Cheyenne Mountain 50K 2014

Last Saturday, I was able to take a run in the park, Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Thanks to my mom's coming to stay with us for a week, my husband and I were both able to run the 50K race. I'd run the same race two years ago. That outing was my first and only attempt at the ulta distance. I'd run several other races on those trails and have a great appreciation for the difficulty of the course that I didn't have three years ago when I ran my first trail race (a half marathon) at the same park. So knowing the course and the difficulty of the trails involved, I was rather nervous about my ability to handle both the distance and the hills. Two years ago, when I finished the 50K, I'd had the opportunity to attend regular exercise classes that had significantly built my core muscle strength. This time around, I'd not been able to fit in those classes so felt much less strong and feared that the lack would show in my leg fatigue on the climbs and downhill sections of the race (that happens to be most of the course.) My husband and I arrived at the park and immediately found a friend who was also running the 50K. We applied sun screen, and deposited our drop bags then waited for the pre-race briefing. The day was warm at the start so though I tied my long-sleeved shirt around my waist, I never needed it. I had two goals going into the race, one was to control my pace early on enough that I wouldn't be suffering through the last half of the race. The second was just to completely enjoy the opportunity to run on trails in the mountains for a day. With those goals in mind, I followed my husband's advice for the first lap and attempted to keep my breathing under control. Any time that I started to gasp, I stopped to walk the uphills, or slowed the pace. The first loop of the race was run on the Cougar Shadow side of the park. I enjoyed the other runners and watching the 50K and 25K leaders sprint past me. It is a joy to watch well trained athletes compete! I even held a conversation with one man who had been running ultras for 39 years. He gave me some great advice before we got separated at an aid station. Because it was hot, I started taking a salt tab at each aid station. I also began pouring large amounts of water on my face and head. That and the occasional breeze kept me from overheating. I also opted to change from my cap to the visor at the drop bag at the end of the first loop. I had started eating a gel about every hour to 45 minutes. There were only a few moments in the race when I felt my energy lag, and I found that the gels were working so kept using those instead of the food. I did eat a PB and J at the first aid station. It seemed to go down fine. At the end of the fist loop, my time was one hour and thirty-three minutes. A touch faster than the last time I'd run this race, so I was a bit concerned, but I was feeling strong. I reapplied my body glide and started the second loop up toward North Talon. By this time, I was running mostly alone, but some 25K runners were still passing me so I wasn't completely alone. I tried to run all the uphill that I could comfortably. At the aid station on the way down, I drank some hot coke and took a salt tab. Something about the combination (I'd just taken a gel) didn't sit well on my stomach, but the queasiness eased, and I was able to push on. The loop took me two hours. I was very excited, but lagging just a bit as we came back to the start area where I once again stopped at my drop bag. I took time to reapply body glide and sun screen and also body glided my feet which felt hot after the downhill sections of North Talon. (The best part of the race is standing on top of North Talon and looking in all directions. I'm always tempted to stop and soak it in!) I started on the third loop which is a repeat of the first loop on the north side of the park. At this point I was all alone. I remembered from last time the mental struggle of running this loop alone after having so much to distract me the first time. God was very gracious to me. Early in the lap, I remembered my goal of having fun. I picked up the pace from the shuffle of the lonely, tired runner, and pushed into the pace of the joyful, playful runner enjoying a run in the mountains. I had such a good time, that even the occasional times of feeling overheated, didn't slow me too much. I prayed, I sang Irish songs that the children have been singing nonstop for the last two months, I laughed, and just enjoyed the day that God had made for me to practice the gift that He has given me to love running. After getting to the aid station, I pushed up the rest of the hill to the downhill and coasted in for a one hour and thirty-five minute third lap. It was just a few minutes slower than the first lap on that side. I was beginning to realize that I could possibly better my time from two years ago by a big margin. As I came through the aid station near the start and the drop bags, my husband who had started the race on a badly sprained ankle, came through the aid station having just finished his 25K. He decided to drop there rather than push on for more punishment on his painful ankle. We talked while I reapplied body glide to my foot then I was off to start the last loop and one more climb up North Talon. I was beginning to feel my quads especially on the downhill parts of the third loop, but my body was responding nicely. I'd had to take time to stretch my hamstrings early and often, but all was going okay to this point. I was also trading hands for the water bottle that I carried, in an attempt to take some stress off of my right side that had been tight from the beginning. I'd had pain in the right hip most of the race, but the stretching made it bearable. It was near the aid station on the way up, that I started to feel light headed. I drank extra water, took salt, and ate a gel. I was also getting small side aches in this section so think that I was having a difficult time breathing deeply on the downhills as my core was tired. If I concentrated on getting deep enough breaths, I felt better and kept the side aches at bay. I knew at this point that if I could run that loop in two hours, that I would beat my previous time by at least an hour and also beat the times that I'd thought were well beyond my ability to run. I concentrated on keeping the average time down with as much running as I could manage on the ups. I even noticed that when I did walk, that my body began running again on the easier sections without a mental decision to start running again. Everything was clicking. It was on one of these downhill sections that I thought to myself, that I'd rather just keep running the extra 20 miles to make it to 50 miles rather than have to do it another day in September. I felt that good, and my mental state was that positive. I was having a blast and was so thankful to God for the opportunity to run and enjoy His great creation. I made it to the top of the ridge once again. I'd been singing out loud this time so that the bears could hear me as I was mostly alone. On the third lap, I'd passed six runners. Usually, I run so fast at the beginning of races that many runners pass me at the end when I just can't run any faster. In my last lap, there was one runner who came up from behind and passed me. We played leap frog down the hill as I ran the down hills faster, but he caught me on the ups. He finally beat me by half a minute. At the top, I knew that there was only a 5k left. I started to push it, but pulled back so that I could run all the way home. I had 30 minutes to break the seven hour mark. My legs were starting to feel the fatigue and so I didn't push quite as hard as I maybe could have. At the aid station two miles out, I ate a gel, and filled my water bottle. I motored in with a way too fast sprint for the end of a 50K. My husband was there to greet m, and a kind young man took my chip. I stretched, and we headed home to the kids and Grandma. My final time was an hour and six minutes faster than last time. The final time was 7:04. I felt sore, but not unable to walk. Looking back, I might have been able to run it a bit faster, but I am super excited to have run a negative split for the course and to have been able mentally to enjoy the opportunity to run. If I can keep that mental approach in Steamboat in the fall, I will be thankful.

Like a Little Child

I've been reading a popular book about learning to give thanks. If fact, I finally finished it last night. I cried my way through most of it. I think because it seemed to lay open my mommy heart more than anything else. The main idea of the book did sink in some too. The idea that thankfulness opens me up to trust God and to let Him be God has been powerfully shown in my own experience. That being said, I don't often practice thankfulness in the middle of a school day filled with a six-year-old struggling to sound out words, a three-year-old not wanting to learn to use the toilet, a ten-year-old needing freedom to make his own choices even when those choices cause me extra work. I don't often practice thankfulness when the work of the day never fits in the day. I know that I should be thankful for the work that I have to do, for the family that I get to serve each day. Maybe that is why the prayers of my three-year-old have caught my attention. He just did turn three, but he has been praying this way almost from the beginning. His prayers often sound something like this,"Thank you for Daddy to be home safe. (When daddy is still days from getting home.) Thank you for Grandpa's knee to get better. (When Grandpa is still in physical therapy.) Thank you for my sister's head to get better. (When the stitches just got put in.)" His prayers ARE hope. There is probably truth to the idea that he doesn't really understand the difference in saying thank you and in asking for his needs, but no one else prays that way. He copies so many other things. Even if he doesn't know that his prayers are out of order, I wonder if they really are. Maybe he has it right? Maybe my prayers should look more like his. "Thank you, God, for the patience to listen to struggling reading, the kindness to help a little one learn to wear underwear, the joy to, without grudging, serve the ones that you have blessed to fill my life." Maybe, I should have faith like my son who knows only that he is loved and that his needs are met. Maybe, I need to rest in the unfailing love of the One who orchestrates each day for my good and His glory.

A Reason to Run

I've been blessed these last two weeks to have some special time to spend with my boys. We've been franticly trying to finish logging our miles for their running club this summer. (We have six more miles to run before Sunday.) I love the running and sharing my love for it with my boys. I enjoy the physicality of our runs. The boys are getting to the point that they are fast enough that running with them isn't easy. There are times that we walk up hills that I run when I am alone, and there are walk breaks sprinkled in, but there are also all out sprints to beat the "bear" to the next goal. The running with them is fun, but the real treasure of our running, has been the time that I've had to listen. They have so much to say that I miss in the business of our days. Yes, I am with them all of the time, but, time to really listen is short. I know that come Sunday, they are going to think that our early morning runs should be traded for an early start to our school day, but I hope to convince them that there is value in our mad dashes up the hill each morning. I'm not sure if I will resort to bribery or not, but the thought has crossed my mind. After all, these days are short. Soon I won't be able to keep up with them, and they will be running their own life's race.

A Most Amazing Man

Our family spent some time near Leadville, Colorado this last week. We played in the lake, hung out with friends, enjoyed some beautiful scenery, and ran. My boys and I ran down a jeep road that lead somewhere. They each wore a Garmin watch. I loved watching them respond to the instant feedback. Maybe more of that in school would help their performance? I also got to do some running. Not that many miles, but I did get to tackle the Leadville Trail 100 course as it takes off out of Twin Lakes. Making that mile long climb up to the single track on a rocky jeep road, made me reconsider the stats that we'd looked over the night before. The slowest women that completed the race this year averaged around 15 or 14 minute miles for the entire 100 miles. That means that my 18 minutes up that slope wouldn't have cut it, and I was hiking up in the daylight without having run 60 miles before and having crossed three mountain already. As I was carefully picking my way down the mountain, I thought of my husband's experiences on these trails. He had a disappointing day on Saturday with a rough patch over Sugar Loaf that cost him too much time to make up. Still he averaged 21 minute miles while running up a crazy mountain and feeling horrid all the while. He once told me that the year he made it to Twin before being cut it was crazy to be at the top of that descent and know that you had ten minutes to run that last downhill mile. I was coming down on fresh legs and still couldn't navigate that road in less than ten minutes. Every time that I get a chance to run the trails up at Leadville, I am even more amazed at all that my husband has accomplished as a part of his races there. I am so proud of the crazy man that I married. I wouldn't change the experiences that we've had at Leadville as they have only helped me to see how truly amazing he is.

The Best Kind of Speed Work

Most of my miles these last two weeks have been run with my boys as they are logging miles for running club. We run up and down the hill near our house. The last few days, I've noticed a trend. They run like kids. We alternate between frantic rushes of speed and plodding walking. Then there is the perpetual game of tag with the back runner taking on some terrible form such as that of a bear. It is the most fun speed work has been in a long, long time.

Core Work

It seems like there are endless ways to relate running and fitness to life. My husband and I found another one this week. Our fifteenth wedding anniversary was a few weeks ago, and this week we managed to get a few days away at Steamboat Springs to celebrate. We slept in, went to bed late, ate dinner at 10:30 p.m., and just spent time together uninterrupted. We talked about everything serious and funny. We spent time being together without talking, just holding hands and looking up at the mountains. But, for me, the best part of our time together was the running hikes that we took up Mt. Werner and Fish Creek. We covered about 8 miles the first day and 7 or so the second. I especially enjoyed the time on Fish Creek. When we left, my legs were feeling worn. On the way up, I was just keeping up. As we progressed up the mountain and saw the late day-sun shining gold on the waterfalls, my energy returned. I think it had much to do with the encouragement of the wonderful man that was sharing his memories of the trail with me. He'd run this section down during the Run, Rabbit, Run 100 mile race last September. We got up on top and saw some amazing views of the world that God has created for our enjoyment. Some places the trail was cut from the rock face of the mountain. Sometimes aspen whispered to us as we passed. The undergrowth brushed our arms, containing ripe raspberries, gooseberries, and several unknown varieties as well as a yellow, purple, white, and orange wild flowers. Most of the time, the sound of rushing water accompanied our conversation. We kept stopping to marvel at the beauty of another waterfall or pool. We even stopped to dip our toes in one pool on the way down. The big excitement came as we were nearing the last mile of the trail. We'd been running, but my socks were slipping. I stopped to fix them. Justin stopped to wait for me then shouted back, "There is a bear on the trail." I thought he was joking, but looked up to see a small grizzly bear looking at us. He wasn't far down the trail, but after looking at us, he wandered off the trail. We were thankful for that as the only way back to the car was where he had been. We kept up the noise and finished with a bit of running after getting well past him. During one of our downhill running sections, we had remarked how what we'd been doing in the days that we'd had together was a lot like core work. In running, we talk about strengthening our core to keep us from getting injured and to help make our running stronger. Taking time to be with my husband this week without the usual demands of our lives, strengthened our relationship much the way I want to strengthen my core for running. The time invested in our relationship will help when the struggles of life come. I will confess that the core work that we got to do this week was more enjoyable than other types of core work I've done, but I think that the rewards will be much the same.

Loving Egypt

Why did God punish Israel by having them wander the desert for forty years? He could have destroyed those who failed to believe Him in one fell swoop. He could have used a plague as He did at other times; had the ground open and swallow them all up; or send snakes into the camp. Why did He condemn them to wander? Wasn't He punishing everyone for the sins of just a portion of the people? What could have been His purpose? I think that there were probably many reasons, some that we won't know until heaven. Probably, He wanted to teach the people that sin has consequences, not just for ourselves. I think that there was also the practical part of not killing off the older generation and leaving just young people, think Lord of the Flies. The one idea that strikes closest to home for me today is this: What if God allowed the people to wander the wilderness for all those years to make them hungry? What if He wanted to change their appetites? If the people had gone from Egypt to Canaan , would they have appreciated the goodness of the land, or would their hearts have longed for the home that they had left? I would guess that after nearly forty years of eating manna, that the fruit of the land that God provided for them when they entered Canaan tasted pretty good. It makes me think that when hard things happen in my life, maybe God is trying to starve out my love for my "Egypt." Maybe He is longing for me to long for Him rather than the dainties that this world has to offer. Maybe He is trying to wean my appetites from the base to the exalted. A meditation on Joshua Chapter six.