Post-Milestone and What's Next?

I spent some time pondering what I wanted to accomplish for the fall 2014 racing season. I'd finished my first marathon; I completed a bunch of marathons; I completed a bunch of ultra marathons. With my tendency toward pesky minor injuries and with Dr. James O'Keefe's advice always echoing in my head (to paraphrase: do not run a lot of marathons), there's some anxiety about running long repeatedly. I also wasn't sure I wanted to travel out of state for races this fall. I thought and pondered and reviewed the runmichigan.com calendar and decided that my challenge for October would be to run some back-to-back half marathons.

I. Heroes on Hines

The first half marathon was Heroes on Hines in Plymouth, MI. This was a Running Fit road race along Hines Drive and had all of the usual amenities that Running Fit races have, like portapotties and numerous aid stations with water and fuel. Pre-race, it was pouring rain, which made navigation and packet pickup interesting. A local choir performed the national anthem beautifully, and the runners were off. My strategy for all of these half marathons would be "just keep going." Again, as with most if not all Running Fit races, there were a lot of runners like me (the competitors weren't all elites), so this made the day enjoyable. I didn't push tremendously hard and finished alongside some new friends at around 2:45. I was very pleased. This is what "Run Happy" means.

I needed the jacket in the beginning, didn't want to throw it away, but didn't want it to interfere with race photos, so....

II. Bloody Border Dash

I woke up the next morning and headed to Ohio for the first Bloody Border Dash to benefit the Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan. This was a race put together by runners, and they hit the figurative ball out of the park. Packet pickup was well organized and easy to navigate, race start and finish were in an awesome facility with food, restrooms, and plenty of space for lots of participants, fun music was playing at the start line, the course was incredibly well marked and nicely varied (farms and cities), lots of aid with water and fuel was available. I finished second to last (in my age group? total? I'm not sure) in 3:0-something and got a high five from the Detroit Tigers mascot Paws the day before the Tigers' last game of the season. I was so pleased with this race and had such a fantastic time. This is a race I hope to return to again and again. Note: the closed-eye photo on the race twitter site says I finished in 2:51.

III. Hallowed Half

Next, I put together a bumblebee costume and headed to the Hallowed Half in rural central Michigan. This again was an inaugural race, and packet pickup and start were not super well organized but I think the organizers learned from the experience. Some signage, helping people locate packet pickup, portapotties, and race start would be beneficial I think. A free stretching exercise prior to race start was a lot of fun, and off we went. I really liked the variety offered by this course - it was sort of a loop and a half and had city and rural components and went through a cemetery. The sunset occurred shortly after race start, so this race was spooky! The field was smallish but there were several runners near my race group and/or experience level, which is helpful. This race really shined when full darkness hit - there were numerous well lit aid stations and enthusiastic volunteers cheering. The cornfields on this night were stunningly beautiful, and I passed some small unidentified animals which added to the spooky factor. I was feeling great around 9-10 miles, which is sometimes a tough time for me. I finished in 3-something (scared of the dark!) and - shocker - earned an award for third in my age group. Despite the lack of organization at pickup, the rest of the time I spent at this race was awesome and I really appreciated the work the organization did and the celebratory atmosphere at the finish, so I will very likely return.

IV. Screaming Banshee

Ouch - everything ached when I got up to go to this race the morning after the Hallowed Half. Also, temperatures were below freezing. Brrr. Packet pickup was in a pleasant location in Potterville, Michigan, near Lansing. There was an outdoor covered shelter decorated for the day, a pro photographer, post race beer, and real restrooms. This field would probably be the smallest out of all of my October races, so this was looking to be a tough day and it did not disappoint. The race course went through several pleasant changes of scenery, but I struggled all day and never felt comfortable running. Everything hurt and felt fatigued. I finished dead fantastically last, with escorts. The organization(s) in charge did a good job keeping everything in order. I am curious whether they are interested in growing the field at all or if they'd prefer to stay a small race. Most of the racers ran a 5k or 10k, I believe.

So, to celebrate the passing of another year, I finished four half marathons (kind of) back to back and am pleased with this accomplishment. No PRs were achieved, but I had a lot of fun. I took a restful and satisfying break after I finished these, and now my long term focus is back on the long runs - 100K to 100M. I'd like to complete my 100 miler before I hit my mid-40s - is it at all possible to have this much fun while I'm racing a very long ultra marathon?

Run While You Can

The Wannabe Athlete makes a good case why we should run while we can.

2015 Wish List Comment

I received this announcement in my mail yesterday - the Northern Trails Marathon in Greensboro, NC is new for 2015. What a great idea this is. Why not have a Greensboro Trail Marathon?

But. Why, why, why is this the exact same day as the renowned Tobacco Road Marathon? There's probably a reasonably large runner contingent who would like to run both races. Why not accommodate them rather than compete?

Running Dances with Dirt

Is it a compliment to describe a person or a business as a marketing genius?

The Running Fit organization tells us "we exist to make running fun." I think they are very successful at their stated goal.  I've gone on pretty incessantly online and in person about how happy I am that they do what they do. Without them, my family wouldn't be as active as we are, so I'm happy and grateful they exist. They provide some of the most beautiful marketing collateral and bling anywhere, from cute aliens to red carpet running to No Wimps and trail stuff to the scarily named Dances with Dirt (Green Swamp (FL), Gnaw Bone (IN), Devil's Lake (WI), and Hell (MI)).

That last series is made up of challenging trail runs. The descriptions, such as that of the Devil's Lake Half Marathon ("all uphill" or something similar), are just intimidating enough to be irresistible (or vice versa). I don't know what the name conjures for you; for me it's equal parts fun and anxiety. It's the uncomfortable feeling that's present when there's an opportunity for growth and learning.

While not at all in peak condition, and thanks to a generous course time limit, I decided to run the Dances with Dirt Hell 50k - my third 50k - this year.

One of the first indications that I was in for a treat was the awesome race shirt. The shirt alone made some of the pain worth it. The "XX" represents the 20th anniversary of the event.

At race start, I flipped through the descriptions of some of the legs or section themes of the race. "This Sucks." "The River Styx." What could these mean? I was nervous.

Running each new leg, and discovering what the strange names meant, was part of what made this race so much fun. Every 2-5 miles, there was a new forehead-slap "OH" moment as it dawned on me why the sections were named what they were. I am leaving out details so you can experience these discoveries without them being spoiled.

This race was a total blast, very challenging, full of other fun competitors. As you run in the forest, lake, or wherever you are, you can hear other fun events happening at the park. My family drove around and helped support me; I went through four pairs of socks and shoes (see: "Styx, River of Death") and lots of Coca Cola.

The cumulative effect of the Michigan elevation and running through all of the water was pain. My feet - the muscles in my feet - hadn't ever hurt like this before. I walked the last two miles in some formidable foot pain, wondering if one or both of my feet were broken.

However, as a couple of 50 mile racers passed me, the finish line did in fact appear. As I approached, muscles sore, running gear covered with mud and who knows what, the previous (and possibly inebriated on sponsor Bell's Beer) finishers screamed loudly and cheered for me. The sportsmanship and support made the little kid in my brain so happy.

Would I and will I run this race again? I don't think I need to say: absolutely. In a heartbeat. I would love to run the entire series, especially the all uphill half marathon. And if any 12- to 15-minute per mile ultra marathoners decide to join me in this effort, I'll say "hey!" out on the course.

Photo by Greg Sadler.

Toes Pose

Runner's World posted this clip on toes pose:
 https://twitter.com/runnersworld/status/518823140672409601

So I tried it.

My right big toe does not bend that way whatsoever.

We think I may have broken or sprained it at the Huff 50K. That was almost a year ago. What to do now?

2015 Race Wish List

Here are the races I'm dreaming about for 2015. As you can see, there's already a huge glaring conflict:

• Tobacco Road Marathon (3/15)
• Knoxville Marathon (3/29)
• Kentucky Derby Marathon (4/25)
• Trail Marathon No Wimps Challenge (likely 4/25 or 4/26) - I was sorry to have missed this in 2014
• IT 50 or 100, depending on how I feel and Farmer's Almanac's best guess about the weather (4/25)
• Dances with Dirt - I'd love to run the entire ultra series but it may not happen in 2015

 This is to be continued and will be updated.

Hi There! An Introduction

This will be my running journal-race report-venting and sharing place. Here's a little about me.

Growing up, the house sports were baseball and aerobics. In 10th grade, I decided not to play softball anymore (too many line drives coupled with a dislike of the start/stop/wait pace) and looked for something new. In fall of 11th grade, I tried cross country and loved it like crazy. My best 5k ever was 26.xx. Senior year, I joined the team but didn't finish the season due to shin pain. I am a quirky, injury-prone runner. Our coach set up a triathlon, a 10k, and weight training. It was pretty awesome - thank you coach!

The tendency toward getting injured has been with me always.

It was a long time before I started running again. I filed it away as something I had to revisit.

My freshman year of college, a fellow student at my university was brutally murdered while out on a nighttime run. I run in her memory sometimes.

My husband and I made some kind of weird agreement to be sedentary. This seemed to work for quite a long time. We had some amazing kids and got winded while playing with them. A lot of years passed.

In 2012, there was so much running in popular culture that you could almost call it an engulfment risk. Running was everywhere. It looked like runners were having fun that I wasn't having. I took the kids to a kids run at a zoo. I ran a few 5ks. It was inspiring and fun and hard work. It was all of the good things.

It stuck. I ran more. And more. I read the running blogs. Idiot Runner Girl and Wannabe Athlete are two blogs that helped.

I ran a poorly organized 10K in my grandfather's memory, in an hour. Then WOVI played Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix. It was too perfect.

On 10/20/2012 I ran my first half marathon and got lost on the unmarked course. It was beautiful. I didn't train with fuel, and I got so sick. I wanted to do lots more of these.

I kept training (a little). I ran all of the runs. I ran more half marathons.

I was challenged by a work mentor to run a full marathon, so I started training for one, even though he was crazy and there was no way I could finish one. 26.2 is a lot of miles.

Despite the fact that 26.2 would be impossible, I decided that I should become an ultramarathoner before my 40th birthday. I decided this 4 months before my 40th birthday. I was successful in that race and I also got shin splints on that day, because I ran the hills very poorly but joyously.

Trail running is a thing. An awesome thing.

When my shins felt better, I rain an impossible 26.2 miles for training on what happened to be a really, really difficult course, then I ran my official yet impossible 26.2 miles on a hilly road course. I count 83.4 impossible Happy Birthday miles.

I accidentally became a Marathon Maniac; however, becoming a Half Fanatic was very much intentional and happened yesterday (10/5/2014).

Please use caution. None of this is medical advice. If you attempt to do what I have done, you could get runner's knee (or a lot worse).

Today, my Athlinks account sits at 529 race miles. There are three ultras and eight marathons tucked in there. There's probably 15,000 crunches and a few planks hidden behind the scenes.

How many miles will be added today?