Cloudy Week

Cloudy Weak Week

Even though Matt and I are running a 50K trail race in a couple of weeks, this is technically our off-season. We like to pile on the miles, running speed workouts when we feel like it and in a pretty loose setup, more akin to fartlek than intervals.

The last two weeks have been low energy for us. Matt had a pretty tough flu and passed it to me. We both endured four days of 101F fevers and I’m still feeling a little rundown. The congestion and coughing have continued long enough that I found myself doing internet searches comparing symptoms of the flu to pneumonia. Blogging seems to be impossible. Every time I sit down to write, I realize that my thoughts are still lodged up there with the phlegm and I find my brain in an overwhelming fog. Whatever thoughts are up there don’t want to be released just yet. One would think they’d emit a tiny bit with each blow into the tissue, but that seems to be the thing my sinuses guard the most.

 Matt and I take anniversary photos each year.  One day, it will be a lot of fun to look back on the locations 

and fun outfits/hairstyles from each one.  This is the garden with all of our veggies, Matt's idea.  He's so proud of this little garden.

I felt pretty good this morning and although I am still blowing my nose a lot, I tried out some speed on my run today. Matt and I did six sprints (probably around 200m) over the course of a four mile run. I felt well for most of the run except for the recoveries after the sprints. I coughed, sniffled, and almost felt like I was drowning. It seems like I’m not quite as recovered as I thought. I’m going to continue with my scheduled miles but pull the high intensity from them. Slow and easy, to break up the congestion, not make it worse. I’m finally able to hear out of my right ear again, so progress is being made.

Matt and I had a few visitors with us this week, so we were constantly on the move, which only served to delay my progress, but as always, it was worth it. I’ll write more about that later.

I’m running a 5K race on July 4 and was hoping for a PR performance, but we’ll see how I’m feeling then. No promises.

When Things Don't Go as Planned

This might as well be the theme for this year’s running, and it sure was the theme for this week. Originally, Matt and I had planned to have one more mileage push before we taper to SOB race day. But on Sunday, Matt came down with the flu. And this one was a doozie, complete with a four-day 101F fever in addition to all the wonderful normal symptoms. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he shared with me and by Tuesday, I was holed up on the couch right alongside him.

 This is what my house looked like this week. 

We decided that shorter, more frequent runs would be easiest on us, so we divided our mileage and ran on days we didn’t have a fever. For us, that was Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. After that I lay motionless on the couch watching Gilmore Girls on DVD and occasionally moaning and perpetually blowing my nose. We cut a few runs completely in hopes that we’d recover faster and not have to trim down our long run, the last one before SOB, at 27 miles with 5,500 ft. of climbing. Matt and I planned to run with more people than we had ever before: Tanya, Cindy, and Danny, so that made five. I couldn’t reschedule that many people for my illness. Friday night, my fever broke and I was left with congestion. Still feeling a million times better, I was not 100%. I was still blowing my nose all the time, weak, and a little bit nauseous. Every illness is different, and sometimes I feel a lot better after a run. My sinuses are clear and free and, wow, it is amazing (as the runs on Mon and Tues were), but holy crap, not today’s run.

We set out up Look Prairie Trail and it was immediately a struggle. The trail climbs about 2,500 ft. in the first three miles with no reprieve. Not exactly the best way to ease back into the miles, but we walked nearly all of it and I was still struggling. Instead of the effort draining my clogged sinuses and ears, the pressure continued to build into a throbbing and dizzying headache. My muscles also ached enough that I questioned whether my fever had returned. I really didn’t enjoy much of the scenery through this first portion.

Matt stopped to walk with me as much as I needed as the others pulled away. There was no doubt in my mind that we needed to change something up for me or I just wouldn’t make it. Suffering when my body is trying to recover is just plain dumb, but I never regret giving it a shot since I feel like I’m pretty honest with myself on when to give up and when to keep going. And I definitely needed to bail on something.

 Pretending to feel good for the camera. 

We considered how he was feeling and I decided that the best way to continue was to ride home with the girls (only going 13 miles for the day) and have Matt continue on with Danny, who was visibly impatient with our snail’s pace.

I gave Matt a quick kiss and told him I’d see him at home, and then I set off with the girls down a beautiful single-track that twists and turns, almost entirely downhill to the car. Trying to be encouraging, Cindy said, “That must have been a tough decision, Sorry.” But really, when completely honest with how I was feeling, it was obviously not hard at all.

 These next two flower photos are the Matt equivalent of bringing me a bouquet of them. 

With the sudden drop-off in effort, I perked up a little bit. Both Cindy and Tanya are much older than me, with families, and hectic lives, it was fun to hear how the work being such dedicated runners into their schedules. My life is so easy and chill compared to theirs. They seem to really love everything about life though, and that is the common thread that tied us together that morning in the Redwood Park. I hope that this is just the first of many runs with them, and I hope I don’t feel so much like crap on the next one.

 The boys also came across a sow and cub on the trail, but they were too close to even think about pulling out the camera. Apparently fear trumps photos. 

The stats: 13.4 miles, 3:05, 13:48/mi, 2,610 ft. of elevation gain, and an unexpected smile on my face at the end.

 I’ve got enough of an endurance base to complete SOB50K without too much trouble, so I might just forget about the final long run (in the last six weeks, I’ve had two really long runs anyway) and begin the taper weeks as planned. We’ll see how I feel this weekend, I might just up the first taper long run by a few miles instead. Either way, it is not a big deal at all.

How do you adjust for illnesses during your training? Have you ever been sick during your peak training week? 

This actually happened to me last fall when I trained for the Two Cities Marathon. I just shortened my taper and did a 2.5 week one instead of three.

Five Years!

Five years ago today, I married my best friend. 

Then:




Now:



Matthew and Karen, making people gag with their cuteness since 2007.

Dow's Prairie 6.1M Race Report

Ever since Green Bay, I’ve had a heightened itch for racing, just to prove to myself that I am improving. The Dow’s Prairie 6.1M (not a typo, it really is just short of a 10K). I got my period on Friday morning, so I knew that cramps wouldn’t be an issue like they were at Bidwell. If I was smart about it, this race could be redemption for my entire spring season of flubs and bad luck.

 Dow’s Prairie is the club’s hilliest road race, touting some 300 feet of climbing, most of which came in two hills. I set a goal of an 8:00/mi average. The sun was just about to burn off the morning fog when we lined up for the start. Less than 100 people run this race, and I found myself standing alone mid-pack. Chris, one of our club’s amazing masters runners that I often use as a pace rabbit, lined up next to me. She looked at me and smiled.

 

I started off conservatively at Danny’s suggestion. He described the course and asked if I wanted to drive it beforehand. By the end, I was happy that I went in blind. The course might have scared me away from the goal I’d set the night before. Immediately, Chris and Tanya (my race doppelganger—she is consistently less than a minute behind me in EVERY RACE) took off. Less than a mile in, we began climbing. I slowed my pace to something I could keep running and began passing people. I passed several people dry heaving as I ran by them with a barely audible respiration. Ignoring my pace completely, I ran based on effort. It seemed to work, as I didn’t have to stop and walk a single time.

The first climb was .75 mi long and a gain of about 200 ft. and made my pace discouragingly slow. On each of the downhills, I was passed by all the people that I cruised by on the uphill. When we reached the second uphill, I passed them again. As Chris passed me on the second downhill, I said, “Hello again!” I was curious to see which of our racing strategies would be most effective on our finishing times as we clearly had different strengths in our racing styles.

Look how crazy my leg muscles are! OH MY!!

SRRC Photo Credit.

One woman, the lady in black and a single braid down her back looked young. She looked like my age group rival, Jenny. Jenny is the girl that consistently runs fifteen seconds per mile faster than me at EVERY. RACE. I stayed the same distance behind her for the remainder of the race, unable to catch her. When we reached a flat area and the downhill parts, I let myself sail as fast as I could comfortably control. It felt incredible. Moments like this are exactly why I love running. Amidst all the pain and fatigue pops a truly beautiful moment when the Running Gods are on my side and it feels effortless. It was a slight uphill and headwind to the finish but I managed to keep myself together and end with negative splits throughout the whole race.

This helped me affirm the decision I made recently for the remainder of the year. I have some work to do, but I’d love to get faster at several different distances. More on this in a later post.

Official time:
 6.1 miles, 47:49, 7:50/mi
  First place in my age group!! It turns out that girl wasn’t my rival at all!!!

If you compare this to my January 10K pace, it is 20 seconds per mile faster. How fun.
For the first time, I beat Chris!

Love

“Nobody is going to want you”, my beautiful friends said to me, “You’re too big and bulky, sleek and lightweight is in now. No matter how wonderful your voluptuous exterior was considered years ago, now your look is all washed up.” All lined up beside me, their thoughts echoed throughout the room when a woman walked in.

She glanced around the room at me and my friends, marveling at my thinner friends that mocked me just moments ago. Maybe they were right, I thought, maybe nobody does want me. Then she turned away. I choked back tears as I saw the brown ponytail lady disappear. I watched other people pass through the room through my curtain of tears.

The brown haired girl returned, this time with a friend. She again glanced at my friends first, wrinkling her forehead as she thought. I scanned her face. She appeared to be young, but age lines had already appeared in the best place first: the lines one gets from smiling a lot. Her dark eyes shifted around the room before they locked on me.

 She and her friend sized me up, “What do you think?” she asked him, “Right for me?” He took me in, scanning up and down my body, and examining my sturdy exterior and rugged look. “Perfect. Looks like everything you would want in an adventure buddy: versatility to handle urban and rural adventures; comfort for when times get rough; and just a little bit of flare to complement your personality.”

She gently embraced me as we left the room together. I didn’t look back as my friends murmured to each other. She picked me. I found someone to love me and spend time with me. I am so fortunate to find someone that loves me.

We just celebrated our 100 mile anniversary together! I am so happy and look forward to many more miles with my wonderful Karen!

Love,
Her Brooks Cascadias

Mountain and Ridge Trail 12 miler

Due to family obligations, Matt and I decided that our best opportunity for our final run in the U.P. was to put it the day after we returned from Marquette. Here’s what it looked like:

June 1: 5 miles on the road in Green Bay.
June 2: 15 miles on the trail in Green Bay. 
June 4: 11 miles on Marquette trails. 
June 5: 23.5 miles on the North Country Trail in Marquette.
June 6: 5 road miles in Marquette. 

June 7, the 12 trail miles (and my final completion of the entire F. Lake trail system on this trip) was understandably difficult. For the first time ever, I was breaking the 70 mile week threshold.

Matt and I climbed up the F. Mountain trail on the north end of the park. I have only been on this trail once before, in 2003, with my friend Sam. We decided to do an entire day of cross country skiing. Up F. Mountain we went. We broke trail for a many miles and had a blast. Neither of us cross country skiers, we wondered what the purpose of all the switchbacks were. The snow was so deep that we could ski straight up without the need for them. With naked birch trees surrounding us, we could also see the faint color of my parents’ house down the hill barely contrasting with the snow and white bark trees. F. Mountain used to feel so big, now I was surprised it was over so quickly.

Spring came early in this area and when we looked down the hill, we saw only a sea of green leaves poking through the white birch pillars. This run was primarily about distracting ourselves to keep going. Luckily, I never ran out of stories to tell Matt about my favorite place in Upper Michigan.

We ran by both Big F. and Little F. Lakes and up the South Ridge Trail. I ran cross country for about two weeks in high school before quitting the team with a gnarly case of shin splints. (Apparently running all your athletes, beginners and state champions alike, with the same mileage is a bad idea. Who knew?) I ran in two meets, one here on the South Ridge Trail and one in Munising. I remembered this meet like it was yesterday. When Matt and I turned the corner to the steeper uphill point, I needed a walk break. Did you know this was the first spot I had to walk in that cross country race too? But that day I was just ½ mile into the race, today I had climbed F. Mountain and was almost seven miles into my run. I love when life hands you unexpected symmetrical moments like that.

Matt and I stopped a few places for snacks and to check each other for ticks. When we popped out at my parents’ road at the end of our twelve mile run, we stripped out of our clothes from the knees down.
Since I was running through some grassy areas ahead of Matt, I ended up with the lion’s share of ticks.

My total tick count: 23!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matt’s ticks: 10.
12 miles, 2:06, 10:30/mi.

 I wish all these runs felt like this fawn's did, prancing through my parents' yard.

So what did I think about running a new week mileage PR? It was HARD. I guess the most interesting thing was that even if I started out feeling horrible, at some point in the run, it changed. At least a portion of each run felt amazing. And my bad days seemed to alternate with the stellar days. That is really cool. I definitely succeeded at the “run myself silly” part of the travel itinerary.

Two Things on Thursday

One month until SOB 50K....

Did I mention that most of my runs are at an elevation of less than 100 ft.?  


An ultra at elevation, what the heck was I thinking?!?  How do I prepare for something like this!?



Anybody else have moments of panic like this one?   
 -----

Second thing:

As most of you have noticed, I keep a Feedjit tracker on the side of this blog.  It is fun to see where traffic comes from, from both internet sites and around the globe.  Once a month or so, when I feel like I'm just talking to myself, I'll look at the feed to see that, "oh yeah, maybe somebody is actually reading after all".  

Today I stumbled upon a website I hadn't heard of before.  Several visits came from this site, which appears to be a runner forum.  I read through the page until I found someone referencing my blog.

Whomever you are, Thank you!  I'm glad you enjoy my blog enough to recommend it to others!  That is very sweet of you! However, we ran a 50K race, not a 50 miler....and I have to say the comment about my speed and Hubby's hurt a little.  You say he's pretty fast and then use the word I cringe at "BUT", implying that I'm not.  Actually, when you compare us without his gender advantage, we place pretty much the same within our age groups. thank. you. very. much.

I read some of the other recommendations and noticed something, including in the information about my own blog:  Most posts included information about how fast the person can run.  

That got me to thinking about how I choose which blogs I enjoy the most, and it rarely has anything to do with speed.  If I'm completely honest with you, I sometimes do follow faster people just because they are fast.  I look at them as the runner I hope to become.  


So here's a list of a few things that I look for in a blog:

1. The writer has a firm grasp on the English language.  Occasional typos are okay, but if you're perpetually writing run-on sentences and using poor grammar, I can't handle it.


2.  I believe that you should let your own awesomeness show through your actions.  Nobody likes when a blogger constantly reminds us how awesome they are on a daily basis.  No giant egos, please.


3. Original content. This is especially important on my Tumblr version.  If you just re-post things from others and don't really let us know who you are, how can we be interested?  This also goes for people that regurgitate training advice that can be found elsewhere on the web.

4. Someone that is real.  I enjoy celebrating your triumphs when you kick ass and will be there to encourage you when you fail.  A good blogger will share both the happy and struggled moments of their running life.

5.  I'm a sucker for good pictures.  If you have photos to go with your posts, I will love you forever. 


 So how do you choose which blogs to follow?  Do you choose bloggers that are of a certain speed?

I've heard of people reading only about bloggers slower than them so they feel better than them all, and I've heard the opposite too, so they have something to aspire to.  I really love following a bit of both, and it is usually more about the personality of the writer, not how fast they can cross a finish line.

Marquette Exploring

One of the biggest reasons I love running is the opportunity to explore the world closely and at my own pace. When I get the chance to run in a new town, I always take advantage, after all: who knows when or if I’ll ever return?

The final day in Marquette required a pretty relaxed run. Straight from our front door, we jumped on a paved bike path. This portion of the path is a new rail-trail recreation path that extends well into Chocolay Township, and feeds into Marquette’s extensive bike path system. In all, there must be over 50 miles. Matt and I ran along the shore of Marquette Bay until we reached the Lower Harbor Park and the ore docks. Although I ran nearly 55 miles in the last five days, I wrestled with myself. No, you idiot, we can’t go longer than planned. We need to rest. Don’t you remember what that is? My inner five year old, begged, pleaded and then threw a tantrum as Matt and I turned around.

We returned quickly after a shower and gathering Emily, to the place that our run had ended. I shouldn’t run more, but walking, that should be allowed.  Hehe, I WIN, I WIN!!!,  my inner child exclaimed.  We explored the downtown area and had the hardest time finding a coffee shop. I hope we were looking in the wrong area, because it is disturbing to think that the people here survive winter without much coffee. I think I’d die without it during snowy winters.

Lunch was a leftovers picnic at Presque Isle Park, near the northern, and still operational, ore docks. Now they are mostly used to unload the coal that fires the local power plants. Emily easily adapted to our low-key travel style. I was surprised, because sometimes she can be a bit of a handful, but one trait we share is our thriftiness, so I think that is what swayed her into picnics and walking a bunch.

That night we had a dress-up dinner out with my parents back in their town. I forgot how much I like to dress up. Here is a photo of us ladies after dinner in the backyard. Don’t you wish this was your backyard, too?

Marquette North Country Trail 23.5 miler

Some runs are just one foot in front of the other and nothing to get too excited about. Other runs are an ADVENTURE. My long run in Marquette was the latter.

 Matt and I jumped on the North Country Trail near Tourist Park. Andrew told us to follow the blue markers and we saw them immediately and began the hunt. My legs were feeling stiff from the previous day’s run and after the first couple of miles I had tripped a few times, nearly bringing myself to the ground in a dignified face-plant. After every corner, we searched for a new blue marker.

 It was like a run and treasure hunt all in one. The Marquette portion of the trail meanders through several cross country ski areas. Our single trail was easy to follow until we hit one of three webs of ski trails.

Then we got lost. When we realized we hadn’t seen a blue marker in a few minutes, we stopped. Out came the map. I’m pretty good at retracing my steps, but I was almost happy that we were lost. That meant we could turn around and go home, right?

 If I am totally honest with you, I was feeling crappy enough that I really wanted to just go back to sleep. We checked a few trail maps posted at intersections and eventually found our way back to the NCT. 1.5 extra miles and 45 minutes later, we were back on the path.

 A root and rock covered path made a lot of the trip slow-going. From miles 5-8, I was not a joy to be around. We climbed atop two rocky outcroppings that required an approach more like crawling on all fours than actually running. Andrew wasn’t kidding when he described this route as “a little hairy”.

 As we approached the lake shore, we felt the temperature drop and the wind kick up. Being that it was about 80F already, it was a welcome change. We ran atop coastal bluffs and down to the beach.

 We came up to a deserted beach and I said to Matt, “You know, I’m fine if we just hang on this beach for the rest of the day.” Our home in California rarely gets warm enough that sitting out in shorts is comfortable. I just wanted to enjoy it. Matt suggested skinny dipping, which I would have gladly done were it not nine miles back on cold/stiff legs afterward. We marveled at the small sandstone cliffs and I described to him the Pictured Rocks ones that were one hundred times more incredible than these.

 We reached Little Presque Isle Point and my mood had improved. Until about then, I was super crabby. I don’t know what it was, but I was not enjoying myself much. The terrain leveled out and we ran through a forest of Red Pine trees framing the view to Lake Superior.

 We continued on another mile before finally turning around. Just after we had done so, I heard a rustling from behind me. Matt skidded and fell to the ground. He sent my camera sailing through the air and landed hard on both knees. Scrapes and a pretty big bruise on his thighs, we decided to walk just a little bit.

 What is a good blogger to do when her buddy gets hurt other than document the occasion?

The return trip was much faster and I couldn’t believe how much better I felt. It sometimes takes me a long time to get into a run. Remember that horrible run I had in January? This one rivaled it, no doubt.

 Our new running buddy, Mr. Porcupine.

So if you’re ever thinking of running the Marquette Trail 50M or 50K, know that you’re in for a bit of walking and maybe getting lost if markers fall down. What a day.

We ended the night with Pizza Hut and some Jilbert’s Ice Cream with Jilly the Cow.

Have you ever gotten lost on a run? How did you negotiate your way back?