THANKSGIVING AND FIRST SKI OF THE SEASON

Kim joined us for Thanksgiving -- we did our traditional cheese fondue plus some random other food items.
I thought the can of cranberry was pretty funny. And it tastes good so there.

Ted and I made a pumpkin pie as a team (he made the crust and I made the filling from our CSA pumpkins) and Kim made an awesome huckleberry pie. We didn't go hungry.

Today I skinned up Big Mountain. It was snowing and cloudy but the snow was powdery good. I'm a TERRIBLE downhill skiier though. My quads are still burning a couple hours later. Ouch.

I did take the "easiest route" as I always do. Skiing powder is both easier and harder I think for a newbie. It slows you down and cushions the falls but makes control a little harder.

Self-portrait. I was pleased with myself for being brave and going out today.

I took a little side junket for a short bit. It was pretty. It's great to be able to get out in the snow and enjoy being outside. I really hope I can get to where skiing downhill is genuinely fun rather than quasi-terrifying and embarassing. There were lots of other people out and I got a lot of encouragement. Which is nice but clearly I was something of a spectacle.

RUNNING

I've basically taken the last couple of months off from running, with a few Sunday runs or short runs to Crossfit thrown in, but today I realized how much I really need running. Those endorphins -- they're real. I love being outside running. I like Crossfit but just don't feel the same after a Crossfit workout as I do after a run. Sonja likes running too.
Eating Paleo has made me pretty bingey this past week. It's not that I'm hungry eating Paleo, but the deprivation doesn't seem to work for me. It makes me want foods I don't normally even eat. I'm not a big candy person, but have really been craving candy. I've become obsessed with oatmeal, which isn't even an exciting food. It puts me back into the mindset where if I'm going to have pizza its the last pizza ever on this earth and I must eat all of it. Not healthy and not a step forward. So ultimately, my concerted efforts to eat Paleo have resulted in gaining a couple pounds. I think I need to step away from the concerted eating-related efforts. I am like the former anorexic without ever having had an eating disorder. It's really annoying.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TED!!!!

Ted is the bestest ever. Really, he is.

OL' CRAZY EYED SONJA (Technically Red Sonja Niteflite, for her homies) is THREE!

Yes, we're the crazy types who celebrate canine birthdays. And the thing about Red Sonja being the shameful kind of dog who was not rescued is that we know when she was born -- in the shop next door when we were at Haymoon Ranch in Whitefish.

What it means, more significantly, is that we've been here in Montana for close to 3 years. She was born about a week before we loaded up the truck and made a new and more chillaxed life away from Chicago. If memory serves, Ted's birthday (the 18th) was spent loading the truck. Another important date in this family. Of course it's more important than the dog's birthday!

Back to the move. As you might guess, I give it two thumbs up. Now if this shoulder season would end already and give us some powder!

Paleo "CousCous"

I suspect no one is particularly interested in my food babble of late, but I thought I'd share something I learned today. Cauliflower makes a great couscous substitute. I boiled frozen cauliflower for maybe 30 seconds and pulsed it in the food processor until it was couscous looking. I put it in the pan with chicken, olives, raisins, sundried tomato, cumin and turmeric and it was great. It would be better with slivered almonds, and the seasoning could probably be more elaborate, but I thought it was awesome. I was surprised by the fact that the mouth-feel was pretty much identical to real couscous. Bizarre. And delicious.

The photo was taken with my phone -- I'm not into food photography as you might now be aware.

WARM UP AND A DO-OVER

They don't go with the topic but I'm posting a couple Halloween pictures. Leslie and Keith came and Keith won best costume for sure with his Mountie costume. Leslie was a Parks Canada person, and for some reason the only other picture I have of her costume is still on my phone.

I did well eating Paleo M-R, but Friday night for dinner I sneaked in wine, beer and a cupcake. Not the end of the world, but Saturday was full-on unhealthy, regardless of your dietary preferences. I ate LOTS of kinda gross food, some really good food, and drank a lot of beer. It was an excellent reminder that if I'm going to eat less healthful foods, I should make them count. Sunday I was craving Kraft Dinner (the exotic version of boxed mac & cheese, which Keith and Leslie brought from Canadia), so I ate it. Lesson #2, when a craving strikes, probably a small amount will suffice. By the time I polished off the box I was not enjoying it and felt uncomfortable. But anyhow, I'm back on the wagon as of yesterday and am going to make a solid effort through Thanksgiving. My friend Chris gave me some great information on Paleo and I feel a little more behind some of the principles and selectively ignoring some of the Paleo principles. The main one I can get behind is de-glutening my diet and, of course, cutting the junk. For the sake of keeping myself in line I am not drinking before Thanksgiving. I am going to cut dairy until Thanksgiving, but not because I'm convinced its a terribly valid restriction from a health standpoint. Not saying I'm any expert or even that knowledgeable about nutrition, but frankly I trust Cheryl and Chris the most and will pretty much do what they suggest :p

As of today my weight is UP a couple pounds, but it's water and will proabably take me until Friday to de-bloat. Again, the weekend binge thing seems *not* worthwhile on a weekly basis since it's obviously what prevents me from becoming the mean lean running/Cross-fitting machine of my dreams :-)

ER OK WHATEVER

Not much to report -- haven't been in beautiful places or done anything noteworthy lately. But I'll share with you that my Crossfit friend has convinced me to (reluctantly) try the "Paleo Diet" until Thanksgiving. It's where you eat like a caveman (if you google it you'll get all kinds of results). It is insanely popular among Crossfit devotees. There are some devout followers of this way of eating, some of whom read my blog, so I won't diss it. . . anyhow, I thought I'd share so I can let you know how long this lasts and how I do. I'm not giving up coffee though, even if "Grog" didn't have an espresso machine. And I'll probably have booze on Halloween. Otherwise, I'll give it my best and let you know if it cures all that ails me (mmmmm ale) or whether it just makes me so miserable that I act like a grumpy caveman. The goal isn't to lose weight necessarily, the goal is supposed to be to feel wonderful and boost my athletic abilities. Obviously, I'm only trying it in case it makes me skinny :p I'll keep you posted.

PICTURES FROM TODAY'S HIKE IN THE JEWEL BASIN

Ted and I decided to see if we couldn't squeeze in another hike this season -- indeed we could so we climbed Mount Aeneas, which is a cool mountain if you ask me.



Here, below, you can see the last approach to the top. I wore my new Kahtuula (sp?) micro spikes and Ted wore crampons for a short bit of the hike. Traction wasn't critical but it made it easier.
My handsome man Ted. It was really windy up there.

Below is me striking my male underwear model pose. You'll have to take my word for it.

Some of us bring water or Gatorade on a hike -- others, like Ted, bring Scotch. Seems like a nice way to celebrate reaching the peak.

Winter will be here soon I reckon.

In Girl Scouts we used to sing a song:

Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver and the other gold.

My friend Joanna came to visit last weekend, which was a treat because she is very busy parenting two beautiful little girls and working and living life in Colorado. Joanna and I have been friends for 30 years -- we met when we were four years old. The rarity and specialness of our friendship is not lost on me.
This last weekend (the one following Joanna's visit) Ted and I went to our friend Helen's wedding in Atlanta. Helen is a friend from Madison, so we became friends about 11 years ago, and I've done a pretty mediocre job staying in touch with her and hadn't seen her since my own wedding, where she was a bridesmaid. I was reminded of the importance of keeping in contact with good friends, even when newer ones are now on the scene. I know it's sappy, but I really feel compelled to gush about the value I place on my friendships. I include my family in this category, because being related by blood or marriage is not, alone, what makes me love my family. It's our friendships and enjoyment of each others' company that makes these relationships special. And the friendships I have are what make my life what it is. The point here is that it's hard work to stay in touch with old friends, though not always as is the case with Joanna, but it's one of the most worthwhile things possible as far as I can tell. It's sad to realize that you've lost touch, but nice to realize how easy it is to renew connections. Therefore I intend to do better!!!

HUNDRED IN THE HOOD

INTRODUCTION

After a DNF (did not finish) at Western States, I needed a finish to get the 100 mile thing out of my system once and for all. I wanted redemption. At the same time, I didn’t want to properly train so I wasn’t sure whether I’d finish. So, I didn’t really tell people that I was planning to do another 100. It’s not fun to have to tell everyone about failing and explain why and all that. I decided for sure that I would run the “Hundred in the Hood” only the week before – I thought about bagging it and crewing for Leslie and Quinn at Bear 100 in Utah (both women did awesome by the way – absolutely amazing runners!). But, I had a great offer on the table from Chris O’Connor to come pace me and Callie offered to come along and crew as well. I figured I’d give it a go.

The Hundred in the Hood is comprised of two out-and-backs on the Pacific Crest Trail. It turns out that the course was about 103 miles (according to RD Olga), but more on that later.

The two concerns I had about the race were that I had a little ITB trouble recently and that I’d only been running 20-30 miles per week, pretty much all long runs once a week. Neither of these, thankfully, ended up being deal breakers.

MISC. PRE-RACE STUFF

Callie and took Amtrak to Portland, which was great. The train leaves Whitefish at 9:30 p.m. or thereabouts and gets into Portland around 10:00 a.m. or thereabouts. We had regular reserved seats on the way out, which were pretty comfortable and allowed decent sleeping. On the way back we were in the sleeper car, which is first-class travel for sure. I definitely want to incorporate the Empire Builder into more vacations.

We stayed in Government Camp at the Huckleberry Inn, which was fine other than their firm refusal to let us check out late on Sunday. For dinner we went up to the Timberline Lodge, which is where The Shining was filmed. That place is pretty neat – and they had excellent hot chocolate.

I was trying to jump but that didn't work so well. This picture reminds me of my friend Joanna's four year old, who assumes this pose often it seems. It's sort of a monster pose.

Now these guys can jump.

The packet pick-up was seamless and quick. We met up with Joe Lee and his runner Mike, who was running his first 100.

Callie, Mike, Joe, Chris

RACE

A. Miles 0-28

The race started bright and early at 5 a.m. I ran a bit with a guy who does endurance unicycling. I asked Chris if he knew him, and figured he would be easily identifiable since I didn’t think endurance unicycling was common. Turns out there are more than one, so we never settled the question of who I was talking to. The first couple of hours were pretty dark, and I hadn’t thought of needing a headlamp in the morning. Luckily Chris had an extra.

The beginning miles of the race are relatively easy with rolling terrain and some spectacular views of Mt. Hood. This section was an out-and-back, which allowed me to see the people going in the other direction. It was fun to see Jennifer Hemmen, who was running her first 100 miler. She’s funny. This section of trail was pretty uneventful, other than getting stung on the thumb by a bee (I think?) which caused my thumb to swell up big and fat. I did a sock change and foot cleaning at mile 18, which was part of my foot care strategy. I cleaned my feet, re-lubed and changed socks every 20 miles or so, and didn’t get one single blister!!!!!! Can you believe it?

I felt really good and was maintaining an average pace of about 13:30 minute miles without feeling at all like I was working. Just a comfortable jog.

B. Miles 28-35

At some point around mile 28 the second out-and-back begins. The course became more varied, with more climbing and descending. This was welcome since my “runs” lately have been mountain hike/runs and I don’t really have running legs these days. Things were going along smoothly and my pace was still well under 14s on average and I started entertaining ideas of a relatively fast finish. . .

C. Miles 35-55

Around mile 35 (or 40, I’m not sure as my Garmin missed some miles it seems) I washed my feet in a stream and changed my socks. When I got up. . .OUCH. Just as I was thinking about how fast I might be, and also as I was getting a little depressed thinking about how long I would be running, my ITB started screaming at me. I stopped to stretch it a couple times and popped some Advil but was hobbling mightily. I then had a meltdown. How could I be so stupid as to try 100 miler when I knew I might have an injury that could stop me in my tracks? How was I going to get a hold of Chris when there was no cell service? Everyone would think I was just a quitter with lots of excuses after the Western States DNF. I mean, after awhile you might wonder whether I was really just full of lame excuses. I practically hyperventilated I was so worked up. I finally gave up on stretching and just tried to hobble along. Once I stopped freaking out and kept moving for awhile the pain went away and I could run. I reminded myself that you can’t ever take anything for granted in these things and that a finish is all I really wanted. And that I wanted it. And that was that.

I made it to mile 55 where I picked up my pacer (Chris) in about 13 hours, which I thought was pretty decent for me. At that point I was hopeful that I could finish somewhere between 27-28 hours without having to push too hard.


D. Miles 55-75

This section is the most technical of the entire course, with a long descent up very rocky trail and what appeared to be some cliffs off the side of the trail. It was beautiful though and at one point we were treated to a sunset behind Mount Hood.


Live trailside entertainment. He had a hat our for runners to toss payment in. . . hopefully he has enough Gus to last him awhile.
Aid station fare, including whiskey

I think it was during this section that I ran into a log and somehow managed to stab myself in the left shin AND the back of my right thigh at the same time. I was bleeding kind of a lot and the blood on my thigh was pooling behind my knee. It really grossed Chris out for a little bit. Eventually all the trail dirt mixed in with the dried blood and it sort of disappeared. That was my main injury, followed by a fall on a bridge that could have resulted in a dunk in the drink (but only resulted in a scraped up knee), another minor fall and the bee sting. All told, a success.

E. Miles 75+

I can’t say for sure when, but the wheels fell off at some point. It was really cold and I became really sleepy. For the first time I experienced the most desperate desire to sleep ever. At Headlands I grew really tired and cried and stuff but don’t remember this desperate sleepy feeling. My eyes were rolling back in my head while I trudged along. I would have stopped for a short nap if it weren’t so cold. The only way to stay warm was to keep moving. Finally I begged some No-Doz off Chris, which didn’t even work! I must drink a lot of coffee. After a second No-Doz and having Chris run ahead rather than behind me, I woke up a little.

The low point of the race was some time later, when someone (I think Nic, who ran with us for awhile) informed me that the race was longer than 100 miles. I guess this was on a chart that I had even printed out, but somehow I missed the fact that the race was longer than 100 miles. Someone told me that it was going to be 102.5, and I thought I was going to have a meltdown. I couldn’t talk, and felt like some great injustice was being perpetrated against me. I didn’t cry, but probably stewed about this for a couple hours. The fact that each mile seemed to take hours made me feel like the extra 2.5 miles would mean another entire day of running. I eventually got over it, but not until long after I proclaimed outloud that I was over it.

The last few hours were pretty agonizing. Nothing was particularly wrong with me, other than the fact that my feet were really achy. I was tired, but not sick or anything. Yet, I was moving very slowly and felt sort of like a cranky kid dragging her feet and pouting. I felt guilty that at the final aid station I couldn’t muster cheery conversation and even pretend to be happy. I think I was able to muster a despondent look, though on the inside I was crying to learn that I still had 6 more miles to go. I repeated in my mind over and over “this is so *&(*$&#ing heinous, this is so &*#&*$&ing heinous” until I was finally convinced it would end, which wasn’t until around the last half mile.

I barely jogged across the finish line in 29:10, but was treated with Olga-cheer and a special present from her because she said she likes me. That was really nice. Olga is awesome, even aside from the fact that she gave me a cool present.

Olga, looking great, above.

Post-Race and thoughts

There was an excellent spread of food at the finish, and even beer. Remarkably, I didn’t want a beer. Scary, eh? We hung around for a little bit and chatted with Joe and Olga and Lisa Heurta, whom Callie paced for 25 miles. Lisa finished under 24 hours I believe. Awesome. We went back to Government Camp, dropped off Chris and headed back to Portland where I had the best shower of my life at a 24-Hour Fitness in downtown Portland. We boarded the train and headed home. A fantastic weekend.

My main thoughts are that my foot-care strategy worked great (clean feet, clean socks and Hydropel) and that I really don’t want you all to let me run another 100. Also, Chris is an awesome pacer and I am eternally grateful for his help and support. I had fun and am so so so so very glad I did this race, but don’t want you to let me do another. OK? Promise? Thanks.

THIS WINTER I BECOME A BOND GIRL (in my imagination anyhow)

Rebecca, my friend in Helena, got me excited about trying the winter biathlon in Seeley Lake this January. That's XC skiing and target shooting for those of you who think it's running and biking. Ted and I took his .22 out for target shooting, and though I tend to hate guns, I became more comfortable with the rifle and actually hit the target (playing cards) a couple times.
In the biathlon you shoot standing and prone. In the above picture I'm standing horribly wrong, which Ted straightened out. I never knew my husband knew so much about guns or shooting. Funny don't you think? Anyhow, I will try to find a gun safety class. Tom said I can borrow his bolt action .22 which is more appropriate for biathlon (Ted's is semi-automatic which I don't think is allowed in biathlon).

It's fun to learn new random activities! And no, I am still never going to run with a gun. A study just came out confirming, yet again, that bear spray is significantly more effective in avoiding bear attacks than guns.

NIGHT RUNNING

Last night Quinn and I did an awesome night run up Big Mountain. The picture above is a representation -- I forgot my camera. We ran up the Danny On trail, up to Flower Point (I think that's what it's called) and made our way down. It was pretty cool to be up at the Summit House at night when there was no one there. I think one of the reasons I like long ultras is because I really love running at night. The stars were, like on Saturday, plentiful and pretty and there's just something cool and peaceful about being out on the trail in the dark. It wasn't creepy, although Quinn saw beady eyes at one point only to determine that they were deer. Also, there were tons of frogs, and I had no idea that there were so many frogs up there! Zella, Quinn's dog, thought that was pretty cool I think. In total we ran 9.5 miles. Quinn is prepping for Bear 100 and she seems to be a natural at night running. Whereas I may have taken a spill or two -- nothing serious. Anyhow, it was pretty fun and definitely worth mentioning. If you haven't gotten out on the trails at night, I highly recommend you try it (with good lights, fresh batteries and some company).

Swan Crest 57k III (2009 Edition)

For the third time I headed to Swan Lake (about 30 miles from Kalispell) to run the Swan Crest 57k. The run is always self-supported, and this year it went back to its roots (before I was ever here) and was an informal non-race. This was just as well, and didn't make it any less fun. Just must cheaper.
I knew some Helena friends were coming, including Rebecca (above) and Martin, but I didn't know when they would arrive Friday night or where they were going to camp. I set up at the "normal" place, but a motorcycle gang showed up and took over much of the campground. I then found some other friends who were going to camp up at Napa Point, so I decided to go with them. I'm glad I did because it was incredible up there -- there was little moon so the stars were out of control.

I enjoyed a dinner of beer and potato chips and slept in the back of a Suburban. I felt so safe in my Suburban fortress and kept waking up excitedly looking out the windows to see the stars and looking for wildlife. Alas, I did not see any animals and I probably didn't sleep that much, but it was fun. And my friends were sleeping in an Airstream, where they made pancakes for breakfast. That's a nice way to start the day!

The run starts right there at Napa point and meanders about 25 miles through the Swan Range to the trail that goes up 6 Mile Mountain -- then you run down to the town of Swan Lake which makes the run 57k (35 miles). I was really worried about my knee since Thursday morning I had to walk due to knee pain (IT Band) after 4 measly miles.

Friday I rolled that sucker (IT Band) like it was going out of style, and I think it paid off because I felt naught a niggle during this trail run. However, I took it easy with Rebecca and we skipped 6 Mile (3 miles) and when we reached the end of the trail, there was a vehicle with a note asking that someone drive it back to Swan Lake, so we obliged and lobbed off the last several miles of the run, which is gravel road and a mile of highway. So, I'd guess we ran about 28-29 miles (?) Maybe 27. Who knows. My stupid Garmin, not fully charged, died around mile 23.

I love this run and I love this trail. When I first did this run two years ago with Iris, it was maybe my first real exposure to epic mountain running -- and the first time I learned about this incredible trail. The Alpine # 7, which I've now run most of this summer, goes from Napa Point to Columbia Mountain, or around 65ish miles. It passes through the Jewel Basin hiking area as well, which is an area favorite. One of these days I'll do the whole trail all at once or over a couple days. Maybe next year.

This is also part of what will be the first Swan Crest 100 next July (the last weekend of July). That is going to be an amazing 100 miler, and I'm excited about helping plan the race. It's going to happen and it's going to be awesome. I invite all of you to come check it out!

As you all probably know by now, I am a good-eater. And this post wouldn't be complete without huckleberry pictures. They are still out and still huge and still delicious. I felt like a grizzly bear stuffing my face madly with these sweet delicious berries.

The bushes themselves are turning red and autumny, but the berries are still rocking the Alpine 7 and caused many a remark: "GIT IN MY BELLY!"

Along with these lakes. Mmmmm mountainy water. . .

I'm going to wind down the running season here and may do one more race in a couple weeks, or if I lose interest by then in running I may go play with Quinn and Leslie at Bear in Utah. We'll see.