FANS 24 Hour 2011

Now that I have had several days to think about my recent 24 hour race, it is time to do a little write-up about it.


My travel to the race was rather stressful. In order to save about $150 on airfare, I flew from Austin Texas rather than Houston. It is a 2 hour drive to the airport so I had to leave my home at 2:15 am Friday in order to arrive at the airport 2 hours before my flight. Here is the funny part. I flew to Houston and had to sit in the airport for 2 hours waiting for the next flight.

The race is called FANS 12 and 24 Hour, and is held at Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis Minnesota on the path that surrounds the lake. “FANS” stands for Family Advocate Network System and is a program of Pillsbury United Communities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pillsbury initiated the FANS project in 1989 with a group of sixth-grade students from North and South Minneapolis. The Project has a vision of sending inner-city kids to college or to another post-secondary institution. FANS works with the youth and their families in a wide variety of activities geared to providing support for the vision.
I paid the entry fee for the race a long time ago as I have had my sights set on doing a 24 hour race that actually has a walk division. Also, the race provides judges for a Centurion event if there are any walkers planning to attempt to walk 100 miles or more in 24 hours or less. I have had the dream of becoming a US Centurion since I attend such a contest in 2006, not as a participant but as a spectator, at Bear Creek Park in Houston. That particular race was held in February, 1 week after I completed my first full marathon in Austin Texas.

Back story… when I completed 100 miles walking the first time recently at Across the Years in Phoenix Arizona, I came home from that race feeling fat and defeated. I had gained back about 25 pounds of the weight I lost and things were beginning to hurt due to the extra weight I was carrying around. I was at a loss as to how to start a healthier program when I found out about the Paleo diet from some running friends in Houston. Since I was recovering from my first completed 100 mile race, they suggested it was the perfect time to try this new way of fueling my body. January 18 I gave up grains, refined foods and sugar (the only sugar I eat is a tiny bit of honey in my hot tea and the little bit that is in 90% Lindt Chocolate). I eat protein from a variety of sources, lots of veggies (I love my veggies) and lots of fat. It takes a few weeks for the transition from sugar burner to fat burner, so I was a real bear until about 3 weeks into the plan. Then, my energy level started to come back up and I felt stronger than I had in a long time.

I started training for FANS after about 6 weeks strict Paleo. Strict meaning absolutely no grains, sugar or processed food. Cooking the meals is simple, and it is very satisfying to eat something you prepare yourself rather than eating some crap that comes out of a cardboard box. I joined a gym so that I could get some help as a weight lifting beginner. I needed to make sure I was using correct form through the exercises so that I would become stronger instead of overdo it and injure myself yet again. I did not put together a real race training plan, which is the complete opposite of what I have done in the past when training for a long distance race. I just walked as far as I felt like walking, and made sure I did my strength training twice a week. Monday mornings were always reserved for what I call speed training with my high school racewalking friend Ruth. She needed to walk longer distances, which is what I do… and I need to walk faster, which is what she does.

Ok, so I lost all the weight my body felt like losing while I was always eating until I was fully satisfied. I only eat breakfast when I wake up hungry (a couple of times a week) and eat a healthy lunch and dinner. My skinny jeans fit me again, and I can see biceps and triceps and (my legs have always been muscular) and I am beginning to develop a waistline… something I have NEVER had my whole life.

Still training only as much as I felt like, the taper was uneventful. I went to Minneapolis feeling rested and ready for the race. It was great to meet up with Mellody and Dan and head to the race site after we checked into our respective hotel rooms. Packet pickup went smoothly and I really love the race shirt… Bright orange, it says run all day with a picture of running shoes on the front, and run all night with a picture of bunny slippers on the back. The pre-race pasta dinner was kind of an issue for me; I don’t eat pasta. So, I ate a large salad and picked up some Jimmy Dean Sausage and sweet potatoes when we stopped at Target on our way back to the hotel. I cooked that in the hotel microwave and had plenty to eat. I was filling my Hammer flasks while eating and accidentally spilled some raspberry gel on the sausage – it was delicious! I also cooked a couple of sweet potatoes for the race. I will not eat the junk food fare at the race aid station because my body would certainly reject it since I never eat processed foods. The sweet potato turned out to be the perfect ultra food for me. As I was getting the rest of my gear ready for the race, I realized I had forgotten a whole bottle of Endurolytes I bought for the race at home. I began to panic and decided that it was a subconscious act of self-sabotage. My mind was telling my body I could not possibly walk 100 miles in 24 hours. Mellody was critical here – she kept me from falling apart. I looked up local cycle shops who would surely have Hammer products and planned to shamelessly beg (and offer a bribe to) someone at the race to go and buy a bottle of Endurolytes for me. I didn’t have to beg for too long and a runner, Alison Fraser offered one of her crew members (her dad) to go and get them for me. If it was not for Alison’s dad, I would not have fared so well in the dry hot weather that was to come.

It usually rains race weekend in Minneapolis. Not this time. The sky was clear and beautiful and the temps rose to at least 86 that afternoon. I am used to the higher temps, but not the low humidity that we were experiencing. Back to the start of the race – The average pace to walk 100 miles in 24 hours is 14:17 and my plan was to walk at about a 13:45 pace for as long as I could to try and build a little time cushion in case I needed to stop and change shoes or had any problems later in the race. The day just proved to be too hot and I was only able to hold the pace for about 4 hours and when the clock reached 6 hours, I had walked 24 miles. I knew at that time I would not be able to walk 100 miles at this race. I did not let that stop me from trying to walk as many miles in 24 hours as was possible for me in the conditions that day. I just kept moving forward, following the nutrition and hydration plan I had painstakingly prepared for the race. Sometimes slow and steady does win the race; because that is exactly what I did… win the race.

I chose this race because it is the only 24 hour ultra in the country that has a walking division. People have come to FANS from all over the world to compete in the Centurion contest. I am really sorry I did not make the Centurion list. BUT, I did not give up even when I knew early in the race I would not walk 100 miles. Ray Sharp should have beaten me soundly, but the heat of the day got to him like it did to some of the runners. I spoke to one person who was having problems during the race and later found out he had been taken to the hospital. He is ok now, but we should never underestimate how important race nutrition, hydration and electrolytes are. This race keeps a close watch on participants, weighing each of us before the race, and then every 4 hours during the event. Should anyone lose or gain too much weight during the event, the race doctor pulls you from the competition and does not let you return to the race until your weight normalizes.

I never felt sick to my stomach and I only had one small blister at the base of my right heel which means my electrolyte intake was spot on. My weight only fluctuated 1.5 pounds during the race, which is also an indication I was taking good care of myself! I changed my shoes, socks and clothes one time, in order to put on a light weight long sleeve shirt and tights for the overnight part of the race.

I hope everyone who reads this will forgive my jumping around the story, but this is how my mind works. I am remembering going out at 1hour and 5 minutes remaining on the clock for one more 2.4 mile loop around the lake. I was starting to have more frequent bathroom stops towards the end of the race, and finished that last full loop in 40 minutes (including a bathroom stop). So, when I got back to the start/finish area, the 220 meter short track was set up and the timer told me I had a chance to get 80 miles if I kept moving. Ray Sharp told me he would probably walk about 78, and Marsha was gone. (Her 50th state marathon was 2 weeks out and I had seen the medical aid working on her feet… she stopped in order to save her feet for the marathon). That’s when I knew for sure the race was mine… with 25 minutes still on the clock. So I started racewalking (lmfao), if you could call what I was doing racewalking. The runner’s crews were all cheering us on, even the ones who were doing their first 24 hour race and looked like the walking dead. It felt like I was getting faster each time I went around a cone and missed getting to the finish of the last 220 meters by about 8 seconds. Oh well… I walked 80.77 miles in 24 hours. This is my personal best distance in 24 hours, all walking.

The post race award ceremony was great! If you participated in the 24 hour event… they brought your award to you, you didn’t even have to leave your seat. This was my first big win, and my hat is still a little tight, if you get my drift.

We went back to our hotel, showered and rested a little, then went out to dinner. I had the lucy (I totally forgot to ask for blue cheese :( ), and the server looked at me like I was crazy when I said, keep the bun, and give me an order of bacon on the side!

I highly recommend this race for anyone who wants to test their limits of endurance. It is a tough one because the path around the lake is mostly concrete and the bridge over one end of the lake started to look like a monster as the day got warmer and warmer, but the people who put the race on are amazing and they take great care of everyone. I just LOVE the fact that walkers are treated with the same respect as runners, although this is true at every ultra I have done, they give AWARDS to WALKERS at FANS.

This was my Strong is the New Skinny Challenge... to see just what I could do if I let my body be my guide.  I learned something about myself.  I can do things I never dreamed.  I will continue to work on my strengths, and do my best to improve on my weaknesses...  Thanks for reading if you took the time to follow my crazy train of thought this far!

Training Update

I have not written anything for my blog since April 26th, and it is May 10. I just cannot seem to get everything done that I have on my schedule. The blog is important to me, but so are a lot of other things.


I have been spot on with getting my twice a week weight training sessions done. There have been 4 since my last blog post. I am now moving away from machines and doing almost everything with free weights. I have had to drop the weight on some of the exercises so that I have complete control of the weights. Here is what I did on Mother’s Day:

leg raises 3sets 15 reps on the incline bench
back extensions 3sets 20 reps
leg press 3sets 15reps 150 lb
lunge 4sets 10reps 20 lb
dumbbell curl 3sets 10reps 15 lb
lying triceps dumbbell extension 3sets 12reps 12 lb
Standing calf raise 3sets 15reps 60 lb
dumbbell lateral raise 3sets 12reps 10 lb
bent over dumbbell row 3sets 12reps 15 lb
dumbbell chest fly 3sets 12reps 12 lb
upright dumbbell row 3sets 12reps 15 lb

Now that I have moved to mostly free weights, I believe things will continue to progress. I have a little muscle soreness (a good thing), but will be ready for the next workout! When my 3 month membership is over at the gym, I really believe I will continue to do my twice a week lifting at home. I have a complete set of weights, but I was having trouble forcing myself to use them.

Now for my walking report. Shame on me. I have only walked 3 times since my last blog post (should have been 8 walks). I really should not even count one of them, except for the fact that I really enjoyed going for a walk with my mom. She is amazing, even at her age and considering the fact she has severe arthritis; she walks 3 miles a day. Granted, she splits it up into 3 walks… but I am really proud of the changes she has been able to make since her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

Stats on yesterday’s walk with Ruth: 8.08 miles

Mile 1 - 12:25.02; Mile 2 - 11:56.42; Mile 3 - 11:53.77; Mile 4 - 11:48.78; Mile 5 - 11:44.42; Mile 6 - 12:09.94;
(average pace through mile 6 was 12:00)
Mile 7 - 12:49.86; Mile 8 - 13:44.25; .08 mile 1:09.36(to finish the lap)


Even though I have been a true slacker in the walking dept, I still believe in myself and my ability to walk 100 miles in 24 hours. Walking with Ruth has been a real confidence booster for me. I would never have dreamed that my racewalking form would improve as much as it has since I started walking with her. She has me walking at speeds that I thought I was no longer capable of walking. I guess Dave McGovern was right… that fat I was carrying around – the fat in the middle – was really only potential. Lose that fat, and anyone has the potential to walk faster.

http://www.fans24hour.org/ is less than four short weeks away. I am really looking forward to the trip to Minneapolis with my good friends, and hopefully will make some new ones!

Now, I am thinking about the Strong is the New Skinny challenge and what my goals were from the start... to increase my endurance, lose fat, and lift weights.  So far, so good.  I have had a little trouble getting the walking workouts done, but the weight lifting is progressing nicely.  I have also been really good with the food intake.  I don't really have any cheats, and am loving the Paleo diet!  When you can pretty much eat all the fat you want, how can that be bad?  I don't miss grains or processed foods at all and am really enjoying cooking again!

That's all for now... ooh, another rambling blog post ;)

Monday's weight workout:
leg raises: 2 sets, 15 reps
leg press: 3 sets, 15 reps, 90#
Lat pull down: 3 sets, 12 reps, 50#
Chest Fly: 2 sets, 12 reps, 30#
Dumbell lateral raise: 3 sets, 12 reps, 8#
dumbell curl: 3 sets, 12 reps, 10#
tricep push down: 3 sets, 12 reps, 20#
calf raises: 5 sets, 15 reps, 10#
toe pulls (shins): 3 sets each leg, 15 reps, 10#
Lunges: 3 sets, 12 reps
back extensions: 3 sets, 15 reps
I talked to the trainer and upped the weight on some of the exercises a little (still concentrating on form and muscle isolation) and added the shin exercise.  My calf muscles are already highly developed, so needed the shin exercise to balance things out.  The shins are very important for balance in my long distance walking.

Monday was a good food day... lunch was an egg scramble made from last night's grass fed beef patty, the coconot oil soaked veggies, two eggs and some salsa. 
Dinner: Salmon salad made with celery, purple onion, chopped dill pickles, chopped green olives, boiled eggs, spicy mustard, olive oil, black pepper and garlic and herb seasoning... all on top of a huge bed of spring greens and doused with a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
When I snack, I choose come good quality beef jerky, or about 7 walnut halves, or a little high quality 90% chocolate. 

Didn't do well in the sleep department.  Emily came home from work, really sick.  I took her to the emergency room... they of course, did not find anything wrong (at least they did a ct scan of her abdomen to rule out appendicitis) and sent her home with pain meds.  We didn't get home until 5am (writing this Tuesday morning), and I could not sleep past 9.  Not in a hurry to get to work today, but must go in.

Across The Years

So, I have been screwing around long enough. It is time to put some thoughts down on paper about my first 100 mile finish. Sucks I had to enter a 48 hour race to walk 100 miles, but if I had to do it over again, I would certainly do it at ATY!

Part 1: The Drive to Arizona
I was planning to leave early Sunday morning so that my drive through west Texas could be done at 80mph. I ended up having to work and did not leave Sealy until about 7pm. It was already almost dark and it takes a LONG time to drive through Texas when the night speed limit on I10 is 65. . I think I stopped at a rest area (where?) at about 1am and slept in the car for about 2 hours because I was just too tired to drive any further without resting. Started out again and just kept cruising until I stopped for breakfast and just to get out of the car for a little while in Las Cruces. The rest of the drive was uneventful and I made it to my friend, Lauri’s house sometime Monday afternoon. I rested a little, and had dinner with Lauri and her family. She was kind enough to let me use her cabana as my base camp for the week! It was very comfortable and afforded me some privacy.
Tuesday, I was able to visit my Aunt Cil and Uncle Bob who also live in the Phoenix area. We had a nice lunch. After that, it was back to Lauri’s to organize my things in the car so I could go out to Nardini Manor where the race was held.

Part2: Across the Years at Nardini Manor
I arrived at the race site, and went to pick up my race materials and wonderful assortment of gear that came along with the entry fee. Gear bag, North Face fleece, North Face long sleeve tech shirt, Moeben sleeves and race bib belt. I went out a day early to work the aid station day 1 from 8-2, as my race did not start until Thursday morning. I also wanted to check out the race setup I had heard so much about. There was a huge tent, large enough for all the race participants to set up their individual tents inside of it. Inside this huge tent, there were two smaller heated tents where runners could take naps or simply come inside to warm up. I had NO idea how cold it could get in the desert outside of Phoenix, but was soon to find out because I slept in the car Tuesday night. I froze my ass off, even with a sleeping bag for cover! I did not have a problem getting up early in the morning. It seemed warmer outside the car than it did inside when I got up to make my oatmeal and get ready to help those first day runners. What a great group of people. The Coury family knows how to put on an ultra event! They have a full outdoor kitchen to prepare hot foods which were really needed at this race. It never got over 40 degrees that first day, and it started to rain at about 11am. I really felt for the runners and did everything I could to help make sure they had all they needed from the aid station… from hot chocolate to coffee and hot tea, hot soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. When my shift was over at 2pm, I was wet and muddy all the way up to my knees. The track was a muddy mess, even though Nick, Jamil, Nathan and all the other volunteers did everything they could to try and drain the water from the surface. The weather just got worse throughout the day and into the night. My friend Deborah invited me out to dinner with another friend, and we ate some wonderful pasta at Macaroni Grill, then it was time to hit the sleeping bag because the three of us were all starting our 48 hour race Thursday morning.
Deborah had set up her tent, and the cot would not fit inside, so she allowed me to put my sleeping bag in the tent. I am sure happy she did, because during the night, the wind howled so fiercely through the large tent, that Deborah had to fight to keep her blankets on, though the cot was inside the big tent. I was sleeping on the cold hard brick floor, but at least I was warm! Listening to the wind howl and the rain pounding down, I felt like I was in a hurricane, not out in the desert! This weather is apparently very unusual for Phoenix.

Part 3: Let my 48 hours begin!
I woke up early and got my Hammer Perpetuem/Hammer Gel mixture ready to start the race. 9am and we were off after a short briefing on how the race is managed. We changed directions on the track every two hours and that ended up being my favorite part of the race. LOL We were following each other around in circles with our names on our behinds and it was nice to look at faces once in a while. They have a messaging system where runners can receive messages from friends and a live webcast of the race which I am sure not everyone knew also had a live audio feed to the race website. I was planning to follow the 5k/break 50k/longer break pattern that had worked so well for me at Run Like the Wind. So, that’s what I did, though instead of just taking a break after 50k, I took a nap. It was rather difficult to get going again after the nap, but I changed clothes in the heated restroom and got my arse back out on the track after what I would guess to be about 2:30 after I finished the first 50k. It was SO cold outside by then, I think about 28! Everything was covered with frost, even our jackets I think. I was dressed in multiple layers (3 pants and 4 or 5 shirts). I was still cold, but able to keep moving. The second 50k was complete at about 7:30 am or 100k within 22:30. I went back into the heated tent for another nap, just thankful that I had been able to keep moving all night! I knew when I went back out to begin day 2 that I would not reach my dream goal of 201 kilometers. I was fine with that; just knowing I was certain to walk 100 miles is all I was really concerned with anyway. Dream goals are just that, dreams that sometimes to our complete surprise, come true.
Things were still going well for me, and one thing about me, I always have fun. After all, if this was NOT fun, I would not be doing it. So, I wear loud polka dot tights and they call me Hot Pants. Whatever. It’s FUN! I even got to walk a while with Ed “Madhatter Fancypants” for a while. What a cool guy. He and Adreas were duking it out for first place in the 72 hour race, and then they decided to tie it up. They ran/walked I think the whole last 24 hours together. Every step! I was planning to take my next little nap at 91 miles so I would have less than 10 to go to make that magic number of 100 miles, but it was almost midnight. Another nice runner would not let me go in for my nap and miss the New Year’s celebration. The RD’s called us all in from the track where they passed out party hats and noisemakers. We had a choice of champagne or sparkling cider to toast the new year, and as we all walked a loop on the track together, there was our own private fireworks display! When I stopped for another nap I was at 93 miles and only wanted to sleep for an hour, Ed and Andreas entered the heated area when it was time for me to get up and there was only one open cot… I quickly got up and gave one of them the cot I had been sleeping in. It took a little while for me to get all my layers back on… by this time I had on 4 pants and 7 shirts! It was SO cold, and the only way to keep warm under those circumstances is many layers. I felt like that kid in A Christmas Story… I couldn’t put my arms down at my sides!
I crossed the timing mat for 100 miles at 5:50:03 am, 44 hours and 50 minutes after I started! I thought for a while I might try to continue, but why? I did one more lap for good measure, and then went in for one more nap in the heated tent. I did come out to see the last runners cross the mat and it was amazing! What an experience! If I had to enter a 48 hour race to get to 100 miles the first time, then this was the race to do it at! WOW!

The awards ceremony was great! Every single runner/walker was recognized for their achievement. No one was made to feel like they did not belong. There were some amazing stories… the 2,000 mile jacket awarded to Martina Housman, the 1,000 mile jacked awarded to Ulli Kamm, the youngest person ever to complete 100 miles at this race… 13 years old! WOW! When they got to me and awarded me my 100 mile belt buckle, I felt like I would cry…and they all cheered for me!
I actually had been tearing up off and on ever since I finished. I am ok with being weepy over such a huge accomplishment. I am also ok now with that let down feeling I got immediately after it was over.
We all packed up our things, wondering if the race will be held at this wonderful place ever again. The owner has moved and the place is for sale. So happy I was able to be there. Funny thing is that if this was the last year for ATY at Nardini Manor, it will be the second time I reached a milestone at a race that will no longer exist as it stands. I did my first ultra (a 50k) at the last edition of Sunmart.

Part 4: after ATY
The drive to Lauri’s house in Mesa was really tough. I went straight to sleep for about 4 hours… then was treated to one of the best blue cheeseburgers I ever ate! I was treated to a spinning session… Lauri spins her own yard from fibers she gets locally, then knits all sorts of wonderful things! Too sleepy for words, I went back to sleep and didn’t get up until around 9am on Sunday. My mind was all screwed up, I thought it was Monday already. Thank goodness it was not. I had to be at work on Tuesday and the drive home was not going to be fun. I ended up stopping for the night in Van Horn Texas and continuing home Monday morning.
BECAUSE YOU CAN DRIVE 80MPH in west Texas in the day time.
I called lots of folks on the way home to thank them for the wonderful and fun messages I received during the race via the mailbox system. Spoke to a few of them about how LET DOWN I felt immediately after the race. I started to feel like a failure because it took me so long to reach 100 miles, and HOW, just HOW I would ever dream to think I could walk 100 miles in less than 24 hours. That let down feeling did not stay with me too long. I am now on a new path, thanks to another friend. And, that Centurion goal does not seem as elusive any more.

Run Like the Wind 24hr

Part 2 of my very busy day December 4, 2010:
Or as I like to refer to it: Walk Like the Breeze! Because that is what I felt like, the breeze! The Sealy 5k Jingle Bell Fun Run and Competitive Walk was such a huge success… I was on cloud 52! I don’t think it would have been possible for me to have a bad race. I don’t know what time it was when I left for Austin Saturday, but it must have been about 12:45 when I got to the race site. Race location and all information about the race are at this link: http://schrodifund.org/RunLiketheWind.htm.

What an awesome place! My first impression was turning off of a very busy Business 71 onto Old Bee Caves Road and finding wilderness within 1/4 mile of the highway! Saw my friend Mary Ntefidou just as I arrived at the race site. She is an amazing runner and an awesome friend! Soon after that I saw Deborah Sexton and not long after that, Debbie Evans, two more of my awesome ultra running friends. Deborah, Debbie and I are all getting ready for Across the Years http://www.acrosstheyears.com/ in December.

It took me a few minutes to get my gear ready and pick up my race packet and timing chip. Funny thing is that my goal for this race was to get in at least 100k. Guess what my race number was… 101. Anyone who knows me understands why I simply could not, would not stop at 100k. It had to be 101 or more. I fully intended to get on the course and walk until 10:30 Sunday morning. I gave the race director the leftover bananas and oranges from the Sealy 5k so they would not go to waste.

Next - hurry up and get on the course for a few laps. The loop was not really a loop, but a 1 kilometer meander through a beautiful wooded trail that was covered in mulch with a few well placed trip hazards (small tree stumps hidden in the mulch). After I walked the first 5k, I got my stuff from the car to set up my drop bag area with the other race participants. My plan for this race was to stop for a few minutes every time I completed 5k and look at the next one as a new 5k! I would certainly reach my distance goal if I only completed 5k an hour, and I was completing them just a teeny bit faster than that, including the stopped periods. I knew that I would probably slow down during the night, so whatever I could put in the bag before dark would be a huge bonus. Oops, just realized I forgot my headlamp. And I forgot to eat any solid food since really early that morning. Thanks to Deborah Sexton and Debbie Evans, who brought extra gear and had a headlamp I could borrow. Many thanks to RD Sam Voltaggio, chef extraordinaire… the race chow was amazing. When I realized how hungry I was, I asked for some protein and was given the most delicious burger I had ever tasted (only the meat, no bun or anything else). I don’t know where Sammy gets his beef or how he seasons it… but WOW!

The funny thing about me and race food is that I usually do not eat anything heavy during races. I usually totally rely on Perpetuem, Hammer Gel, Endurolytes, a spoonful of plain peanut butter every now and then, some bananas and orange slices, and some pineapple juice for variety, oh and don’t forget the black coffee during the night. But, that beef patty was just what I needed at the time. I never got any stomach discomfort or restroom issues through the whole race. When the sun started to go down, I put on a long sleeve shirt because the temperature dropped a little. I was not ready for the thermals until some time after midnight when I believe the cold front came through. Thankfully it was a dry front, so the wind just picked up a little and we were mostly protected from the wind by the woods.

Back to the race plan; I mostly stuck to the plan of walking 5 loops and taking a little rest break, from 2 to 5 minutes. I love that the loop was 1k, so I never had to carry anything. I could wait a few hundred meters if I got thirsty on the trail. I usually took a small drink of water or Heed at 3k, and then drank plenty every time I refueled. There were a few times when I just refueled, hydrated and kept moving, but that was not part of the plan, so I was very careful to take the breaks. After all, this was supposed to be a training walk… getting me ready for Across the Years. I didn’t start at the same time as everyone else, so no chance I was going to move up from last place.

I need to repeat once more what a wonderful place this was to have an event like this! Thinking about the things I heard and saw (?) in the woods after dark. I was listening to my usual heavy metal with only one earbud in and started to hear strange sounds so turned off the music for a while. I was just the wind making the tree limbs creak and groan. The strange things I was seeing turned out to be rather large spiders trying to make their way through the mulch bed on the path. Their eyes glowed in the light from the headlamp like tiny little green strobe lights. There must have been thousands of them. The reason I know they were spiders is I stopped to see where the little green flashing lights were coming from… and it was a huge honking spider! (Not really that huge, about the size of a nickel including his legs) So, I had fun avoiding crushing spiders and watching out for those hidden tree stumps. Let me tell you, when you walk the same 1 kilometer loop enough times, you begin to remember exactly where you will encounter the trip hazards. LOL… I know I said a few choice words but I never fell down! Amazing, isn’t it!

I know the volunteers and the RD thought I was totally crazy, but I REALLY had FUN at this race. I arrived in such a great mood and it is sometimes hard for me to contain myself. Several times I jumped for joy as I crossed the timing mat.

I don’t remember exactly what time it was, but I had to change into thermal tights and shirt. This dog training facility has a really nice house for their office space and allowed us to use the indoor restroom to change clothes. Yes, I am a trail racer, but I have a problem with getting naked in public, so I took about a 45 minute break to go indoors and strip naked. I cleaned up a little and put on dry clothes from the drawers out after 50k. Again, I felt like I was starting a new race.

I think I started getting tired around 4am, so asked for some solid food again. I ate half of a bbq chicken breast and it was delicious. Oh, I also forgot to mention that I ate some chicken noodle soup during the night. These things are all running together in my mind now so forgive the sporadic nature of this report. Thinking about time and pacing, 15 hours into my race (17:45 on the official clock) I had 16 5k’s complete, so I had one extra in the bag. Still feeling great I had been walking the kilometers anywhere from 9 to 10 minutes each, and then taking the break after 5k. I don’t know what time it was, but I had a burst of energy during the early morning house and walked 3 loops in a row in 8min30sec! I have NEVER felt this good at a race before! It was daylight when I reached 100k, and the race was to conclude at 10:30, and I was still feeling fine. So, I kept walking though I know I was slower. We had live results that we could check all night, so at one point I saw myself move up from last place to 7 out of 8 total participants. 6 were women and two were men (one guy dropped early due to injury). Then, I moved up to 6 out of 8. When I saw myself in 5th place, I started knocking out some really fast loops, not paying attention to the clock, just planning now to stop for a minute or two at 6k instead of 5k. I was taking extra Hammer Gel for energy it seemed to work for a little while, and then I regained my senses and just kept motoring forward and not trying to kill myself or cause an injury this late in the game. When I reached the end about 110k, I heard someone say “Wow, these women are kicking ASS!” Hearing those words really made me feel great. Sorry to say that the last man standing left at about 4 am or so because he had terrible stomach issues. I walked part of a loop with him a little while before he left and he is a very nice guy, competitive and really not happy that he had to leave when he did. He told me as he was leaving that he was practically walking into trees out there, so it was not safe for him to continue. I ended up with much, much more than I ever thought I would do at this race. I was imagining struggling to complete 100k and finished 113!

Here is the link to the final results where I ended up in 5th place overall, 4th place female: https://www.eventdatasolutions.com/2010_rltw_results/index.php?search_type=race_results&event=24H&gender=&division=&results_per_page=100. I NEVER dreamed I would do this well in this race, and I really want to thank Sam Voltaggio, Jeff Farrell, Jeff Linwood, Cheri Woldt (the winner), Mary Ntefidou (my dear friend who told me about this race), Deborah Sexton, Debbie Evans, Pat Shannon, Angela Ivory, the Schrodi Memorial Training Fund, and the owners of The Canine Center for Training and Behavior in Austin for allowing us 24 hour crazies to invade their space! I don’t know the names of the rest of the volunteers, but there were some high school students working on service hours and a couple of others whose names I don’t know. Everyone was awesome, and right now, I feel like I am writing an acceptance speech for an academy award or something.

The last huge thing I had to do was change clothes; load up the car and drive back home. I had planned to chill with Deborah and Debbie for a little while before going home, but changed my mind. Once I got going, I found Starbucks, then Sonic. A quad shot iced nonfat latte followed by a cheeseburger with jalapenos, some tater tots and a real Coke. I drove almost to LaGrange, and then had to pull over and sleep in the car for about an hour before I could make it the rest of the way home. I did not get to sleep until about 9pm, and I feel relatively good today. My legs are just a little sore, but here is the kicker… NO BLISTERS!!! The key to no blisters is changing into dry SmartWool socks about every 30 kilometers.

That is all.

During the Rocky Raccoon 100/50 Mile Trail Race

I ate my usual breakfast of peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread and a banana and drank several cups of coffee. Hilde and I met Joni in the lobby and we headed out to the park. It was a beautiful clear morning, and not as cold as the weather people had predicted. So, I only needed the one pair of tights, my two long sleeve shirts and a light jacket.We checked in at the start and as we were waiting in line, we were talking to a guy named Paul who had flown in from Florida and had no support crew like Hilde and I. He set up his gear near my chair and used it as a pit stop along with Hilde and I. The funny thing… it turns out that he would be taking Steven back to the airport after the race. Now, what are the odds that I would offer a stranger a ride from the airport, and out of 700+ race entrants, the stranger that offered him a ride back would be the guy in line with us at the pre-race check in? Joe gave a few pre-race instructions and we were off to a good start! It was dark at 6am so we were out either with our headlamps or hand held flashlights. Even in the early morning dark, and all day… I was getting comments on my polka dot tights. Running Funky rocks!!!

20 mile loop #1 completed in 5:10:13, yes, that was a lot faster than I trained for. Aren’t we supposed to be a little faster during a race? Anyway, I did not waste any time at any of the aid stations which was my plan from the beginning. I was carrying enough water, Perpetuem, Hammer gel and Clif bar to get me through the loop with minimal aid station stops. My right knee started hurting at about mile 17 or 18. I was hoping that this would not happen so early in the race, but we take what we get on race day. It only hurt when I walked down hill, so I planned to gut it out for as long as I could before the leg actually started to lock up. I only took 5 minutes in the start/finish area to ready myself for the second loop and I was off with 45 minutes in the bank for the night hours on the course.

20 mile loop #2 completed in 5:30, this was my training pace and just right, even with the pain in my knee. I must have been about 6 miles into this second loop, or at about marathon distance when I figured out a way to get down the hills without knee pain. I simply turned my right foot outward at 90 degree angle when I walked down hill. The Hammer plan was working beautifully! Every two miles I would take one ounce of pre-mixed Perpertuem, and then the next two miles I took a slug from the Hammer gel flask. I was drinking plain water, and taking an endurolyte when I noticed my fingers swelling. I also had the aid station volunteers put Heed in one of my water bottles, just in case. And speaking of Hammer, I saw Amanda McIntosh working the Nature Center aid station through at least the first two of my loops! The only thing I picked up to eat at the aid stations was an orange slice or a piece of banana. I cruised into the start finish area at 10:42:03, cleaned my feet, changed my socks and shoes, and headed back out right at 11:00:00, now with a whole hour in the bank for the night hours.

20 mile loop #3 completed in 6:06:39, a lot slower than the last loop. The pain in my knee was getting worse, and was beginning to migrate to other places… the right groin, top of right foot, lower back… but I was still determined to walk this 100 mile race. As long as I could still move, I was going to continue. A couple of people offered me ibuprophen, aleve, etc. I politely refused. Those of you who know me well also know I don’t take anything for pain before or during an event. I may take it after to help with the inflammation, but only do so if absolutely necessary. My nutrition/hydration plan was still working well, but I was getting hungry. I ate one of mom’s fig cookies (AWESOME), and asked for hot coffee and a spoonful of plain peanut butter a couple of times at aid stations. The peanut butter on a spoon was a great idea and really hit the spot. Things began to get interesting on this third loop because it got dark at about 5 miles in. So, I was out there mostly by myself in the woods in the dark for about 15 miles. I stopped at Dam Road and got a clean pair of socks out of my drop bag because I didn’t have my gloves and it seems like it was in the high 30’s at this point. There was one other walker who traded places with me several times during the first 3 loops, and we had conversation for a while. It kind of takes the mind off of what you are going through when there is someone out there to trade stories with. When I walked in to the start/finish area, Kate was waiting for me. She refilled my water bottles while I put my thermal camouflage tights on over my polka dot tights put on two warmer long sleeve shirts and a light jacket and found my gloves. As soon as I put on those camouflage tights, I became invisible on the course… the folks at the Dam Road who had been razzing me all day about seeing spots didn’t recognize me until I showed them my dotted tights under my thermals. LOL Anyhow, Kate and I discussed my knee problem and I told her under the circumstances I knew at that point I would not be able to finish this 4th loop in 7 hours. I was simply hurting too badly and did not want to do any permanent damage. I called Richard, my 5th loop pacer and told him I knew I would not make the time cutoff to start loop #5, but I was still planning at that time to limp the miles from 60 to 80, and Kate was there to back me up. We took off for the 4th loop after I threw my watch in my drop bag.

20 Mile loop #4 would prove to be very interesting. It was getting colder and the first part of the 20 mile loop goes right down to the lake shore. The frogs seemed to be laughing at us in the dark… I mean, the frogs really sounded just like humans laughing. It was the strangest thing I have ever heard. We would go a few yards down the trail and wait for it… wait for it… there, they are REALLY laughing at us.

I was still in full control of my mental state, but at that point began to wonder. Kate and I were cracking up! We heard others commenting about the laughing frogs as they passed us, so we knew it wasn’t only us. On down the trail we go, and I commented how it was really funny that I had not fallen all day even though I had tripped really hard a few times. Next thing I knew, I was face down in the dirt. Kate offered me her hand and I told her just a second, let me make sure everything is still in tact. I got up and we kept going. I was getting progressively slower and apologized to Kate a couple of times, because I don’t want to be that sissy on the trail pissing and moaning about how this hurts and that hurts. The only time I would wince in pain was when I would hit the outer side of my right heel on a root. I always get a blood blister there after walking a lot of miles. It didn’t hurt at all as long as I didn’t bump it. That was my only blister… Smart Wool rocks!!! I didn’t do anything to my feet… no Body Glide, no taping or anything else and no blisters save that one that is most certainly caused by the insole of my Adidas Trail shoes, and only on the right foot. I still did not have any stomach issues, and knew when I needed to drink some Perpetuem and when to take some gel. We met Melanie, the 50 mile winner working the Nature Center aid station. I was so impressed to see her out there volunteering after winning her race earlier that day! We headed out to our first pass through Dam Road and the mud seemed to be multiplying on the trail. I know for sure there were more bogs than the last time I passed through. I ate some leftover lasagna (just what I needed at the moment) and Kate and I headed out for the 10k loop that would take us back to Dam Road for the second time. We were still having fun, but I was getting slower and finding it more and more difficult to bend my right leg. The more stiff legged I became, the more the rest of my body started to hurt. Top of right foot, right groin, right hip, lower back, etc. and the right knee would just not bend any more. Kate asked if I wanted her to push me to get to 80 miles and I told her I was finished.

The Dam Road volunteers thought otherwise. I still looked great… was having NO stomach issues, and was not too cold. I just could not move my right leg any more. The volunteers told me I would just have to sit and wait for them to break down the aid station to get a ride back to the start/finish if I didn’t just get moving and walk to the next stop 3.4 miles ahead. When they realized I was on my 4th loop and not my 5th, and it was already 4am, they relented and I sat in a chair, waiting for a ride. There were others there who were in worse shape than I was, so as rides materialized, I waited. Another injured runner and I were finally taken out with the trash run at about 9am. It was the perfect end to the race, being hauled out from the Dam Road aid station with the garbage. So, there it is… 72.22 miles, though the official results show 60 miles. They were not recording actual splits at each aid station, and I know where I was when I threw in the proverbial towel. I turned in my timing chip and race bib to let the race officials know I was out of the race. It was a real challenge gathering up my drop bag and chair and carrying it to the car. As I was limping through the wooded area close to the finish, there were a couple of folks looking about as bad as I did and they offered me a hand stepping down off that 16” high curb! I saw lots of folks walking like Frankenstein that day!

still to be continued...

Thursday, September 3 - Training Update

Gosh, it has been a while since I posted an update. I have just been so busy.

8/25/09 - another early morning walk. I was out of the house at 5:39 am and walked 4.43 miles, according to my Garmin Forerunner. My main concern walking this early in the morning when it is still dark is getting specific types of training done. How are you supposed to do intervals (speed training) when it is dark out without tripping, falling, and/or breaking an arm or leg??? I just don’t know.

8/26/09 - Great afternoon bike ride! Almost 11 miles and no worse for the wear.

8/27/09 - I got a little later start this morning (6:10 am). I had an 8 mile walk on the schedule and it went very well. I was able to complete the walk at an average pace of 12:59 minutes per mile, which is a little faster than marathon pr pace. My average heart rate was only 75%, which means that I should have been able to walk faster. Heart rate should be 80% or a little over for a good tempo walk. I just don’t think my racewalking technique is good enough for me to walk any faster. I am really looking forward to the racewalking clinic in Dallas this October!

8/29/09 - Saturday morning, I left the house at 6:17 am, still a later than I should be leaving for my long walks, but it is better than 9 or 10 ;-). It was a great walk, marathon pace LSD. The average pace was 13:09 minutes per mile and average heart rate was 76%. There it is again; that mid 70’s % maximum heart rate. If I continue to do all my training walks in that same range, that is all I will ever be able to do. I have to find some way to increase my heart rate during training if I am to increase my level of endurance.

9/1/09 - Tuesday morning got kind of a late start at 6:31 am, but did go out for an interval workout at the track, wearing the new Adidas Adizero RC. I warmed up a little over a mile walking to the track, stretched, and then did 5 x 400 with 200 meter rests. All the 400's were in the low 11's (pace) with the last one at 10:59. I followed the interval workout with a little over a mile walk home, stretched, showered and went to work.

9/2/09 - Wednesday morning at 5:42 am 10k at marathon pace (13:10); average HR 74% Max HR 78%. It was a nice cool morning, probably in the high 60's when I started and 71 when I finished.

9/3/09 - Thursday morning at 5:58 am 4.46 miles this morning this included almost 2 miles of jogging. I have not been very successful at getting my heart rate high enough while racewalking because the technique just isn't there, so I have been tossing the idea of doing some jogging around for a while now... I feel like I need to get some workouts in at a higher HR in order to increase my level of endurance while training for the 100 mile race in February. I was very surprised that I could run a half mile without stopping to walk. And now that I looked at my Garmin data, I was successful in getting my heart rate up into the high 80%, even breaking 90% at one point. When I stopped to stretch, the sweat faucet turned on full force. I had driven to the little league park because I was walking/jogging in the dirt and don't like wearing my trail shoes on the pavement. My car has leather seats and of course, I forgot to bring along my old beach towel. Thank goodness there was some newspaper in my trunk.

Post Script
There, now the training blog is up to date. I don’t know where this jogging thing is going to take me. I still have the goal of walking 100 miles within the time limit of 30 hours at Rocky Raccoon February 7 in Huntsville Texas. The goal of becoming an American Centurion continues to be my ultimate goal. I would be so proud to have my name on this list together with such amazing company.

Here is my race schedule for the next several months…
9/6/09 - bear creek 10k Houston - 10k
10/9/09 - racewalking clinic Dallas
11/7/09 - rocky raccoon 50k Huntsville TX
11/15/09 - San Antonio R&R full marathon
12/5/09 - RD Sealy 5k Jingle Bell Fun Run
1/1/10 - texas full marathon Kingwood TX
2/6/10 - rocky raccoon 100m Huntsville TX
3/7/10 - Little Rock full Marathon
4/24/10 - Nashville Country Music full marathon

I am sure to add shorter distance races as they come up, they are just not as important to me as marathons and ultra distance races.

Mohican race report

My trip to Ohio, June 2009 &
Race Report Mohican 100 (30.4) mile trail race

Mom and I left for Ohio on June 16. We had a nice flight and picked up our rental car as we usually do. The drive to Stow was nice; everything was so green and beautiful! We have been experiencing an early, hot summer with drought conditions and burn bans in place in our area of Texas.

Kirby (the yellow lab) was glad to see us when we arrived at Uncle Bill’s house. He always remembers us, even after a long absence. My bags were heavy with all the race gear I brought along, even though I purchased new trail shoes and had them shipped to Ohio months ago. Uncle Bill and Aunt Shelly are fantastic hosts… they just give mom and I a key to the house, and we come and go as we please. I greatly appreciate that as I also have family on my dad’s side in the Akron - Tallmadge area.

Day two was breakfast out with my 93 year old grandpa. He is a leather craftsman and still lives on his own. Right now, he is working on a saddle. He insisted on picking up the check for breakfast. Funny, when we walked into the local establishment where he likes to eat breakfast, all the wait staff know him and are glad to see him.

We got to spend a little time with him after breakfast, and then I had some errands to run. I needed to get over to Vertical Runner in Hudson and drop by Second Sole in Cuyahoga Falls. Each store had ordered supplies for me. Mom and I always go to the huge Joanne’s fabric store on the way to Hudson. She is a true crafty woman and is always on the lookout for new things in paper and fabric. Then there is Pat Catan’s; wow, that is a true bargain store for the crafter!

Ok, now back to getting the drop bags ready for the race. I laminated all my materials for the race, pace charts, maps, etc. before leaving home. I still needed a few things from Wal-Mart, including zip loc bags and some personal hygiene products. Oh, by the way, I also had to purchase a small tent and sleeping bag for the weekend, as I planned all along to be dropped off at the park Friday and have the family pick my back up on Sunday morning after the awards ceremony… or possibly watch me cross the finish line. I got all my things organized on Thursday evening. We went out to dinner at a cute place in downtown Akron; http://www.briccocleveland.com/akron.php. The service was fantastic. Our server never let my get to the bottom of my coffee cup, and the coffee was really good and the food was fantastic! The valet was a young guy, and it looked like he was trying to see what the rental car had under the hood as he brought it back to the front for us. The rental was a bright red Dodge Charger.

Friday and I was starting to get nervous about the race. Heck I have been nervous about this race ever since I signed up. The trip down to Mohican State Forest was uneventful except for the fact that the closer we got to the park, the steeper the hills became. The cell phone stopped working due to the terrain, and severe thunderstorms were forecasted for the whole weekend. As a matter of fact, it rained every day we were in Ohio to this point. I went through the packet pickup line and got my tech shirt and bib number; #111! I really felt like it was a lucky number and immediately marked my drop bags and put them in their designated places so they could be delivered to the proper aid stations in the morning.

Mom seemed reluctant to leave me at the park, but I reassured her I would be fine and told her there was a concrete and steel structure (restrooms and shower) we could take shelter in if the weather got really bad. When she and Uncle Bill left, I found the friends I had been corresponding with online (thanks, Kim!) and set up my tent. I found Colleen, dressed all in purple, and introduced myself to her. She was very busy circulating through the crowd and making sure she met all the first timers. I also met Norm Carlson, who volunteered to pace me if I made it past 60 miles. He and his wife Carolyn are awesome folks, and she was going to have knee surgery right after the race. I really appreciate their coming to Mohican, and I’m sorry it wasn’t meant for me to finish this year.

I made my way back to the pavilion where the dinner was being served and there was to be a pre-race briefing. The pasta dinner was a little slim, only pasta, sauce and salad (no protein) with breadsticks, but adequate. I met lots more interesting people, Brad, Nick, Lucas, Glenn, Nofal and Shirley (from Houston), Mike, Mark, Mike, Salvador, Filiesha, Fred, Rob, and countless others. Lots of people were really interested in my story and the fact that I was planning to walk the whole race. Everyone was very accepting of the fact that I am not a runner. You won’t always find this kind of acceptance when walking at a road race. The trail running community is just a great group! Ryan greeted all the racers and Leo gave instructions about the trail markers. During the dinner and meeting it began to pour down. You could barely see the driveway from the pavilion entrance it was raining so hard. The rain did not last long and I was able to go to my tent and try to get some sleep. Later on mom told me she had talked to my sister who was watching the weather channel. She was concerned so she called mom and told her to get me out of there, or call me and tell me to come back to the house. Remember I said the cell did not work at the campground??? It was nice not to have to worry about the phone ringing all weekend! Anyhow, I was fine, along with all the other people camping for the weekend.

I was awake at 3 or 3:30am and finished getting my race duds on. Thank goodness I kept one of the 99 cent rain ponchos with me, because it began to rain just before the race started. It rained pretty hard, and then it stopped after about 10 minutes and did not rain again for the whole weekend. I was introduced to the Mohican hills during the first mile of the race. I was warned; I expected hills, just not that steep! It was unreal, and I had lots of company at the beginning of the race. I wish I could remember names of some of the folks I walked with that first few miles, but it is not possible. The first 10 miles were pretty uneventful, all on either asphalt or dirt roads. I was ahead of my pace chart at the first two aid stations and got in and out quickly as I had planned to; even changing shoes from road to trail shoes at the second stop. Then we entered the green trail section. It was all single track and some parts were extremely muddy, you know shoe sucking muck. I was having a blast! I would crest a hill and ask myself, because I was mostly alone at this point, where is the suspension bridge to the top of the next hill??? Ok, so, no bridge; just trudge to the bottom where the muck is then climb the next hill. I was already wondering what the hell I was thinking; entering this race as my first 100.

I was still pretty much on schedule at aid station #3, 4 and 5. I needed to check my feet at this point and chose to let the podiatry student put a moleskin patch on the bunion on my left foot. I lost enough time here to put me right at the cutoff leaving the covered bridge to start the purple loop. Lucas was talking to a race official here and was told he missed part of the loop and would have to do it over in order to continue with the race. He accompanied me through the whole thing, and believe me, I would have certainly fallen down an embankment and into the river had he not helped me regain my footing. There were lots of runners who got lost on the purple loop as there were no markings at critical intersections in the trail. Several of the faster guys went back on that trail and placed limbs and sticks across wrong turns to help guide the runners still to come. So, let me get back to the purple loop description. The trail crosses back and forth over a small stream with huge fallen tree trunks to climb over or crawl under and then there is the climb up Little Lyons Falls. I don’t know for sure how tall it is, but it is straight up from the creek bed using roots of a tree for hand and foot holds. If you have ever gone up one of those rock walls at a county fair, you will get the picture, except that the tree roots were wet from rain and mud from runners’ shoes and I was holding a water bottle in one hand. So, grab a tree root with one hand and look for a foot hold, climb, repeat to the top. I was STOKED that I was able to make it to the top! The next section was road over the dam and then back on the trail to the descent to Big Lyons Falls. The first part was really slick, and then the remainder of the descent was constructed of concrete steps. The trail continued under the waterfall where I took off my cap and put my head under the falls to cool off! The trail met back up at one of the trail intersections near the start where I had almost fallen earlier, and then we exited back at the covered bridge.
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I was now 5 minutes late for the final cutoff but was encouraged to continue to the orange mountain bike trail. This is where things went south for me. The trail was pretty much switch-backs up the side of a really steep hill. I began having cramps like electric shocks in my calf muscles about 15 miles into the race from the steep climbs, but I continued to hydrate and stretch periodically, and kept moving. Now this orange loop was just too much for me. I had to stop several times and I was getting slower and slower, not feeling sick from the heat or anything, and just having too much trouble with the hills. I stopped to pee in the woods, knowing full well I was in dead last place and going to miss the cutoff by a long shot with no chance of making up 30 minutes with more climbing to come, so I pulled out my cell which is also a music player, and turned on some music. It was not long before I found myself at the Hickory Ridge aid station, at least 30 minutes past the final cutoff at a distance of 30.4 miles. They would have let me continue, but I felt it would be stupid to go on at that point, knowing there was no way for me to gain 30 minutes back in this terrain. I know now that it was a mistake for me to choose Mohican as my first attempt at 100 miles, but I am still glad I tested myself.

I had some fun with the a/s volunteers and Mike, who also dropped there. It was a long wait for a ride back to the campground and some hot food, but I didn’t care. I actually got a cell signal (we were on a ridge) and called a friend to tell her I was done and not broken up over it. When our ride showed up, I had no idea we were so far from the campground… 30 miles on hilly country roads. I rinsed off the mud in the showers and ate fajitas for lunch. Another Mike said he was going out to the covered bridge aid station to volunteer, and I asked if I could go too. He took me back up to Hickory Ridge to retrieve my water bottle and so that he could make a phone call. One of the runners who had been working the aid station was talking to someone about how he wished he had his picture taken with that crazy lady from Texas, so I posed for a photo; then we went down to the Covered Bridge. That was what made the weekend a great success for me.

Runners come through that aid station 5 times during the race and they all need something. It was very gratifying for me to be able to help people who were still in this race. We were grabbing their drop bags, filling their bottles, telling stories, making sandwiches, there were even volunteers helping runners with their shoes and socks. It was awesome. One guy was very sick during the night, and his pacer and the a/s workers, one in particular that is the wife of a runner who has finished Mohican numerous times, made him lay down and tried everything to get him moving again. It was finally when his pacer asked for coffee with cream that the runner began to feel better. He left the a/s with iced coffee in his water bottle. Of course I was made fun of unceasingly for my Texas accent, but all in good fun! I stayed out there until about 1am then caught a ride back to the campground. I slept for a few hours, and then went back to the pavilion for breakfast and to watch the last of the runners finish the 100 mile race. It was so gratifying to see the young man who had been so ill during the night finish with his father as his pacer! He looked strong as he finished.

There were lots of great stories at the finish line, and it was awesome seeing the last of the Mohicans make the finish! Great job Nick, making it farther than you have ever run before!

I talked to a few other people and found out that the lead runner got lost after he left the covered bride the last time. I was still down there at the covered bridge and heard someone tell him he was at least 20 minutes ahead of the second place runner at the 83 mile mark. When he went out on the last trail section (red) he got turned around and met the second place runner coming toward him. I don’t know how that happened, because I never made it to the red part of the trail. He ended up coming in third place. I read the winner’s blog and he said he ran stealth (with headlamp off) for a good portion of the last part of the race. It was possible to run without the light because the last 10 miles are on roads and gravel roads, just like the first 10 miles.

I guess that is enough about the race. I will tell you all that it is a shame that local people in the area of the park are known for going out on the trails and removing trail markings after they are so painstakingly placed. It seems like after 20 years of holding the race that some sort of compromise could be reached. My race outcome wasn’t changed by the missing trail markers, but lots of other people’s races were. Even people familiar with these trails missed turns and lost time. I can not imagine being completely new to the park and trying to find my way from one aid station to the next, especially in the dark with no moonlight at all. I am glad I chose Mohican for my first attempt at 100 miles, and almost glad I was not able to finish. It was better for me to tackle something with a higher level of difficulty than I am used to and fail, rather than fail at a race on a course I am familiar with.

I still plan to walk 100 miles, where and when, I don’t know for sure.
The rest of the trip to Ohio is kind of a blur. We visited with more family and then too quickly it was time to return home and get back to work.

Anyone having any questions…; just email me, or post a comment below, I will answer as soon as I can.

btw, malvs2walk!

May 30, 2009

12 miles for me today in the heat of the day again. I did better than last Monday when I had a slight dizzy spell. I started out at 11am today and finished right before 2pm. My total time includes a total of 13 minutes over the 4 times I stopped for fluid or food. I didn't feel like using the fuel belt of a hand held bottle, so I walked a 2.3 mile loop around my neighborhood, stopping at my house each round to drink/eat something. Average pace including stops was 14:54, average actual walking pace was 13:48.

This is more than fast enough to get me through 100 miles in less than 30 hours.

21 days to go.

just some training stuff

So, I guess I need to post a little update on how I am feeling leading up to the Mohican 100 mile trail race on June 29 in Loudonville Ohio. I am totally freaked out. I guess everyone goes through a little craziness before their first attempt at 100 miles. I know I have trained well enough. I have lost a few pounds and am going to do my best not to graze aimlessly during the taper.

Monday, May 25
got a walk in this afternoon. 13.61 miles starting at 1:40 pm. It was about 90 degrees and I had a rough time of it. average pace was 14:59, including about 17 minutes stopped. If I subtract out the stopped time, my actual walking pace was 14:11. I had a little dizzy spell in what was supposed to be next to last loop, so I drank some extra electrolyte and water, walked the rest of the way back to mom's house and decided not to do the last loop.

I have not walked the rest of this week, because my left shin to the outside right below the knee has been a little sore off and on since Angie's Half Crazy Half Marathon. I really pressed for a pr there and the whole race was on concrete. I got the pr, and a sore leg. I know I am trained well endurance wise, and don't want to risk injury, so I felt like resting the leg was the smart thing to do this week.

I plan to do a long walk on Saturday, then a short one on Sunday.

On to other races. Preparations for the ET Midnight marathon are going well. My friends and I are going to have a blast.

Since ATY has been cancelled this year, I have been looking at www.multidays.com every day, looking for a suitable replacement. I found www.northcoast24.org today when I looked today. I am really excited as I emailed the RD and he said ultrawalkers such as myself would certainly be welcome, because a lot of the ultrarunners walk during some stages of their races anyway. The best thing about NorthCoast 24 is that the course is guaranteed to be totally flat and will give ultra athletes a great chance to see how far they can go in 24 hours under optimal conditions. Also, the race is located in Cleveland Ohio, near the Lake Erie shore. Oh, boy, I have family in the area... and would only incur travel expenses, not hotel.

Check out the website if you are interested in this type of race.

Friday, May 22

I had a good walk this evening. I was planning on starting a little later, but I have to work tomorrow. So, I set out at a little before 8pm for 15 miles. It ended up being a very good, fast LSD. I even got in a little racewalking, and got to practice getting used to the tunnel vision caused by the headlamp. 15 miles 3:35:06, average pace 14:20, HR monitor cut in and out this walk, so I am going to change the battery tomorrow. I didn't seem to get hungry at all while walking after dark. I hope this isn't a problem at Mohican.

Funny thing... my friends and I are going to do the ET Midnight Marathon put on by Calico Racing in August. We have been having fun with the idea about spotting aliens because the marathon route is on the Extraterrestrial Highway that borders Area 51... I was doing the last 6 miles on the track and some of the back lights were on. The stars were out, and I was looking up at the sky, it was a nice night. There were some lights moving around really fast and erratic above the school building. I stopped in my tracks and watched them for a few minutes. Then I heard the birds screaching.. The lights must have been reflecting off the bottom of the birds that were flying around eating the bugs that were attracted to the lights. To tired eyes and from the other end of the track, they looked like UFO's.

Wednesday, May 20

Now I have a funny to tell. I am eating a grilled chicken flat bread wrap with some baked beans for dinner. When I finish, I am going to change and go out for 8 miles. I still need to see if any kinds of food are going to make me sick at the ultra. I have seen I do well with pbj, cookies, Frito's, crackers, etc... but you will find pizza, quesadillas and assorted other goodies at some races. I want to make sure heavy duty stuff won't make me sick either. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Well, I guess nothin' makes me sick. Even Blue Cheese Dressing. Although I did get a little nauseous at about 4 miles, but it passed. So, 8 miles; 1:53:55; average pace 14:11; average HR 124 64%. Seems kind of low, especially right after eating dinner, but that is what the monitor said. Night walking with a headlamp in interesting at best.

Tuesday - May 19

I walked over to the little league park after I got home from work. It is a little over a mile from my house. Then I walked around the excavation site where the city is expanding the retention pond that is there to help control flash flooding. There were some city workers present, and when I walked over to where they were, I asked them if anyone was going to run my out of the area. They said I should just be very careful. When I told them I am training for a 100 mile trail race, they said I should have fun and walk wherever I wanted to. LOL

Anyhow, the total walk after arriving back home was 6.2 miles or 10k, however you wish to look at it. My average pace was 13:53, and my average HR was exactly 70%. Not too shabby for someone who just walked 50k on Saturday!

Hog’s Hunt 50k Trail Race, Huntsville Texas, 5/16/09

So, when I decided I would do this race as a training walk, I was sure I could walk the 50k within the 8 hour time limit because I had done so at Sunmart last fall. What I did not take into consideration was the fact that I had already walked 30 miles this week. So, my total mileage this week was 61, and I try to target 100 a month.

Now I will give a recap of race day. I woke up at 3am and got dressed except for my trail shoes and got in the pre-packed car and went to Jack in the Box to get a breakfast jack sandwich. I asked them to make it with sausage instead of ham and ordered a carton of orange juice to go with it. I drove to Huntsville (118 miles to the park from my house), picked up my race packet and went back to the car to body glide my feet, put on my trail shoes and gaiters, pin on the number, ready the headlamp, fill the fuel belt bottles and carry my cooler, drop bag and folding chair to the start area. That was a lot to remember in a few minutes. Of course the race clock was not set up in time and the race started a few minutes late. Oh well, I am not one to bemoan the little details.

I quickly settled into last place, as I was the only walker there. Everyone else was either running or run/walking. It was extremely warm and muggy from the start. I was having a good walk until about the 5th mile, and then my left hip started hurting. I walked up to the second aid station and asked a strange question of the volunteers. "Could one of you do me a huge favor and pull my leg when I lie down on the tailgate of that truck over there?" They kind of looked at me funny and I explained that I have loose ligaments in my left hip and it pops out of place all the time. It was starting to hurt and I was only 8 miles in... They volunteered a nice young (teenager) fellow and he said he didn't want to hurt me. I told him it wasn't possible to make it any worse, only better. So, he walked out from behind the table, said a little prayer, "Please God, don't let me hurt her." and proceeds to pull my leg. It only took one try, and the hip popped right back in. Later on when I passed the aid station a second time, I thanked him for making sure I was able to continue on in the race... without his help, I would have had to quit early.

Back to the race, it was so hot, that as I entered each aid station, I poured a cup of water over my head to try and stay cool. I guess the new motto for hot day races or training will be water in, water on. I made sure to drink plenty of water and electrolyte supplement and partake of the usual aid station fare in trail races: cookies, chips, crackers, peanut butter sandwiches, orange slices, bananas, chocolate and coca cola or mountain dew. I also had a Clif bar in my pocket along with the Clif shot blocks, margarita extra salt variety, a couple of GU with caffeine and a couple of Hammer gels. I used most of the stuff I had in my pockets, and when I got to the halfway point at the start finish area, I drank some espresso with skim milk that was stashed in my cooler. It was a difficult thing, walking away from that clock showing 3:57:?? into the race, at that time, I knew I would probably not make the 8 hour time limit for 50k. I asked at my second trip through the first aid station if they had cutoff times for their specific aid station. They told me that anyone who chooses to walk, run, or whatever, 31 miles in this heat and humidity was going to get a finishers award, so just keep going. They like quitters less than late finishers.
When I arrived at the last aid station, 2.9 miles to the finish, I was talking to the volunteers there about how many miles I had walked this week. One of the guys asked me if I had ever heard of tapering. I kind of laughed and told him I was sorry but this was not a goal race for me and that I was 4 weeks out from my first attempt at 100 miles. I could see the start/finish area from this aid station and you all know how hard it was to turn back into the woods at that point. I really wanted to quit, knowing I was keeping everyone past the cutoff time. Something gave me a final wind to get that last little bit done, and probably faster than I had walked all day. Of course when I crossed the finish, I apologized to everyone for keeping them, and they were awesome about it. The clock said 8:04:?? or 8:05:??, and I never dreamed I would finish in less than about 8:20:??.

The finisher’s award is an awesome piece of granite with the race logo and the date on it. I went to sit for a minute, eat the yogurt I had stashed in the cooler and take off my shoes. All that water I had poured on my head and the sweat that was dripping off my shorts ended up in my shoes. My feet were soaked as if I had done several water crossings. I only had 1 small blister which was a surprise as I had not taped any of my toes the night before like I usually do. All I did was grease up my feet really well with Body Glide before I put my socks on.

This is a really nice park for a race. There are free public showers and nice indoor restrooms near the finish, so I was able to take a shower and put on dry clothes for the drive home. I mixed up another iced latte, and some watered down electrolyte, and found the rest of the uneaten Clif bar from the race for the trip. I left the park just in time to drive into a Texas downpour. It seemed as if there was a huge bucket pouring out as much water as I had ever seen. I was driving about 45mph and idiots were passing me.

Ok, I am that person you read about in the ultra quote lists that does a 50k race and has to drive home in a stick shift. The last time I drove 120 miles after a 50k race, I stopped 3 times to get out of the car on the way home. I must be getting numb to the aches and pains because I drove +/- 100 miles to my mom’s house before I ever got out of the car. We had a nice dinner together and I filled her in on the details of the race. Of course, I had to get back in the car and drive the rest of the way home, unpack the car, wash the race gear, unpack the cooler put everything else away. I finally went to bed at about 10.

It was a great day, and a great race. Thanks to Paul Stone for putting on a fantastic race and thanks to all the volunteers, especially the folks from the Seven Hills running club, one of them pulled my leg.

Maryann Ramirez
Sealy Texas.

Thursday, May 14

I decided to cook dinner when I got home from work today. I think Raymond was surprised. I fooled around on the computer for a little while, then decided I still needed to go out for my 8 mile walk. I didn't change into any workout clothes, just went out in the cotton t-shirt and shorts I was wearing. I wanted to make sure I didn't get carried away and try to walk too fast, because I am doing a 50k trail race on Saturday. I didn't leave the house until almost 7pm, so it was really dark out when I got home. I don't like to go to the high school track when I don't need to do speed work, so I just walked around the neighborhood for 4 miles ending up at the little league park. I walked the path around the park until I had a little over a mile to make 8, then I headed for home.
8 miles 1:55:49, average pace 14:38, average HR 121 or 62%. Overall, I will say this was an awesome workout!

Tuesday, May 12

I won't call it taper madness, but I registered online for Hog's Hunt 50k at Huntsville State Park this Saturday. I am beginning to really like that park, I only wish it was closer than 100 miles from me. It kind of sucks having to leave home at 4am to go and walk 50k... btw... Monday was a day off of training. I will get my usual Tuesday workout today. 6 miles. I may do a little speed work at the track.

So, I did get to the track and do some speed work, 2 miles warm up, then 6 x 400m at somewhere between 5k and 10k pace with 400 meter rests, 1 mile cool down.

Funny thing. Some people (most people) who come to the track to walk (I won't call it working out) have no idea about track etiquette. They bring their children and their bicycles. The children play chicken on their bicycles. Then they aim these bicycles straight at you. I had to leave before I had finished my cool down laps and cool down on the walk home, or I might have knocked these sweet little children off of their bicycles. Gosh, then the fight would have been on, and there were lots more of them; of course, I could probably walk faster than they could run and I would have made a clean break.

I absolutely don't begrudge anyone the use of the track for working out, walking, running, whatever they choose to do. Some of the children were doing 50 meter sprinting races. That is fun to watch and it does my heart good to see children out there running rather than sitting home playing the dreaded video game console of their choice.

OK, now I will step down off the soapbox.

Training Update

Friday, May 8 (Happy Birthday, Mom!)
So, summer has arrived in southeast Texas. It was 88 at lunchtime. It feels like the humidity is at least 80%. I am predicting my walk now so that I would feel really guilty for lying if I didn't get it done. I WILL walk 8 miles when I get home from work this evening.
edited to add... the actual temp was 88, humidity 55% when I started. Now that I am finished walking, it is 82 with 66% humidity. Anyhow I walked 8 miles in 1:50:45, with an average pace of 13:50mpm and an average HR of 71%.

Saturday, May 9
Spent the whole day with my Mom. We had a great day! We met my sister, Cathy, for coffee first thing in the morning, and solved the problems of the world with conversation over coffee. Then Mom and I shopped around at Hobby Lobby and Joanne's Fabrics. We had a fantastic lunch at Johnny Carino's, then went to look for a place to get the oil changed in my car. When the young man brought my car around to tell me they were finished, he said, "I'll be you have a lot of fun driving THAT!" I told him I sure do, it's a rocket ship! I drive a Honda Accord 2dr Coupe with sport package... 3.0L v6 VTEC, with 6-spd manual transmission and it really is fun to drive. Then the drive back to mom's house... we had pizza for supper and I gave her a hair cut. It is very difficult to find a beautician that you really like. I seem to be able to cut mom's hair the way she likes it cut...

Sunday, May 10
I had planned to walk 25 miles today, and I am now thinking it was a good thing I crapped out at mile 16 due to heat and humidity. I am still trying to figure out what to wear in this heat to avoid the dreaded thigh chafing. I can't wear compression shorts... because I had a vein blow out on the outside of my thigh once after a hard workout. So, I have been wearing long (heat gear) tights with my pocketed shorts over them. I just get too hot. The alternative is to just wear shorts or a running skirt, and then keep reapplying body glide to the inner thighs once every 10 miles or so. Anyhow, it was a good thing I crapped out. I really thought that Hogs Hunt 50k trail race was two weeks from now, it is actually this coming Saturday, the 16th. So, 16 miles was enough today.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

I chose to take Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off from working out. So, it looks like the walking schedule is working out to look like this: 3 pretty hard weeks/1 pretty easy week.

I was able to get in 6 miles this evening on some pretty uneven terrain. The town I live in is working on a new drainage/retention pond at our little league park. So, I walked a mile to the park, 4 miles around the excavation site, then a mile home.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

So, I walked a marathon last Sunday, 6 miles on Tuesday, and 8 miles on Thursday. In order to keep building mileage for Mohican, I scheduled a 20 mile hill walk for today, which would bring my 7 day mileage total to 60. I knew I could get it done, no matter how slowly. I got off to a late start, even though I had gathered my stuff for the walk the night before. I finally loaded up my car and left for the 15 minute drive to Bellville at around 8:30. The Garmin shows I started my walk at 9:01 am. It was 77 degrees with overcast skies and high humidity.

Every year, the city of Bellville has a celebration called Heritage Days. Folks dress up in period costumes; there is an open air market, tours of the old jail house, gunfighters in the streets and an honest to goodness longhorn cattle drive right through town and around the Austin County courthouse to start off the usual small town parade.

The parade was lining up along my hill walking loop. The walk was interesting because I was never alone. One of the American Legion veterans asked me just how long I was planning to walk because I had already passed him 3 times. I told him I would pass this spot 3 more times because I walk the loop in one direction then reverse directions in order to get to 20 miles. He said 20 MILES??? He didn’t have much more to say when I explained I was walking up and down these hills in training for a 100 mile race. At that point, I looked down the street and there came the herd of longhorn cattle. I was really glad to be getting the heck down the street in the opposite direction.

It was high noon by then and the temperature was getting higher. The clouds were starting to dissipate and the sun was coming out. I still had over 2 hours to go. I was following my hydration and nutrition plan, so I wasn’t having any ill effects from the heat; I was just tired from a full week. I was carrying some Fritos, a few GU energy gels, some homemade chocolate chip cookies, and some Clif Shot Blocks (margarita flavor with extra salt). Every 6.5 miles, I passed my mom’s house and ate some peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bite of banana and a bite or two of chocolate. I also refilled my fuel belt.

Alright, I got to about 15 miles and the heat started getting to me. I used a little of my water to wet my head, and drank some extra electrolyte. I never got nauseated, so I guess I did the right thing. By the way, I was wearing a pair of not too tight compression shorts with some looser shorts that had pockets; a long sports bra and a long sleeve UA heat gear top. That helped to keep me cool, as it was a little breezy even though the temp and humidity was oppressive. At that point, I still had to pass by my mom’s house one more time in order to get the whole 20 miles done. It was difficult, but I have a goal and I won’t let a little heat interfere with getting there. Not this time. Once before I let the Texas heat defeat my plan to walk the Akron marathon. That would have been my first sub 6 hour walking marathon, had I done it. Sorry I digress. That was water under an old bridge. I continued on for the last loop and when I turned up my mom’s street for the finish, I was thinking it was about 85 degrees. And, I was right on the number.

I went in the house to drink my recovery drink, Carnation Instant Breakfast today, and pace back and forth until I could get down to the floor and stretch. I went to take a shower and I would love to show you my sunburned hands. UA UV… It works. I will now date myself for you… seeing my dark hands at the end of light arms made me think of the Dick Van Dyke show. If you don’t remember Dick Van Dyke, then you are younger than me.

My sister and my mom are very artistic and were part of a featured artist showing at a local antique show along with several other local artists. So, the rest of the afternoon was spent hanging around the antique shop, eating homemade crackers (my mom is an awesome cook), chocolate chip cookies and brownies, while meeting some interesting people. Here is one of the websites my sister’s rubber art stamps can be purchased through http://www.catherinehowell.etsy.com/.

That is all for now.

something to add about OKC

I forgot to add something about the race expo.

Jean-Maria and I were both wearing our Rocky Raccoon race t-shirts at the expo. It is a cute picture of a raccoon wearing lime green running shoes. So, when I walked over to get my chip pre-scanned, the guy at the computer looked at my shirt and asked me if I knew how far Rocky Raccoon was. I knew he was thinking about the 50 mile / 100 mile race, even though the shirt was from the 25k / 50k race in the fall. I told the guy of course I know how far it is, and I had done the 50 miler this past February, and am planning to do the 100 next year if everything works out according to plan. He looked at me a little strangely.