My Blog

Happy New Year!

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 12:00:40 -0800

It is February 2nd, and this year is off to a fantastic start! I’ll admit, most of my holiday cards are still sitting on my desk and the “to-do” list is is growing and shrinking daily which shows there is a lot happening and a lot to look forward to.

The start of this new year is motivating for me and I’m really excited for the potential that 2010 seems to be offering. To wrap up 2009 with some much needed windshield/roadtrip time and being together with friends from the running community in sunny California was the best way to finish off what proved to be a challenging year. 2009 was filled with extreme highs and lows for me and I am super thankful (now) to have learned so much from the process. It is definitely nice to feel like I am on the other side with the ability to look back and recall how I felt and what I was processing rather than being in the thick of it both emotionally and physically. Now I can see the deep connections I have, the ones that stick it through thick and thin and I learned a bit more about myself. One might think we could have it all figured out by the time we get into our 30’s... maybe I’m a slow learner or I learn lessons the hard way, but I am finding that I still have a lot to learn and am thankful for the people I have in my life that both help teach and share in the process of growing up.

The last couple of weeks have indeed been a whirlwind of events. My week in Bend fell Wednesday through Tuesday and I chose to fly home for that weekend to run the Nookachamps 1/2 marathon and join a group to train on the Chuckanut 50k course. I flew back to Bend late Sunday after checking out the Cody Rivers Show (absolutely hilarious!) and then to Salt Lake on Tuesday to kick off the Outdoor Retailer Show with The Conservation Alliance Board Meeting and 4 high energy filled days of the trade show. Sleep hasn’t been as plentiful of late and upon returning from it all my body finally revolted with a head cold. Thankful for “Wellness Formula” I was able to continue to train through and finally knocked myself back into a better sleep pattern. This morning on our Cougar 10 miler the energy I had was so much better. Lesson learned, sleep is important.

Wrapping up 2009

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:30:15 -0800

As noted on last week’s Tuesday morning Cougar run it is highly likely that I will NOT be able to remember all of the fun stories that happened in the last days of 2009, rather these stories will surface in conversations and likely have us rolling with laughter and tears from laughing so hard.... exactly what happened in the car ride home from the trailhead. At this point, I don’t have any time to write them down unfortunatley- but it is definitely a blog I want to post and a story I want to share and archive.... SO when I return from then next 10 whirlwind days I will make a point of catching up.

In the meantime a few thoughts on the ski trip from my friend Roch that sum up it so well:
• Good friends (and knowing a lot about the one sitting on your left )
• A crackling wood stove and someone to stoke it
• Snow falling softly outside
• Resin patio furniture
• An occasional cold draft coming in under the door
• A near full moon hidden in storm clouds
• A beacon to bury

And a couple of my own on our road trip, the ski trip and the Coyote Blue Moon in Ventura:
• Driving through cities without remembering
• Coconut Juice
• Learning to ski from the best friends
• Trusting sticks under my feet
• Cooking great meals and putting on a few pounds in the backcountry
• Icicles falling on our heads, while trying to sleep
• Bringing Ellen in as a ringer for bowling
• Magenta dresses, checkered socks, black feather gloves and 50 miles
• An amazing moon rise
• Welcoming 2010 around a bonfire howling
• Beach and great eats with SJ & JU
• Breakfast in San Francisco with a twitterpated friend
• More cities passing without remembering
• Windshield time helping to heal

Left the running shoes at home

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:51:48 -0800

A week in Bend filled with work at The Conservation Alliance with John and visits with friends. These photos are from when I actually lived in Bend, I didn’t get the camera out at all this trip. The friends I made while there are so great and a big part of my time there both living before and now visiting monthly. I feel lucky to feel at home as I commute back and forth from Seattle to Bend. Home for me is defined by the community I find where ever I am.

This trip I didn’t even pack the running shoes forcing a week of time off. The work days fly when John and I get going. We snuck in lunch time yoga classes and with the end of the year quickly approaching we checked a lot of end of year to-dos off of the list. Making visits to some of my favorite spots in town (namely Footzone and Thump) also filled the days. I got Steve out the first night in town, enjoyed dinners at the Cahill’s, played guitar with the Groves, girls night with the book club gals, dinner with the Askews and Sean and then all of a sudden I found myself back on a plane to Seattle.

High Camp

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:05:25 -0800

A little get-away from Seattle with some good friends found us at The Scottish Lakes High Camp last weekend (Dec 12-13). We planned for a snowy, wet weekend but were instead surprised by the beautiful weather that held all day Saturday. The conditions were near perfect for snowshoeing and even though I just received my new skis (first ever owned - new hobby this winter!) we kept the gear minimal and as it turned out was exactly the right set up to have.

Natasha, Christian and Monty had invited me along over a month ago when they made the initial reservations and on Friday, late afternoon in an email exchange with Dan we increased the party size as he was able to be spontaneous and join our small group. We left after work on Friday and made the drive up to Stevens Pass to the pick up area. The High Camp crew shuttles guests up the 8 mile private road in a combination of 4 wheel drive vehicles and snow machines. Once on top and tucked into the tiny cabins the weekend is quiet and yours to enjoy. The cabins are heated by wood burning stoves and after the chilly ride up we stayed in our many layers till the stove was cranking.

We took our time getting going on Saturday by making a large breakfast and extra pancakes to fuel us while out snowshoeing and finally got out the door a little after 10am. Christian experimented with a little R&D for some snow boots for Monty and they got put to the full test out there. We will continue to work on the fabrics. We didn’t plan anything and just let the trails and sun guide us around the hills that shoot out of camp. 5 hours later we finally made our way back to the cabin after a full circle around camp (part of it intentionally, part admittedly lost).

The evening was casual, a potluck in the main lodge with the rest of camp followed by time in the wood burning stove hot tub and a couple of card games that had us laughing and passing the evening pretty quickly. Sunday morning came all to soon and the shuttle back down to the car at 10:30am didn’t allow much time for any outtings, so we decided to walk part way down the hill for some fresh air before heading in the cars back to Seattle, and me jumping on a plane on down to Bend.

Thanksgiving

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 21:40:14 -0800

If I don’t start writing the new year is going to be here and I will be really behind! There are a couple of reasons that I haven’t kept up on the blog, one because I’ve been keeping super busy and two I just haven’t been in the right headspace. It seems it is my time to do a bit of soul searching (thank goodness for the soles that help me do that) and working through a period of life that has honestly been a bit challenging. I am extremely thankful for all of my family and close friends that have listened, encouraged and kept me going. I’m thankful for my ability to run and for all of the new activities and experiences that have come into my life. I hope to write a post at some point that talks about what I am calling post-race-syndrome (mixed in with life challenges), but for now I am just thankful to be in a more comfortable, aware and present space.

For Thanksgiving my parents and I were supposed to fly to Denver to be with my sister and brother-in-law, but my brother-in-law came down with H1N1 and we opted out. I was a bit bummed as it has been a couple of years since I’ve been with my whole family for the Turkey day holiday (opting to be at races instead), but we will have to make it happen sometime. Instead I headed north and invited Walter (my family loves holiday orphans) to join us for the quickly put together Thanksgiving meal. We also got out for a run on Blanchard Mountain with Daniel Probst (great tour guide) and enjoyed the Christmas flavor in Fairhaven.

My rule right for the last couple of weeks has been that I only run when I can run with someone, otherwise I take the day off. Well, I’ve managed to find someone to run with most days, so my downtime hasn’t been as much of a physical break, but it is definitely a different approach to my daily routine and I’m really enjoying it.

A week in Moab

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 20:30:49 -0800

I was in Moab, UT November 17-22 with a bunch of really fun, friendly folks from the Patagonia Family. We got to talk product and explore some beautiful climbing places in Moab.

The rest of the story:
The week kicked off Tuesday evening with dinner and gathering everyone together to get the lay of the land and an understanding of what the next few days would look like. All of these photos show climbing and outside adventures, but the focus part of this week was to interact with the designers to talk product, dream big and come up with design ideas for future products. To ensure that these ideas are put to good use we were able to get out and put the current products to the test with climbing at Wall Street, a few short runs on the local trails as well as a pick your adventure day on Friday.

Being in Moab surrounded by amazing climbers in one of their ideal playgrounds I enjoyed watching and taking part in tying in to the wall. Fortunately I have been utilizing the membership I have at Seattle’s Vertical World and felt a tiny bit more comfortable than might otherwise. Everyone was super supportive and encouraging and I found myself making it up and over situations that might otherwise have had me asking to be lowered.

On Friday (the pick your own adventure day) Ben and I teamed up to climb Ancient Art. Admittedly I was both excited and nervous to climb my first multi-pitch route. Much like I find myself saying to others when I get excited about some trying something new- “you can totally run a _____, (fill in the ultra distance someone is inquiring about)” whoever I mentioned my nervousness to gave me that similar positive, go-for-it attitude.

After a slow start we made our way out to the Fisher Towers and made the short hike in and picked out our summit during the approach. Describing what the Ancient Art summit looks like is hard to write and much easier to explain when you are able to make the shape of the squiggly tower with your hands and arms and then wrap your arms around an imaginary tree, fingers barely touching to show the size of the tippy top that you find yourself standing on to finally reach the summit.

Lithia Loop Marathon

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 19:31:23 -0800

A whole month ago (geez, time is flying!) Ellen and I made our way to Ashland, Oregon on a quick Seattle to Portland to Medford flight to hang out with the Rogue Valley Runners and run in the Lithia Loop Marathon. I ran the race last year and had a blast so convinced Ellen that she should join me. Devon was planning on being there too, so it was nearly a Grand Canyon Girls reunion.

We arrived Friday night, Carly was great to pick us up at the airport amidst all of the race preparations and the next morning came quickly and we soon found ourselves drinking coffee, eating breakfast and walking down the hill to the start. Ashland is really cool that way, everything is within walking distance.

I was excited to see Devon and meet her new sweetie, so kept an eye out for that tall blond and basically tackled her when I caught her running to the bathroom. There were a bunch of familiar faces hanging around the start line; it was one of those days (okay, it has been one of those falls (as in the season)) where I really need to be around friends and gather hugs.

Ian and Hal sent us off with some choice words that got a laugh out of the crowd and we started up the road and the long climb. Devon, Ellen and I stayed pretty close together and within a few hundred yards on the long climb out of the start. Just after the first aid staion Ellen came barreling up beside me and was flying. In one word she explained it all, “music!” I sucked it up and stuck with her and she drug me up to Devon. Not too long after Ellen dropped back a bit and Devon and I kept plugging away. After a few minutes of chatting she started pulling away and I didn’t have the legs to keep up.

The course has a steady 8ish mile climb at the start up to a 13 mile traverse along a forest service road and finishes up with a fun, fast trail decent back to town. Music definitely helped and it was fun to see how fast I could get the legs to turn over. Speed work, admittedly, is not my favorite and easily disappears from any kind of weekly workout routine.

The run went by pretty fast and I was happy to put up my fastest (I’ve run 3 now) marathon time and even land in the money with the girls. Ellen had the best apple puke story afterwards that I think I made her tell 30 times that weekend and we all got to collect purple envelopes at the awards ceremony.

That night we got to help Hal’s Mom celebrate her birthday and Sunday we met up with Chris and watched the Sounders lose their last playoff game in one of the downtown bars before catching an afternoon direct flight back to Seattle. A great quick weekend away in Ashland, and a race to put on your calendar for next year.

More Birthday Miles

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 13:36:31 -0800

Well, I’m another year older which only means that I got to run one more mile in celebration of it! On Saturday Monica, James, Fitz, Chad and I made the drive out Hwy 20 to Ross Dam to enjoy the Doug McKeever recommended Big Beaver Creek Trail. Our dark 7am departure from Seattle and meeting spot in Burlington with Monica put us on the trail at just before 11am. We joked about our alpine start as we headed down the steep 0.8 mile trail to Ross Dam. The route was really straight forward, cross the dam and run 6 miles to Big Beaver Creek Trail, then up that trail as far as we wanted (ideally 16 miles) and then head back the same way.

I scored a Hero Helmet camera enduring the Uphill Challenge at Summer Outdoor Retailer that came complete with a head strap, chest strap, car,

Girls in the Grand Canyon

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:58:42 -0700

Monica, Devon, Ellen and I all met in the Flagstaff airport on the morning of October 16 and made our way out to the beautiful Grand Canyon. We made time for lunch in Flag at the Pita Jungle and hit the great grocery store in right there before making the drive.

This trip started as a birthday celebration for yours truly and evolved into a great girls weekend that allowed us to share something we all love - the ability to run and see a lot in one push. We filled up on the “Go girls!” comments we received up and down the canyon. We took breaks, took our time, took care of each other and were continually blown away by the terrain we got to cover and the views we were rewarded with that day.

We started the morning fueled on caffeine, granola and yogurt and were giddy as we boarded the shuttle and rushed to make the transfer to the full bus of smiling and laughing faces at these four colorful girls half dancing, half sprinting from one bus to the other. We moved along the trail well, made good time when running and enjoyed longer pauses when photos and eating took priority. We took a ton of photos and I tried to document much of the day with video (hoping to piece something together soon!). Dropping off from the South Kaibab trail is definitely the most dramatic and energy filled part of the day. Our paces stayed close and we switched leaders all the way down and soon found ourselves stopped dead in our tracks as two impressive rams blocked the trail just a few hundred yards before crossing thru the tunnel and across the Colorado River over the black bridge. We talked kindly to them and waited for our turn to use that section of trail.

Through the tunnel and across the bridge and along the river into Phantom Ranch looking back we noticed two of our type quickly approaching. While filling bladders and bottles at the Phantom Ranch spigot Don & Eric from Bozeman arrived and we all chatted before moving on and up the North Rim trail.

I ran this same route 4 years ago for my 28th Birthday and was surprised at how much of the lower North Kaibab trail I’d forgotten. There is a meandering stretch, likely 5 miles in length that is incredibly runnable and in the semi-cool of the mid-morning we worked together with Devon leading the charge to cover those miles pretty quickly. I kept waiting for the trail to go up and after two hours or so we starting doing just that, hiking ensued as the heat picked up. We ran across numerous hikers and a few more fellow runners coming from the north rim and continued plugging along staying relatively close together.

We noticed a green White River 50 shirt running towards us and in a few quick Q&A’s exchanged that we were from Seattle, he hailed from Seattle but now lived in San Diego and was running solo. Just as he skirted off I asked about water on the north rim and was shocked and a little worried to find out it had already been shut off. I’d always heard and the girls even read that November 1 was the shut off date. Even though we tried to convince him that water was still supposed to be on, reality was he had just been there and confirmed that it wasn’t. But not two seconds later a hiker was standing next to me with his backpack turned sideways offering me his nalgene. I was stunned by the timing of it all and extremely thankful for this generosity on the trail. The two guys offered us what they could spare. In the time that it took for the water exchange we learned these two trail angels had recently returned from Iraq and were on a motorcycle excursion with a mission to raise money for injured war veterans. We thanked them for their service and their kindness, exchanged blog links and photos and each continued on - us up to the North Rim and them down into the canyon. The final trudge up is definitely steeper, hiking terrain and again we took turns pulling the group up the hill. I happened to be in front when we rounded the corner to see the trail head signs and let out a little hoot to let the girls know we were at our half way point.

The Bozeman guys were there resting under the sign ignoring the swarming flies. Again thankful for the kindness of other hikers we were able to gather up enough water to get us back down the trail to Cottonwood springs for another full fill up. The north rim was entertaining with Ellen’s mime-like sunscreen, Devon’s PB&J dance video and my mouth not being able to keep up with my mind causing me to speak in incomplete -mumbling sentences that had me laughing at myself. Let’s just say that day we created entertainment for ourselves and whoever else happened to witness.

We headed back down the big hill recharged in the fact that we had water and wouldn’t have to suffer in the heat and enjoyed the views much more than we had on the four hour trek up. We cruised down, our paces changing a bit as the miles added up and the long 14 mile descent panned out ahead. We took breaks to regroup, took advantage of every water stop to refill and rinse off and got creative with video and picture taking. We dunked our shirts in the creek to cool off and were excited to make it into Phantom Ranch for the much anticipated Lemmy’s (lemonade) and Snickers.

Lots of photos and a some fun conversations with other hikers made for a nice long break in Phantom Ranch. One hiker called us a machine - which I loved, not machines, but one machine working together.

The views along the river were beautiful, but our tired bodies weren’t snapping as many photos. As the climbing started again we found that our paces were splitting us up. We broke into pairs, Devon and I with the mission to run back and get treats and the car. We figured the mileage all wrong in our sleepy state and the switchbacks crawled us up the canyon wall. We watched the dirt beneath our feet change color and when we made the final transition from dusty red to grey we knew the south rim was near. The evening light was brilliant and we paused for a photo looking back over the canyon, but then ran on trying to avoid pulling out our headlamps. With just a few turns to go Devon spotted the lit up Bright Angel gift shop and we made ourselves run to the finish singing. We received all of the “you are crazy” comments from various hikers in that final push, all the while we thought they were crazy for being out there at dusk, some heading down into the canyon without light or much more than the Keds on their feet.

At the top we still ran on (after one more quick photo) to the Yavapai Lodge to retrieve the car, coats and recovery treats. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs as we packed a large bag and headed back to the pre-determined meeting spot at El Tovar. I ran in to the restaurant to tell the hostess that we would likely be a little late for our reservation feeling extremely dirty in this somewhat fancy establishment and when I returned the girls were there and we celebrated with laughs, hugs and treats.

Dinner was delicious, dessert even better, but the best part was spending three great days relaxing, running and chatting with three great friends. Looking forward to another adventure soon! Thanks for kicking off my birthday celebrations girls with such a special weekend. :)

UTMB gear - check! Also check out some beautiful course photos...

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 14:05:06 -0700

Head to Toe Clothing:
First Endurance Headsweats Visor: this has been my favorite visor for a couple of years now. Headsweats has it dialed in terms of fit and I’m a big fan of the First Endurance products, so it’s been great.
Jewelry: stick figure runner in one ear and little foot in the other. beaded necklace made for me by a friend’s daughter three years ago. I have had a lot of luck wearing that necklace. It’s good to stick with what works.
Patagonia Capilene 1 Tank (only available in spring)
Patagonia Active Mesh Bra
Patagonia Multi-Use Skirt (spring 2010 version, available March)
Patagonia LW Endurance Ankle Socks
Blistershield in my socks
New Skin painted on my feet
Vasque Mindbenders (spring 2010, available February)
This is a similar kit that I wore at Western States and found that everything worked well for me. Not any chaffing to speak of and only one small blister on my second toe. I can’t complain, in fact I’m psyched with everything.

In my pack:
The Pack - Nathan Zone 2.0, this is actually a bike pack and was a little heavy, but I needed extra space for the mandatory gear and I liked the way this one fit.
Patagonia Houdini (currently not available) good alternate is the Nine Trails! Both of these jackets have been life savers and once again the Houdini got me through the chilly morning climb up to the highest peak into the fog.
Patagonia Capilene 3 Capris (no longer available, sorry) Hopefully these will make a comeback as they are great. The alpine ambassadors made fun of me for wearing these as an outer-layer as they view them as underwear :)
Patagonia Lightweight Alpine Beanie I didn’t need to pull this out fortunately, but was part of the required gear.
Patagonia LW Glove Liners - same as the beanie. Probably should have pulled them out on the long descent off the highest peak, but didn’t.
Gipron Trekking poles I started with these collapsed in my pack, pulled them out at about 35km and used them till the finish. (I think this is the right link, can’t seem to find the exact ones online. They are telescoping/collapsable poles, super lightweight and fit in my pack)
Black Diamond “special” Icon - Roch took the battery pack off of the head strap, extended the cord and added a plug in so battery weight is in my pack rather than on my head. If you are interested in one of these special lamps let me know! I can put you in touch with Roch.
Black Diamond Gizmo - back up light came in handy!
Black Diamond Ion - had to have two back ups and this little thing weighs nothing.
Additional required gear: safety blanket, ace bandage, whistle, passport copy

Nutrition: (carried in my pack and picked up resupplies from my crew)
First Endurance Ultragen - Karl Meltzer introduced me to Ultragen and First Endurance products before my first 100 mile race in 2004 and I have sworn by them since. Ultragen is a recovery drink that I drink regularly after long runs, but have also found that it is great during 100’s for extra calories. It is a lot to digest, so I recommend testing out using it during a long run before using in a race.
First Endurance Optygen - this is a supplement that I take in heavy training periods and leading up to big races. The adaptogens help the body better utilize oxygen which helps the body adapt to higher levels of physical stress. I do think this supplement has been super helpful in training, recovering and race performance. After the season is over I tend to take a break for a couple of months.
Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes - I take one every hour or more frequently if it is on the warm side. I like that these have an assortment of trace minerals and not just a heavy dose of sodium. Seems to work for me.
Clif Bloks - you would think that you could get sick of something that you eat in training day in and day out, but there is something about these bloks that keeps me coming back. Likely because I mix in the other items on this list, but I do like these chewy squares.
Clif Shot - gels in general are not always my favorite, to be honest I like to eat/chew my food. But Clif Shot seems to work the best for me and definitely do the trick when quick calories are needed. And the Double Espresso - those definitely help with the nighttime sections.
Luna Moons - a variation on the bloks, less calories per pack but they offer some different flavors and a different shape.
Variety of Bars: First Endurance EFS Bars, Clif, PROBARS. Not knowing if I was going to be able to eat what the aid stations had to offer and knowing that over the course of 100 miles I likely wouldn’t want to eat the same type of bar the whole way I hit REI and bought quite an assortment of bars to keep me going. Unlike some guys that can run these things on gels I need and seem to be able to process the denser calories.

Later in the race (about mile 70) I started adding in pasta and sandwiches from the aid stations. Sandwiches mainly being hunks of bread with slabs of cheese and salami (I NEVER eat salami, but when in France...) My crew girls found me a convenience store tomato and cheese sandwich as well as some avocado (hard to find in France on a Saturday morning) - these girls are awesome!

Takes a lot to run one of these things, but the experience shared with good friends makes all the planning and preparation worth it.