (Part I)

I’ve been fortunate to travel a little bit this summer. Last weekend was my niece’s wedding near San Diego. My whole family was able to attend. It was so nice to be together, on vacation, with my husband, kids, sisters, and father. We visited the beach, wine tasted, did Lego Land, and shopped. And, of course, celebrated a marriage at the most beautiful location in the mountains.

I also kept up with my training. I had hoped to find a nice trail to run, because shlogging down a road is boring and a little painful. However, I can usually keep myself busy whiling running on the road by looking for and collecting aluminum cans. But last weekend, I was in luck!! Two and a half miles away from my hotel, I stumble upon the San Dieguito River Park. It is part of a trail system that connects the hills to the ocean. (By the way, I did collect some cans on the two and a half miles of roadway but my husband didn’t let me pack them in my luggage to take them home.)

 San Dieguito Park in San Bernardo, CA:

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some methods I have used for finding running routes at travel destinations.

1) Look for a running store in the area where you will be traveling. Then find the store’s Facebook page if they have one. Post a message asking the store’s Facebook community where to run. You might even get invited to join a group run! This didn’t work for me last weekend because there were no running stores in the San Bernardo area where I was staying.

2) Do an internet search using key words like “trail run routes” and the name of the town. Last weekend, this yielded someone’s GPS mapped route of their run. I followed their run, and that route led me to the park!

3) I’ve used periodicals for routes in the past as well. For example, I saved an article from Backpacker Magazine from umpteen years ago that had some urban hikes. I ran the New York City route on a visit in 2013. It took me from downtown, up the Highline trail, through midtown, and around Central Park. I loved it, and it was a route that I wouldn’t have been able to come up with on my own!

 The wedding:

 

Groom and Bride

My sister and her daughter

 

Sisters



My other sister, my son, and my daughter

 

Lego Land:

 

 

 

  



Next week, I will be in Las Vegas to help a friend celebrate their birthday. I may try Backpacker Magazine’s “urban hiking route” on the strip at dawn one day, before the temperatures reach the forecasted 98 degrees.

Unexpected Break

I took an unexpected, month-long break from running, and from writing about running. No, I didn't get injured. That would have been easy to recover from. I would have set up a treatment plan and followed it. Instead, my mom passed away last month, and I don't have a treatment plan and I don't know how to recover.

I haven't felt like running. My whole body aches as if I have the flu. I am ashamed that I disappointed my Ragnar Relay team by not doing the Northwest Passage race with them. I dropped out of the White River 50 mile race. The race director, Scott McCoubrey, was compassionate and is holding my registration until next year's race. I've also let the Fat Dog director know that I won't be doing the 70-miler next weekend. They suggested that I run it in honor of my mother next year. That doesn't make sense to me because my mom wasn't a runner nor was she a big supporter of my running.

My daughter has also not been a supporter. She does not like me being away running all of the time. But last week she realized something wasn't right and made me run by making up a new "family fitness program." She took us to the track and we ran around it five times.

I suppose I was due for a little break. I've been running steadily for the last two years, and increasing my mileage.  Last fall, my podiatrist had suggested that I take one month off each year. Taking a break while I'm training for ultra races is probably not what he meant.

This week, we went on our annual backpacking trip to the ocean with friends. I went for a trail run while we were at the beach. I have found that my emotional strength weakens when I run. I broke down, and it was hard to run while I was sobbing and gasping for air. I did six miles. That doesn't seem like much at a time when I should be breezing through 20-milers.

I guess my break is over and I should get back to training for my next race.

My mom and I in the front, hitting the trail in the morning. I grew up hiking and I love being in the mountains.

Here is my latest creation documenting our backpacking trip this week.



Training in the Neighborhood

Run recovery in Puget Sound!

I would love to do my long training runs on the trails. But the logistics of finding child care and finding time to drive to the location are just too much for me to handle sometimes. So, last weekend I decided to do my long run, with hills, right from my back door.

First, I want to interject that I thought I had experienced 2 set-backs before my run last weekend: 1) I stubbed my toe while doing some slip-n-sliding. My toe bruised, and it hurt when I walked. My chiropractor assured me it was a small tear in a tendon around my joint, and I don't really need it for running anyway. Whew. 2) I did some 100-yard sprints that felt great at first--I felt like I was flying, and I haven't been able to lengthen my stride like that for years. It is a testament to the effectiveness of the deep tissue massages on my hamstrings that I've been getting from the chiropractor. However, after a few sprints my hamstrings tightened up so much that my stride shortened and I could only shuffle. Again, my doctor assured me I'll get loosened up again, and recommended I don't do 100-yard sprints again for a while.

Bruised toe.

 

Top half of awesome slip-n-slide. The bottom half dumped into Lake Washington.

Back to my training run. I decided to do 4 five-mile loops. The loops consisted of going down Fairmount, up California, down Bonair, and up Schmitz Park. The total elevation gain for the 20 miles was only 2,700 feet but it felt like a lot of hills to me. I wanted to start at 5am to avoid the heat but I slept in a little and didn't start until 6:30am. By the time I was on my third lap, it was getting very warm. I drank a lot of Perpetuem by Hammer. I used to drink this 17 years ago when I was training for Ironman. It's palatable and it works great for me.


Down Fairmount. Why do my pictures of hills always look flat? This really was a hill!

Along the beach for a quarter mile.

 

Up California, a long gradual grade.

A view of the water at the top of Bonair.

Down Bonair, a quiet little street.

Another half mile along the beach.

Uphill in Schmitz Park. The only real trail on my loop. I loved it here because it was shaded and cool.

My drink of choice for multi-hour activity.

My favorite thing to do now after a run is stand in Puget Sound up to my waist for 10 minutes. The water is cold. It's like having an ice bath. I think it helps speed up my recovery.

I'm looking forward to getting in again next weekend because it is in the low 90s in Seattle. That's hot for this area!



Rattlesnake Ridge 50K

I ran a 50K trail race this weekend. It was an eye-opener for me as I realized I need to start working on running up hills. I also realized I need to get serious about my mileage on the weeks that I don't have a race. Running 7 miles as my "long run" will no longer be enough!

At Rattlesnake Lake before the race started. Blue skies but cool enough to keep my jacket on.

The race started at 7:30 in the morning at Rattlesnake Lake. It was sunny and cool out. The course took us up to the top of Rattlesnake Mountain and down to Snoqualmie Point Park on the Rattlesnake Ridge Trail. At this point, approximately 12 miles into the run, we turned around and went back to the lake, up and over that same mountain. I had a bag of food and drink delivered to the turn around point, and I was glad to replenish my pack with it because I had consumed all of the nutrition I had on me in those first 12 miles.

Rattlesnake Ledge is about 2 miles up the trail from the lake and it is a very popular place (i.e. touristy) on the weekends. As I was getting close to the Ledge, I could hear the people. It sounded like the buzz you would hear in a crowded auditorium. It just seemed insane to me! From the Ledge down to the lake, I had to weave through hikers that were heading up and down the trail. Everyone was very courteous and move out of the way when I asked to pass, but thank goodness I wasn't racing for first place (as if that were even possible for me).

View near the top of Rattlesnake Mountain.

The trail was nice for running. Some rocks and roots but mostly smooth and wide.

Well maintained trail!

Had to pass through several of these gates.

Total elevation gain was 6,700 feet. But, wait, that was just the first 22 miles. I had 9 more miles to go. Those miles were out and back on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail--an old railroad grade that was turned into a recreational path. At this point, it was hot and sunny. About 25% of the trail was shaded, and I was tired and extremely thankful that it was flat compared to the hill I just came off. I was lonely and bored now, but motivated to finish this one!

Snoqualmie Valley Trail. It looks pretty in the picture but I felt like it went on F O R E V E R.

Here is my new friend on the trail. I was so lonely, but she didn't seem to care about me.

I am happy I got to do this race. I had wanted to do it for over a year. But now I've done it, and I don't think I need to do it again.

Photo courtesy of Yutaka Suzue.