Newman

Geez, where has the week gone?? Work has been keeping me really busy this week and the humidity has been kicking my ass. I've been getting up at 5am to get my runs in before it gets hot but it makes no difference because I can hardly breathe because of the humidity! I am so thankful we didn't have this weather 2 weeks ago for the Ultra. That would have sucked big time.

In my non running world, I have sad news about my kitty, Newman. Every time we move, which I've done a ton of over the last 6 years, he gets bladder infections. Well, this last move really stressed him out and he hasn't been right since. After 2 rounds of antibiotics, we had a urine sample done and they found red blood cells. So that prompted an ultrasound, which he had yesterday. Turns out he has a pretty good size stone rolling around his bladder. There's no way to get rid of it other than surgery and letting him live with it, really isn't an option to me. So we are dropping him off tomorrow morning. They will cut through his stomach and then make an incision in is bladder to remove the stone. He'll have to spend at least one night, depending on how his recovery is going. Needless to say I'm really upset. This little guy means so much to me. I can't imagine Friday night without him at home. Ugh...I can't even talk about it anymore. Tomorrow is going to suck.

Here are some pictures of my baby.

Yes, this is how he likes to sleep at night (please ignore the gross pic of me)

Back on Track

I've been a total slack ass with the eating since the Ultra but things are changing starting today. I figured it was a good time to get back on track as my training is starting up again. So, what's up next?? I'm taking on the Philadelphia marathon again this November. This will be my second marathon and I'm hoping to shave 11 minutes off my time of 3:51 last year and qualify for Boston. This training will be a lot harder for me than the Ultra training was as I don't have much confidence when it comes to speed. I think and feel really slow. When it comes to long runs, I know I have them in me. They don't scare me a bit and I really enjoy them. But to push myself and run fast, I just don't know what I'm capable of yet. But, I like my challenges so I'm excited to see what this training brings. I'll be running 6 days a week and hope to get back to some toning/lifting exercises starting this week. I haven't lifted since we moved in April and I feel like a flabby mess. We cleaned up the basement this weekend and made a nice little workout area for me. Complete with a tv, dvd player, vcr and radio. We're hoping to buy some weights and a bench but until then I'm going to try getting back into pilates and doing some exercises utilizing my own body weight. I'll also be tackling the 200 squat challenge if anyone wants to join me!

Here's my schedule for this week. Still recovering so there's nothing crazy and I'm not to go faster than any of the paces listed below. I'm looking forward to running every day!

Mon - 2 mi, 8:45
Tues - 4 mi, 9:00
Wed - 2 mi, 8:45
Thurs - 5 mi, 9:10
Fri - 2 mi, 8:45
Sat - 7 mi 9:20
Sun - OFF

What I Learned

While I was out for my recovery run today, I thought about some of the things I learned from running the Ultra. Seriously, after 50 miles, I better have gotten something out of it.

• It's a very different kind of race when the only competition is yourself. In a race like this, you're not racing against the person next to you or the ticking clock. It's just your will and determination against your tired mind and body. You need to dig deep and when your mind and body are telling you to stop, you push forward and keep moving. I learned that I'm a really strong person and I love a new challenge. I'd rather do something that is difficult than take the easy way out. Oh, and for the record, Will/Determination - 1, Tired Mind/Body - 0.
• I started this training with 3 strangers and finished with 3 new friendships. There's a strong bond formed between people when you train together and complete a race like this. Needless to say, we all have a lot in common and these are 3 of the strongest people I know. I learned that it's important to find people with similar goals who can understand and support you along the way to achieving something that no one else "gets".
• I have the greatest husband and friends a person could ask for. My crew gave up their entire day (over 12 hours) to see me every hour and a half for a few minutes as I passed through base camp. I really looked forward to seeing them each loop and even though I didn't get to hang out, it helped so much knowing they were there. While I already knew this, it reminded me that good friends are hard to come by and they make all the difference in life. It's so important to be a good friend in return.
• The 2 mile recovery jog isn't as easy as it sounds after running 50 miles. I've been walking this week but went for a little jog this morning. My legs were heavy and my IT a little sore. Signs that I pushed hard this past weekend. While it felt good to get back out there, I learned there's a recovery period for a reason and it's not to be taken lightly.

You know, I'm not a very deep person, there's really not that much to me. But I'm always looking to find out more about myself. And I did learn one really important thing this past weekend...I learned that not only can I do anything I set my mind to, but I will do it. I am not a quitter and I am more determined than I even thought I was.

Recovering and Pictures

WOW!! Thanks to everyone for their sweet comments!! I feel like a rock star!! Please feel free to leave comments like that every day!

Recovery is going really well. Much better than I thought, actually. When I got home from the race I took a monster ice bath (I'm not lying that I was on the verge of tears and shivering uncontrollably!) and then slipped into my sexy hot pink recovery socks. I stayed off my feet for most of Sunday but the walking around I did do, felt fine once I got past the initial pain in my feet. I didn't sleep well again on Sunday night, which really surprised me but thankfully I had yesterday off to lay around some more. The pain in my feet was still there yesterday but after my first few steps, I felt much better. I spent yesterday relaxing at the pool and shoving my face. I took recovery eating to a whole new level, I think. I did manage to get a 2.5 mile walk in yesterday, though. My legs were tired but it felt good to move around a little. I'm feeling pretty much back to normal today with the exception of being really tired. My body in general is just moving slowly. Nothing really hurts, I'm just slow and I feel a little stupid. I think it's lack of sleep since I didn't sleep well last night either. Hopefully tonight is better. So all in all, recovery has been great. I expected to be in a lot of pain but really, I'm feeling fine. It sure doesn't seem like I ran 51 miles on Saturday.

The rest of this week is all about recovery. I have walks scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and then some 2 mile jogs on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I'm going to be sure to take it easy since I need to switch gears and get ready for what's up next...

As promised, here are some pictures from race day.

Team Great Strides Lone Rangers

(Coach Jack, Puddlz, Sunny D and Snowflake)

Our Base Camp

Heading into base camp after loop 2

Caught!!


Being taken care of by Andy

A little Body Glide anyone...

Finishing loop 5

Crossing the finish line

DONE!

Me and my biggest supporter

ULTRA Race Report

Holy crap pretty much describes it. What a day!! I'm not very good at race reports but I'll try to recap the best I can. Oh, and the most important part...I DID IT!! I FREAKING DID IT. 51.2 MILES (according to Garmin)!!

I slept great Friday night and woke up feeling refreshed and calm on Saturday. We arrived at the race start around 7am. My fellow Lone Rangers arrived shortly thereafter and within minutes we scoped out our spot and started setting up our base camp. By the time we were done, we had about 2 hours to kill until the race kicked off. There was a pre race meeting at 9:15 and during that the nerves kicked in. By the time the meeting was over, I was bouncing off the walls and ready to get started!!

It was a different feeling lining up at the start line. Usually I'm fired up and ready to RACE. But this was different. I wasn't racing all these other runners, I was going out there to prove to myself I had the will and determination to run 50 miles. Knowing the heat was going to be a factor, we started off slow, using our 5:1 run walk intervals. There were a ton of other smart Lone Rangers out on the course also using a run walk strategy, it's definitely the way it has to be done if you want to complete this kind of mileage.

The first loop went fine, my legs were a little heavy but that's always the case with me when I start off. We used the first loop to scope out the aid stations and know what we had where. There was a ton of food on the course, by the way. Soft pretzels, Entemens cookies/muffins, trail mix, M&M's, boiled potatoes, bananas, sandwiches, popcorn, bagels, etc. There were also stations that had cold wet clothes, which were a life saver later in the day.

The second loop went much quicker than the first. I didn't eat much on the first loop because I just wasn't very hungry but by the second loop I was doing what I needed to do and was eating a little bit of something at each station. I played mind games with myself the whole day, counting down the loops, and told myself through this one that after the next one I would already be half way done!!

After each loop, coming into our base camp, we were in and out in a flash. There was no socializing or lolly gagging. My longest stop was after lap 3 when I did a shoe change. I'm not sure this was the best idea, but my feet were really hurting so I wanted to get some new support. When I started loop 4 with the new shoes, it hurt like hell!! My Saucony are definitely not good for my bunions. But anyway. I started loop 4 with my Pacer Dave and it was really nice to have a fresh face in our little pack of runners. I hit a couple rough spots during this loop and at times found myself thinking that 50 miles was out of the question. But these thoughts came and went so I kept pushing myself through.

I was feeling tired when we came into home base after loop 4. But I picked up a new Pacer, Bonnie for loop 5 and we set off. This loop is really where things hit me and I mentally went to shit. I was so tired, the heat had gotten to me, my stomach started feeling funny and I wanted to stop at medical, lay on one of the cots, curl up in a ball and call it a day. Around mile 38 I broke down and started crying. I had just had it and I was sooooo tired. But Bonnie was AMAZING and got me through this rough patch. By the end of this loop she even had me talking again, I had been pretty quiet for a while. I finished this loop crying and headed straight to the port o pottie where I had diarrhea. You didn't think I'd leave that out, did you??

Knowing I only had one loop left, I picked up my final Pacer, Pumpkin and a handful of oyster crackers to settle my stomach and the 3 of us (Bonnie still with us) set off. I was complaining A LOT when we started out. I got really nauseous on this loop and wasn't sure if I was going to puke or not. I honestly don't know if we stopped once or twice for me to have more diarrhea but st0ps were needed. I was so not in the mood for food at this point in the race but you have to force yourself to eat. I stuck with soft pretzels and ripped off the tiniest little pieces which took me forever to eat. I could barely get myself to swallow. When we reached the half way part of the loop, my spirits really lifted. It was then that I realized I was really going to finish this. I fought back tears on and off during this loop but kept chugging along. The best was when Bonnie called Andy at base camp to tell him I was only a mile away!! I gave up taking walk breaks with about a mile and half left I was so anxious to finish. When we turned the corner and I saw the cars parked at Boathouse Row, I knew this was the final stretch. I couldn't believe I was finishing!! At that moment, nothing hurt, I felt great and every emotion I can imagine ran through me. I crossed the finish line in 10 hours 4 minutes bawling my eyes out. I met my goal of not only finishing, but finishing in 10 hours. I'm crying now as I type this. What an unbelievable feeling.

Over the course of 10 hours, I ran through heat, I pushed through two of the lowest feeling moments of my life, I felt like shit, but I ran smart and I finished. I took on the biggest challenge of my life and I finished. I ran 51 freaking miles...oh, and I'm paying the price for it today. ;-)

Talk about sore!!! I will NEVER say my legs are tired ever again after experiencing the exhaustion I felt last night. I didn't sleep last night, which really sucked but I got a little nap in this morning. Now I'm going to spend the day reliving the moment of crossing the finish line and then I'm going out for some celebratory nachos!!

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes, you guys are the best!! I have pictures but I figured this was long enough so I'll post them next. But one last thing before I go...NO. I will NOT be doing this again. I will dabble in the Ultras, but I'm keeping it at 50K. No more 50 miles.

After the finish line

Twas The Night Before The Ultra...

Wow, it's actually here. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and for having faith in me. Aside from prepping my food, I spent the majority of the day laying around. I woke up feeling really nervous but I'm doing much better now. I picked up my race packet and it was calming to see so many other Lone Rangers. As part of the packet pick up, I got weighed, had my blood pressure checked, my pulse taken and my temperature taken. They do this to establish a baseline for all the Lone Rangers. They will be checking the same stats tomorrow throughout the day to make sure we all stay healthy. The guy checking me out said they are looking to ensure you don't lose more than 3-4 pounds. He didn't seem positive so I'm hoping they give us a little more leeway than that. I lost 3 lbs on a 20 miler once.

So I'm home, fed (ate my pre run dinner of chicken and brown rice) and thinking of heading to bed soon. I'm getting up around 5am tomorrow to shower, eat and take my time packing things up. The weather forecast for tomorrow is perfect...83, sunny and breezy!!

Here's a picture of the food I'm taking...am I running or going to a picnic?? (Ensure, boiled potatoes, soft pretzel nibs, peanut butter M&Ms, pop tarts, peanut butter on bread, and oyster crackers. I also have some Clif bloks and jelly beans packed)

Here's a picture of the shirt and hat we got in our bag. We got to pick what color shirt we wanted out of blue, red and orange.

If anyone is interested in tracking me, I'm bib # 150. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rIboqWJjl5YI8ja0Rw0Cwvg&output=html

Packing!!

I feel like I'm packing everything but the kitchen sink!! I just got done showing Andy where everything is and putting it all in my bag. Now all I have to do tomorrow is get my food ready and *try* to relax.

I'm feeling a little anxious today...wondering if I have everything I need, if the weather is going to cooperate (it's iffy right now...UPDATE: WOO HOO, now they are calling for an isolated thunder storm!!), etc. But on top of the anxiety there is plenty of excitement!! My Crew and Pacers are the best of the best, members of the running club will be coming down to cheer us on, and most importantly, I have the greatest fellow Lone Rangers a person could ask for running along side me on Saturday.

Now before I go gorge myself on brown rice (mmmm, carbo loading), here are some pictures of the Crew shirts and some of what I just packed.

Shirt for KT and Pumpkin

Shirt for The Great El Andyo

Items include:

4 pairs of shoes (changing once, but packing back up in case of rain), sun screen, towels, reflective vests, change of clothes (shorts, shirts, socks, undies...we all know my past), medical stuff, Glide, wind breaker, blah, blah

Less than 48 hours to go kids...I'M SO READY!

Race Plan Details

I'm finalizing all my plans and finishing up my to do lists. I have notes all over the place of what I need to pack, do, etc. My goal is to have everything packed up and taken care of by Thursday night. I don't want to be running around on Friday taking care of stuff, I just want to sit on my butt at my sisters pool (Oh, Jeanette, I'm coming over) and relax!! I've been working on my race plan and think I have things figured out.

Hydration Strategy - Start each 8.4 mile loop with Perpetuem. Refill bottle with water while out on the course.

Nutrition Strategy - Eat my normal pre run meal of oatmeal and chia seeds around 6am. Before we start running at 10am eat some peanut butter on bread. In addition to the food on the course, I will have a drop bag at mile 4 and then my crew pit stop at mile 8. At both of these stations I'll eat either boiled/salted potatoes, pop tart, peanut butter on bread, Ensure, peanut butter M&M's or salted soft pretzels nibs. I'll also pop a salt capsule at the end of each loop.

Race Course - I ran the course this past weekend and I've been looking over the maps. I know where to expect the water/food/ice stations.

Pacing - I discussed with my Pacers that I want them to let me set the pace, run along side me and count down the miles (I do this in my head all the time). They also know to make sure I'm drinking and that I stop at some point to get some food. I've also told them that no matter what, don't let me stop moving. If I need a break, I walk or shuffle along. I don't stop completely. I'm also a talker when I run, but I told them this might be the one time I actually shut up.

Feedback/Adjustment - I need to check if I'm still having fun, smiling, etc. If I'm getting short tempered or cranky (not me, NEVER!), then something might not be going right and I need to make an adjustment.

Weather - Is looking beautiful!!! As of now, 80 with clouds and sun and a possible thunderstorm. If we do get some rain, I'm prepared with extra shoes/socks/shirt.

Mental Strategy - I already know this is going to be hard...the hardest thing I've ever done. But I'm not going to focus on that. I know I can do it so I'm going to keep telling myself that and make it a point to smile and enjoy myself. I'm going to look forward to seeing my Crew after each loop and knowing they will make me laugh.

Go/No-Go Plan - So I hope it doesn't get to this but to be prepared, I've told my Crew that before pulling me completely, I'd like to take an hour break if needed. If at that point I'm not ready to go, let's call it a day. They have a few questions to ask me which I should be able to rattle off the answers to. If for some reason I'm confused and can't do it, it's time for a break. I told them not to feel sorry for me if I'm tired, that's no excuse to take a break or quit. I only quit if I'm in danger or injured.

It's only 4 days away!! I'm more excited than anything and know this is going to be such an incredible experience. There were lots of emails flying around last night about race day so when it came time to go to bed, I couldn't sleep. No more reading emails right before bed this week...I need my beauty rest!

Practice Loop

I just ran the 8.4 mile loop that I'll be running next Saturday for the Ultra. I've run this loop before but this time we scoped out where the aid stations would be, where we'd have some shade, our home base, etc. For some reason, I've never been fond of this loop. It's a great part of the city, along what's called Boathouse Row. The loop goes along the river, and around the Philadelphia art museum. It's really pretty, filled with people, and a great running path. But for some reason the mileage goes so slow for me when I'm running it. Not the best for race day, I know. But I'm counting on the excitement of the day, the other runners, my crew/pacers to carry me through.

It's one week away and this time next Saturday I'll be finishing up my first lap with 5 more to go. I seriously can not believe how calm I am considering it's next week. We have absolutely perfect weather right now so if it stays this way till next Saturday, we'll have a great day.

Here are a few pics of Boathouse Row at sunset and some pics of the area we'll be running around.

Visualizing

On all my runs this week I've been trying to visualize what race day is going to be like. All I picture is me just smiling and happy and feeling great. But call me crazy, I have a feeling this couldn't be further from the truth. I have never experienced anything like this before and I have no idea what to expect. I know I can make it to 31 miles but everything after that is completely unknown. I've been trying to think of the Go/No-Go situation and how to make that call, but I just can't picture how bad things could get. And I've never been to an Ultra event to have witnessed first hand what a runner goes through. I've heard stories but it's still hard to picture it happening...to me. Even though there is a lot I don't know, I do know that so much of race day will be about mental toughness. That I know I have. So I'm not going to let this unknown crap scare me or shatter my confidence. I'm ready and I know I can do this.

My runs this week have been going well. Just taking them slow and steady. Taper has been going well and it's especially nice to have more free time on the weekends to do something other than run! Here's my schedule for this week:

Mon - 6mi
Tues - 4mi
Wed - 6mi
Thurs - 4mi
Fri - 9 mi
Sat - 12 mi
Sun - off

Race Plan

First of all, to those of you who donated, thank you so much. It really means a lot to me and I appreciate your generosity.

The race is less than 2 weeks away! It feels like so long ago when I registered for this not knowing what the heck I was doing or getting myself into. Right now I am surprisingly not nervous at all. I am insanely excited, though. I feel really confident in my training and while I know it's going to be hard, I know I can do this. I'm going to spend this week working on my race plan at the suggestion of Coach Jack. I've never really done this before but since this is such a big deal, I'm going to follow the guidance of someone who's been down this road before. So, what's involved in a race plan...

Agenda - Agenda for race weekend so I know where I need to be when. This will help eliminate being on my feet too much the day before and ensure I get done what needs to get done.

Checklist - A complete list of everything I'm going to need for race weekend. Assemble items at least a few days prior to the race and make sure crew and pacers have what they will need for the day.

Hydration strategy - How often do I intend to take in fluids?

Nutrition strategy - What is my schedule to take in energy and how frequently. What products will I use? How will I carry it?

Race course layout - Study the course map. Know where the fluid stations will be, etc.

Pacing strategy - Stick to what I trained with and adjust as needed. Discuss with my pacer how I want to run with them.

Feedback and adjustment - Establish a series of check points for the race to assess how I feel and decide if adjustments need to be made.

Weather adjustments - Check weather close to race day and fine tune plan at that point to make adjustments for extreme heat, rain, etc.

Mental strategy - Think about how I will handle the mental challenges this run presents. Be sure to generate positive vibes as negativity doesn't help anyone.

Go/No-Go plan - Give myself the option to call it a day if I have to. Discuss with my crew and pacers the criteria I will use to assess this.

Hopefully I'll be back by the end of the week with my plan in place!! The one I really don't want to think about is the "Go/No-Go plan." I don't want no-go to be an option!!

Not A Beggar

As most of you know, I'm training for my first Ultra. I picked this particular race because it supports an organization which I highly believe in. All the proceeds from this race are going to Back On My Feet. BOMF is a non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of the homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. BOMF does not provide food nor does it provide shelter, but instead provides a community that embraces equality, respect, discipline, teamwork and leadership. There are no labels, no stigmas and no stereotypes. All members - regardless of race, education or socioeconomic status - join together to move their own lives forward as well as the lives of their teammates.

I feel very awkward about asking for donations and am not a beggar, so I wasn't planning on posting anything other than the little link on my side bar regarding my fundraising efforts. But, at the suggestion of DelDean, I decide to post about it in case anyone out there wanted to support this cause. I have met members of BOMF and can honestly say that this organization is working wonders. I never would have thought running would be able to help someone get their life back on track, but it has. And I'm not the only one who thinks so highly of BOMF either. CNN even listed founder, Anne Mahlum, as a CNN Hero.

As for my fundraising efforts, I set a goal of $1000 and currently have raised a little over $400. While I have a long way to go, I'm estatic about what I raised so far and appreciate any amount anyone is willing to donate. If you're interested, please click this link to go directly to my fundraising page.

I know times are tough and totally understand that people have bills to pay. I sincerely hope I haven't offended anyone by this post.

246 for June!

It feels like just yesterday that I posted about my May mileage and here it is July 1st. Where the heck is the summer going?? June blew by and I honestly can't remember much of it. I logged 246 miles in June, which is well past my goal of at least 100 a month! Those 31 milers definitely help with racking up the mileage.

Taper started Monday and I had an incredible run last night. I felt so good you'd never know I just ran 31 miles on Sunday. The whole run I was thinking about past runs and my upcoming race. I really can't even imagine what race day is going to be like, but I am so excited for it to get here! I've been jotting down notes as the thoughts come to me as to what I have to pack, get ready, etc. I also started working on a little packet of info for my crew members. At this point I'm more stressed about logistics than I am about running so I'm trying to get all these little things taken care of. I ordered the crew shirts the other day to wear on race day and one for me for afterwards that says "Ultra Marathoner". I hope I didn't jinx myself by ordering that. I'm not even going to touch it when it comes in, I'll let Andy open the package!! The first time I'll touch it is when I go to put it on after the race. I'm not superstitious at all. ;-)

Here is my schedule for the first week of Taper:
Mon - recovery walk
Tues - 6 mi
Wed - 7 mi
Thurs - 5 mi
Fri - 15 mi
Sat - 12 mi
Sun - 3 mi