CAMP REPORT!!!

I am, as many of you probably already noticed, not an especially good blogger. I'm not one for detailed and illustrative descriptions and insights, and this report will be no different. The upshot of it is that I had an absolute blast and met lots of incredibly cool people whose collective experience and wisdom I tried to take advantage of. I received a lot of advice, which can be boiled down to: "do everything just exactly so and you will do great." For example, start conservatively but not too conservatively. I did actually get a lot of good and useful information -- I'm sort of kidding about what I just wrote a second ago.

The camp is broken into three days of running. The first day we ran about 28 miles and the portion of the race known as "the canyons." The canyons consist of steep descents and ascents in what is typically unbearable heat. The training run saw moderately bearable cold and rain. It was a soggy and muddy run. (See pics below). The terrain of this section is definitely hard and physically will be a great challenge. I look forward to seeing how I handle it come race day.

This picture shows that Montanans and Californians aren't all that different. Evidently, we all have the same brilliant idea to take old appliances into the woods and shoot 'em. Heartwarming, isn't it? (I posted an identical picture not too long ago that was taken locally).
This may look sort of like a river but it's mud. And it's tough to capture the steepness of some of the downhills but it was steep and muddy. Not ridiculously slippery or anything -- I don't want to exaggerate -- but I was ridiculously cautious. My ankles took a beating this weekend. On Saturday I was observing some large pine cones which made me think of Ted and how he frequently keeps pine cones and suddenly I was consumed by a love seizure when BOOOM!!! I turned my right ankle and was wincing in pain. It ended up not being a big deal but I kept turning the darn ankle again and again all weekend. I hate to complain though since a guy I had JUST met that day destroyed his ankle and then went hypothermic ambling to transportation out of the woods. While I'm on the subject of that story, Chris, who will pace me, was a very important part of this guy's eventual path to safety and I have even increased confidence that I'm in good hands. Granted, Chris was volunteering as a course sweep and that was his job. . . but he did a great job helping the guy.

Day two was a lovely and easy run of about 18-19 miles from the aid station where I get to pick up Chris (Foresthill) to the River Crossing. The sun came out and I turned my other ankle a couple times to even things out. The third day was another easy pleasant run of about 21 miles -- Chris was sweeping again, along with a few other cool folks, so I took the role of "sweep groupie" and hung with them for the third and final run. It was tougher than I had anticipated though since the sweeps walked slowly then ran quickly to catch the last runner. It was reminiscent of a speedworkout, except without the blazing speed part :-) I was tired though.
Above I am showing you "No Hands Bridge." I was thinking to myself "I really hope I am here again next month." It's a weird feeling to actually be in a spot on the course (this one is very near the finish) and wonder whether you will actually make it that far. I look forward to testing my mental fortitude next month. I am increasingly appreciating that I can't control or predict all the physical stuff. I am trained -- but could break my ankle or something. I'm not going to obsess about that. It's the mental aspect that I can control and that I can prepare for. To make a long rambly musing about mental strength short, I'm excited about seeing if I can do it.
Above is Chris, who I mentioned before. He's good at reassuring me continually through email or verbally over the weekend. I've been a little needy lately I think. Sometimes I need a little more encouragement and reassurance than is probably normal for an adult who has made it as far in life as I have. Oh well!!!

So this is a smattering of my weekend at camp. Here are all my pictures:

Pictures -- they're not in order btw

Saturday was a sunny warm day -- and since it's a rest week and I didn't have to run all day, Ted and I went for a hike. We hiked on the Columbia Mountain trail, which was dry for at least 3 miles. I'm guessing that once you hooked up with the Alpine No. 7 trail there would be a lot of snow, but in two weeks I will run that trail and check it out more. The trail overlooks Columbia Falls which means the view isn't all that wonderful -- and the sounds of activity below are clearly audible. Nonetheless, I think it will be a good training trail since it's easily accessible and good trail with respectable elevation gain. My hope is that the loudness from the valley below keeps the grizzlies away. :)

Last night I went to my friend Krista's cabin for an impromptu "girls' night" slumber party -- there were four of us and we had a relaxing and fun time. There was a robin who was determined to get inside the cabin and would repeatedly try to fly through the window. Evidently, the robin has been doing this for weeks. It struck me that this was a very determined robin, who probably spent a large chunk of its waking hours throwing itself against this window. At the same time, I felt somewhat saddened by the fact that this robin was never going to achieve its goal, no matter how persistent it was. In fact, I wondered whether the robin would literally die trying. I tried hard not to read too much into the robin's endeavor, especially since Kim pointed out that the robin might already be a bit brain damaged from its efforts. I guess I'll file that away in my brain under "hmmmm."

I wish I knew my flowers

smirk
Mmmmm salt

Race numbers for Western States are out and I am # 136. Wikipedia actually has an entry for my number, and by far the best parts are:

Doreen Virtue PhD, renowned angel therapist and clairvoyant, states the numbers 136 mystically relates to: "the ascended masters and goddesses ensuring that your needs are continuously met. You help with this manifestation by keeping your thoughts attuned to the positive."

Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (UK law) details removing a mentally ill person from a public place to a place of safety.

I had no idea that angel therapy was a field. But evidently I have to keep a positive attitude for the ascended assistance. . . as for Section 136, I won't make jokes about mental illness. Not on my public blog. :p

I'm so excited I could explode. And I still have 3 hard weeks of training, plus this week (cutback) and the taper to go. I'm starting to make my charts and graphs (namely what I must do to finish under the 30 hour limit) and am pretty much obsessed. I don't know what I will do with myself when it's over! I can't let that be a reason for me to DNF (so that I can plot my comeback/revenge etc. . .).

GOING TO CAMP!

It has been a long time since I've gone to camp. I'm going to go to the Western States training camp (I'm not actually sure anyone calls it camp or whether I'm making this up) over Memorial Day weekend. Yeah, it's a couple weeks away, but unlike how I felt before being shipped off to Girl Scout camp growing up, I'm really excited. But, like before Girl Scout camp, I'm wondering who will be there and will they be fun.

Speaking of camp, one of my favorite memories is of me and Joanna (Hedy and Maggie's mom)hiding under a perma-tent in effort to avoid collecting wood. Camp is always more fun with a partner in crime.

So who out there will be there??? I know Chris (one of my pacers) is going to sweep (pictured below):

Um. . . so yeah who else will be there???

P.S. JR, I am not going to set up a bicycle in the sauna at the gym!!! THAT is lunacy my friend ;)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

First, congrats to Cheryl who ran the Ice Age 50, her first 50 miler, and finished around 10 hours. Despite planning to stop around mile 37 (which is incidentally where I DNFed when I tried this race in 2006 -- but Cheryl was pre-meditating her drop) she finished and did great. I'm so proud!!!

Pictured above is Cheryl, Gretchen the Beagle and Ted, who will be annoyed that I posted this picture of him :p Below is Leanne, who deserves a HUGE congrats for pulling off the Fourth Annual Great Northern 5k -- this is her second year as Race Director and the 4th year of the race and there was a record turnout. She even survived being yelled at by an angry man who just wanted to yell and was convinced his daughter was second in her age group rather than third or something like that. PLEASE. Do people really have such high expectations of a fun run? We do our best and sometimes mistakes happen. Of course, it's not clear that an error was even made. That guy was such a jerk. Leanne rocked as RD and I'm super proud of her too :-)

My Little Pony 1980s Commercial

Exhibit A as to why I struggle so with my weight! Between Cookie Monster (an ok guy, ha!) and the ice cream smelling toys. . . :-)

Running Weekend

Saturday, to mix things up a little, Iris and I went to Missoula to the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area to run. Missoula has a pretty extensive trail system just a few miles from town -- much of it is flat but some of the trails really gain in elevation. We did some of both. The weather was perfect. I even got a little sunburnt. We ran 20 miles (I ran 10 beforehand to make 30) and had a great time. Then we went shopping. REI is having its 70th anniversary sale so I cleaned house at REI and Iris purchased a Garmin GPS running watch -- a birthday present from her parents.

(above, trail somewhere, below, the trail were pretty dry until around 5,000 feet)

Sunday, the group ran at Herron Park. It was Iris' birthday -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRIS! -- and it was another perfect day. Sharon brought her dogs, who were very cute. I managed 20 miles, feeling better and stronger than I had the day before. I realized at the end of our run though, that at Western States I will start before I did my pre-Missoula 10 miles (I did that at 6 a.m., the race starts at 5 a.m.), be running the whole time we drove to Missoula, the whole time we ran 20 miles, the whole time we were shopping, the whole time we drove home, the whole time I slept and nearly the whole time I did my Sunday run. On the one hand I'm excited for the adventure, but on the other I just have no clue how it will go down and it might not be pretty. To put it gently. . .

(Sharon, Leanne, me, Birthday girl Iris)

(below, Leanne finishing strong)

COOKIE! Came upon this on the interwebs and had to share. . .

from http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/5/5bryan.html

COOKIE MONSTERSEARCHES DEEP WITHINHIMSELF AND ASKS: IS ME REALLY MONSTER?

BY ANDY F. BRYAN
- - - -
Me know. Me have problem.

Me love cookies. Me tend to get out of control when me see cookies. Me know it not natural to react so strongly to cookies, but me have weakness. Me know me do wrong. Me know it isn't normal. Me see disapproving looks. Me see stares. Me hurt inside.
When me get back to apartment, after cookie binge, me can't stand looking in mirror—fur matted with chocolate-chip smears and infested with crumbs. Me try but me never able to wash all of them out. Me don't think me is monster. Me just furry blue person who love cookies too much. Me no ask for it. Me just born that way.

Me was thinking and me just don't get it. Why is me a monster? No one else called monster on Sesame Street. Well, no one who isn't really monster. Two-Headed Monster have two heads, so he real monster. Herry Monster strong and look angry, so he probably real monster, too. But is me really monster?

Me thinks me have serious problem. Me thinks me addicted. But since when it acceptable to call addict monster? It affliction. It disease. It burden. But does it make me monster?

How can they be so callous? Me know there something wrong with me, but who in Sesame Street doesn't suffer from mental disease or psychological disorder? They don't call the vampire with math fetish monster, and me pretty sure he undead and drinks blood. No one calls Grover monster, despite frequent delusional episodes and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. And the obnoxious red Grover—oh, what his name?—Elmo! Yes, Elmo live all day in imaginary world and no one call him monster. No, they think he cute. And Big Bird! Don't get me started on Big Bird! He unnaturally gigantic talking canary! How is that not monster? Snuffleupagus not supposed to exist—woolly mammoths extinct. His very existence monstrous. Me least like monster. Me maybe have unhealthy obsession, but me no monster.

No. Me wrong. Me too hard on self. Me no have unhealthy obsession. Me love cookies, but it no hurt anyone. Me just enthusiast. Everyone has something they like most, something they get excited about. Why not me? Me perfectly normal. Me like cookies. So what? Cookies delicious. Cookies do not make one monster. Everyone loves cookies.
Me no monster. Me OK guy. Me OK guy who eat cookies.

Who me kidding? Me know me never actually eat cookies. Me only crumble cookies in mouth, but me no swallow. Me can't swallow. Me no have no esophagus. Me no have no trachea. Me only have black fabric throat. Me not supposed to be able to even talk.

Me no eat cookies.

Me destroy cookies.

Me crush cookies.

Me mutilate cookies.

Me make it so no one get cookies.

Everyone right. Me really is cookie monster.
- - - -

Happy May Day!

Here are some pictures Iris took during our run Saturday. I feel like a megalomaniac posting pictures of myself, but. . . I guess there's no good "but" other than the fact that "megalomaniac" isn't a clearly defined word so maybe it's not all that bad. Oh, and the pretty blue shirt is the one Sean Meissner gave me at the Rumble Race. Isn't it pretty?

MISC.

My dad's travel story, written about Glacier National Park, ran in the Kansas City Star this morning. Here is the link if you would like to take a look. I think it's a nice article and I'm deliriously happy that he included "woah bear!" in the article.

In running news, I am kind of lame. I did my 30 mile run yesterday with 6,000 feet of climbing (and descending) but today I cut it short. The plan was 20 but I was overwhelmed with desire to go to breakfast with my friends so I did 8.5 and rather than turning around and running back to my car, like I was supposed to, I had a huge and delicious breakfast. Gosh I love food. Anyhow, I may still do 12 tonight though. I will at least walk 1.5 to make it 10 -- then I will have 70 miles for the week. Not great but not terrible either. I must mention that Iris did about 18 miles with me yesterday which I appreciated a lot. Thanks Iris :-)

The weather today is beautiful and I'm optimistic that Spring may finally be here. Even on Friday it was snowing and sleeting and being nasty -- it's really time for Spring.

Finally, in Ted news, he is really making progress on his bookshelves and I think they are going to look really nice. I am impressed -- he is building pretty wood bookshelves for the "man room" from scratch. They will have a built-in look. I will ask him to take pictures so I can show you.

A shout out for my Boston PR-ing homies

(pictured above, me and Cheryl, aka NoTrain McPR)

I am so proud of my buddies who ran Boston yesterday!!! Miss Cheryl ran a PR, despite the fact that she no longer "trains" for races and ran a 3:36! Wooooooo!!! Cheryl is going to be crew extroardinaire at Western States and get me to the Placer track. :-)

Ed ran a 2:41 and Chris ran a 2:44:59 -- both PRs! Way to represent! (I'm referring to your representation of big bellied boys :p).

Nice work! Just imagine if Cheryl trained. ;)

(above: Ed and Chris, showing off their bellies)
I would worry about putting this picture on my blog but for the fact that they have been published doing this. . .

April Snow

I came down the stairs this morning and saw THIS:

I said nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The dogs checked things out.
Sonja seemed to think that we could still run today.
Callie too thought we could still run today. I was the only whiner, and only whining for a short while.
Sonja, Callie and I ended up enjoying the snowy run up at Herron Park and nailed down the Herron Hustle course, which should be under 5.5 miles (it's a "5 mile" race. . . close enough!).
Sonja was basically in heaven, she wishes the snow would never melt.
THE END.

Crazy Siberian Husky Story

No offense to Zeke and Sonja, but I doubt either of them are smart or motivated enough to do what this dog supposedly did. . .

http://www.elynews.com/articles/2008/04/17/lifestyle/life01.txt

Lost dog finds its way home after week and 77 miles

By JOHN PLESTINAEly Times Reporter

Whether it be impressive navigational skills or just a natural homing sense that brings some lost dogs home across many miles from unfamiliar places is up for debate. It's safe to assume that a lost dog didn't hitchhike a lucky ride 77 miles home to Ely.

Doug Dashiell and no-longer stinky Moon.

Other than stinking like the skunk that sprayed her somewhere along her journey, Moon, a Siberian husky, found her way to Ely across miles of desert and over the White River and Ward Mountain ranges.

Doug Dashiell had taken his three dogs with him for a weekend trip to Tonopah. He thought he would never see Moon again when she ran away April 6.He had let his three dogs out of his truck near Railroad Valley, a distance he later clocked at 77 miles back to Ely.

Moon, who is 1 year, 9 months old, got away when a catch on a chain let go. After several hours searching for her he drove home to Cross Timbers.“Last time I saw her she was headed northwest,” Dashiell said.

Because the dog was headed in the direction of the Duckwater Shoshone Reservation he contacted the Duckwater Tribal Police. Calls to them and others turned up no traces of Moon.Dashiell had all but given up hope that he would ever see Moon again until the White Pine Veterinary Clinic called him Monday morning.She had wandered up to R Place No. 1 on Aultman Street Sunday.In one week she had walked all the way to Ely.Alvin Molea found Moon outside of R Place, took her home, fed her and gave her a warm place to sleep.

Molea called Dr. Tom Sander's office at the White Pine Veterinary Clinic Monday morning because Moon was wearing a tag from the clinic.Moon had made it home unscathed except for the pungent stench of a skunk she had probably chased somewhere between Railroad Valley and Ely.A bath was awaiting the pure bred Siberian husky. “I want to get her to where she smells half way decent,” Dashiell said a hour after being reunited with Moon Monday morning.He speculated that Moon might have fed on rabbits during the seven days she was missing.Dashiell conceded that he had doubted he would ever see Moon again. “After seven days -- no way.”He added that he had thought Moon was either dead, turned wild and would not return or that someone might have found her and kept her.“I've had trouble with her running away before. She's always come home,” Dashiell said.This time was no different.

Race Photo

(photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama)

ROAD TRIP!!!

above: Oregon is for runners

below: Sonja was pretty good on her first road trip

Ted and I did a road trip to Sisters, Oregon (which is about 20 miles from Bend) this weekend where I participated in the Peterson Ridge Rumble 60k. All in all, I would say we had a nice weekend. First, Saturday was the first time we had driven past Spokane and the first time either of us had seen central Oregon. I woke up without a voice and was very congested, but didn’t feel sick. We hit the road around 7:30 a.m. I love love love roadtrips. This was a particularly neat trip, because little did we know that both Washginton and Oregon have vast areas of landscape that can be best described as desert. No trees, lots of scrub brush and nothingness for miles and miles. This is why I love roadtrips – you really get to experience the country in ways that you can’t when flying overhead. Ted and I had a nice time chatting and eating new candies that we had never had before. Our new favorite is Annabelle’s “Big Hunk.” We also had a Abba Zabba, which was previously known to us only as a Captain Beefheart song.

When we arrived in Sisters, we checked into our room which was a “pet room.” We stayed at the Best Western and were really impressed. The room was very nice and very large, and the hotel was a lodge directly adjacent to National Forest property. Sisters appears to be a touristy little town – very cute and pretty upscale. I was curious about Bend so we had dinner in Bend at a place called Kababa, which was incredibly good. I am not normally a big fan of falafel (it’s usually dry and not super flavorful) but their falafel was amazing. Ted thinks there was a strong clove flavor. I just noticed that there was a strong tasty flavor. We had a vegetarian sampler and everything was very tasty and very well prepared. And, I enjoyed a Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA, which was one of the best IPAs I’ve had. I think Deschutes does a great job with their IPAs. And the Deschutes beer is brewed in Bend! So it was very local and I pretty much had to drink it. I did notice that I wasn’t very hungry and didn’t do a great job on my beer, needing Ted’s asssitance, and started feeling very sleepy during dinner. Of course, the lack of hunger could be attributed to the candy and the sleepiness could be attributed to the fact that the beer was about 8% alcohol.

On the ride back to the hotel I started feeling fairly awful. I took a hot bath and went to bed early, hoping I would wake up better. I woke up with a sinus headache and terrifically congested (still no voice) but wanted to have a nice day and willed it to be so. We went all the way to Oregon and I was running this race! I told myself that I was fine and lined up. I met Olga at the start – she is so charismatic and knows everyone! She gave me a hug and the race began.

I quickly settled into pace with a woman named Carrie from Bend. She has done Western States and so she gave me some advice and told me stories about her race. It was easy to forget about my head issue because Carrie was a lot of fun to talk to. The first miles passed pretty quickly. The trail was sandy dirt covered in soft pine needles and it was very pretty. It was a clear day so there were some incredibly vistas – the sisters (big volcanoes) were clearly visible and the sky was very blue. I was enjoying myself. We saw Olga a few times – she was having a rough run but was still chatting with everyone and seemed to be having a great time.

Somewhere near mile 18 the drug of Carrie’s enthusiasm and spunk wore off and I couldn’t ignore the pressure in my head. I thought my head might explode. I told her to run ahead, though she kindly offered to stay with me, and I put my iPod in and prepared for a rough 16ish miles. It was pretty warm and the heat was starting to bother me. But I was determined to finish the run, even if my head exploded in the process. I took great comfort in the fact that the aid stations all served pierogies, which I really love and took advantage of. And, I tried to keep a positive attitude and reminded myself that this was good mental training. If I can run with awful sinus pressure, I can tough out Western States. (At least I will try to believe that.) I had started the race with arm warmers, since it was around 34 at the start, and was able to stuff them with snow and tie them around my neck to cool myself off. This really worked. I will definitely have something at Western States to stuff with ice for my neck. As long as I’m on the topic of gear, I learned that my running skirt’s side pockets cannot be used or my skirt will fall down. Oops. But otherwise I’m loving my newest running skirt and plan to wear it at Western States. I will need to see the race pictures though before I make my final determination. Because I will not have a good race if I look fat or silly :p

I continued onward, trying to stay ahead of the course sweep. Olga had me convinced I was in last place – I was actually nowhere near last and I was safely ahead of the sweep by at least an hour I think. But it helped motivate me to run. It was a pathetically slow “run” but I hardly walked. Suddenly, in the midst of my focused forward movement, I found myself in the most beautiful field of green bushes and saw the most incredibly view of the snow covered volcanoes. The sky was so blue and it was so amazing I was really bummed that I didn’t have my camera. Lo and behold, crouched on the ground around a turn was Glenn Tachiyama, who takes really beautiful race photos. I told him he was famous and that I had arrived in ultrarunning if I was being photographed by him. I think he thought I was nuts but we chatted for a few seconds – it was fun to meet him. He’s a friend of Kendra’s I think.

Most of the rest of the run was downhill, which made it easy to keep moving. Gravity helps. Before I knew it I was finished (in 7:09) and helped myself to the Boca burgers being grilled up at the finish line. I received my cool race socks and the race director,Sean Meissner, a noted ultrarunner, gave me a pretty blue technical shirt for making the trip from Montana. Very nice!

There were showers in the locker room of the middle school where the start and finish was – and that hot shower felt great. However, when cleaning my filthy feet, I discovered a nasty blood blister, the size of a quarter, on my foot. Ted has asked that I not post the pictures here, so sorry. I think the pictures are cool, Ted thinks they’re gross.

Ted drove us home, which was very nice of him. I slept on and off while he avoided the deer that were caucusing in the middle of the road. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things, but it was really a memorable and fun weekend.

YAY!!!! I grew up in Lawrence Kansas and did my undergrad at KU (for those of you who don't know) so needless to say I'm happy my Jayhawks are, for the first time in exactly 20 years, National Champions.

DARN CUTOFFS!

Yesterday I had hoped to run 30 miles, but due to horrible trail conditions (ice, snow etc.) things were very slow going. I wasted a ridiculous amount of time on this trail (officially called "Spur C" or "Cpur of Catan") where I ended up cutting my legs on all the razor sharp crusty snow as my leg fell through up to my knees. Who knew snow could make you bleed? There were some great dry spots though, and I had a nice time -- Iris ran 13 miles with me. I ended up with 26 miles before the dreaded cut-off. . . which was the time I had to leave to get home to get ready to be designated driver for girls night. I thought I had time to finish but when I checked my messages at the "aid station" (i.e. my car) I learned that we were leaving earlier than I had planned. I do want my gold star for being dd :) The upshot of it was I felt great after the 26 and was still able to dance the night away. And dance the night away I did -- we had so much fun.

(Back to running :p) I am definitely gaining endurance and strength. I did not feel physically different at the end of my run -- I felt about the same as when I started. I am not sore at all either. And obviously I'm feeling better after me week of annoying not-quite-sickness-but-something-buggin.

And now, for some pictures! Below, Iris and I had fun playing with our cameras. Oh, I suppose I might have had time for one more mile if we hadn't stopped to play, but what fun would that be?

Another Montana Moment: Iris and I are in the middle of the woods and what do we see but an abandoned refrigerator that appears to be used for target practice. Soon thereafter, Iris and I had to turn around due to gun shots. Although we decided the shots sounded like bb gun shots. Nonetheless, we weren't in the mood to be shot. Iris just took all this time off work with strep throat!!!

WHINE

Since returning from Vegas I've felt really borderline sick. Not actually sick, but borderline. Monday I felt pretty terrible and had flu-like symptoms Monday night, but since Monday I've just felt tired, weak, sore (which of course is probably from my brutal weight workout Tuesday night) and blah. The OCD side of me says "must run 80 miles this week or you fail." The soft side of me says "just relax this week, get better and attack next week." The Joe L. side of me says "you will feel pretty terrible towards the end of Western States so learn to push through sistah."

The reason I'm whining to you all is that I'd be interested in hearing how you approach quasi-illness. Full on illness is easy -- when you're on the couch you're on the couch. Your decision is made for you if you can't stand up without becoming sick. But when you just feel light headed for a few minutes and it passes and then you feel good and then you feel horrible? Push through? Write yourself a "pass?"