Running With Butterflies and Unicorns

"If you run hard, there's the pain - and you've got to work your way through the pain.... You know, lately it seems all you hear is 'Don't overdo it' and 'Don't push yourself.' Well, I think that's a lot of bull. If you push the human body, it will respond."  ~ Bob Clarke, NHL Hall of Fame

Sunday, June 24th 2012: 10 miles @ 13:19 minutes per mile. I was out of town for a family reunion and was surrounded by new and beautiful trails so I broke the no-training-on-Sunday rule. We were in Heber City, Utah and I snuck away for a few hours on the Dutch Hollow trail network.

I ran around a spider web of different trails. No, really. This was a SPIDER WEB of trails. And by “spider web of trails” I mean I was running through spider webs for most of the 10 miles. I didn’t love that so much.

After around an hour I came across some flowers (actually, weeds) that were covered with butterflies. They were everywhere.

They weren't afraid of me getting all up in their grills to take pictures so I ended up snapping a lot.

I was happy to find a double track road to run down for my last two miles. It had some shade and was thankfully absent of spider webs.

Tuesday, June 26th 2012: 5 miles @ 9:56 minutes per mile. BEMPWR (Boring Early Morning Pre-Work Run).

Thursday, June 28th 2012: 6 miles @ 10:50 minuts per mile. I looked back at my running log and realized that this was the first time I’ve run on a Thursday in 71 DAYS! I never planned it that way, but it just worked out that my running shoes haven’t seen a Thursday in two and a half months. Weird.

Saturday, June 30th 2012: 14.6 miles @ 12:19 minutes per mile. I met up with my friend Travis to run on the Barrel Roll trail.....which I have affectionately re-named The Surface Of The Sun.

It was around 90 degrees and my body was not thrilled. Over those 14.6 miles, this is how my thoughts progressed:

1) "Why does it smell like a burning dumpster fire? Oh, yea. That's my skin."
2) "Why couldn't my hobby be Chinese Checkers instead of running?"
3) "Either I'm having a heat stroke, or those are unicorns trotting next to me."
4) "Devil, I've got a deal for you."

There isn't a 7-11 within hundreds of miles so I tried to make a deal with the devil. "Dear devil, I am willing to sell my soul for a pina colada Slurpee." He didn't take me up on the offer.

We planned to do around 20 miles, but got back to the car at 14.6 miles to refill our water. I didn't admit that I was about to upchuck, or that every ounce of fluid in my body had leaked out of my skin. At the car we seemed to have an unspoken agreement that we sere sick of running on the sun and we called it a day. So we left. And I never got that pina colada Slurpee.

Southern Utah Trail Race Next Week

My friend Tom Dansie is the race director of the 4 mile Hurricane Trails River Run coming up next Saturday, July 7th. We went out last night to prep the course and the trails were looking great. Here are a few shots I took from the trail:

If you're in Southern Utah, there is still time to register by visiting the city website HERE. It's a fun, casual race. I'm looking forward to running it this year. I hope to see some of you there!

Interview With 100 Mile Expert Susan Donnelly

During the Javelina Jundred I ran for a while with Susan Donnelly. I really enjoyed our conversation and didn't realize until later that she is a 100 mile expert, completing more than 40 100 milers! I recently interviewed her and am excited to share some of her wisdom.

What made you decide to run your first ultra marathon? 
Way back in college, I saw an article about Western States 100 with a photo of Anne Trason, and something inside said "yes! I can do that. I want to do that!" I'd run in high school but gotten out of the habit in college, so I started running 5ks, then 10ks, then marathons. I ran maybe 30 or so marathons and lost interest in trying to chase seconds here or there in a setting that may or not have been interesting and was ready for the next thing when I saw an ad for Mountain Masochist, remembered the article on WS100 and how I loved playing in the woods as a kid, and knew it was time for ultras.

What does your typical training week look like? 
First of all, there is no such thing as typical. At the moment, I work full-time with 10-hour days, my boyfriend lives 2 hours away and has kids, so my training is catch-as-catch can. That said, I manage to run 3-6 miles most mornings during a work week and race or work in some longer runs on the weekends. It definitely takes some creativity to get mileage in some weeks.

What does your peak week look like before a 100 miler? 
Again, there's nothing typical but in general, the only thing that changes is the long run the weekend before. Sometimes I run back-back 100s, sometimes it's only 20 miles, sometimes, no long run. The weekly mileage stays as close to normal as I can keep it, but I always take the day before the race off, if only just to travel to the race.

What do you do when you reach that low point during a race when you are physically and/or mentally spent and you still have many more miles to run? 
First, I remember the myriad of other times I've been in that situation or harder and pulled out of it. That usually puts in perspective. Then analyze the problem to figure out the cause - low on calories, off on hydration or electrolytes, pushing the pace more than I should for my ability that day...? In a way, it's a fun challenge, like solving a puzzle. Whatever the answer, fix it if and how I can and keep going. I've DNFed a few times and quickly learned to keep going until they pull me. And ultimately, I'd still rather be out on the trail dealing with that challenge and seeing the things I'm seeing than most other things I could be doing. You don't get to race every day, so enjoy it, however you can, when you get the chance.

What race strategy do you try to follow when going into a 100 miler? 
Run comfortable.

With as many ultras as you run each year, you must be focused on smart recovery after a race. What works for you during the recovery process? 
In order - initial compression and icing my legs below the knee to get rid of swelling, frequent walking breaks from the car or my desk, hydration, sleeping, stretching, eating right.

What keeps you coming back to ultra marathons? 
Thank goodness I've been lucky enough to find a true passion in my life. I simply love it. I love trail running, exploring, the people that share that passion and the mental, physical, and spiritual joy I get from it. That's it. And I never take that for granted.

What tips do you have for someone interested in getting into ultra running? 
Know yourself. Learn from others but always decide what works for you, and never, ever get discouraged or give up. Learn yourself, how a comfortable form feels, how different miles per hour paces feel, your body's early signs of dehydration or electrolyte imbalance, what that voice in your mind says when you're tired and still have miles to go. And learn from your mistakes - they're precious gifts and we've all made them. This is fun and there's no end to the things this sport will teach you about yourself and life.

You can check out Susan's website at www.susanruns100s.com .

I hope to have more upcoming interviews where we can learn from running and racing experts.

Feeling Barf-tastic and Molly's Nipple

I was jealous of thought about all my fellow running friends who did the Western States 100 this past weekend. I love this funny quote by Mary Gorski: "I think the Western States trail is one of the most beautiful places that I have vomited." 

Monday, June 18th 2012: 4 miles @ the track. This was the first real speed workout I've done in probably 8 months. (Anyone who has read this blog longer than a week is thinking "No duh", because my paces are less than Olympic caliber.) I brought my kids along with me and they joined in a bit of the running:

I actually don't mind the track. The 800s weren't too bad. We went in the evening so it was still pretty hot outside. By the time we left, I was just a little barf-tastic.

Wednesday, June 20th 2012: 18 miles @ 12:14 minutes per mile. I headed to the Diamond Ranch Academy dirt road for a long run. It's a great place to run on dirt that isn't overly technical.

A few days before, I had admired the cannon ball skills my kids had at the swimming pool. I thought to myself: "Self, maybe you could try a mid-run cannon ball." Here is what Self came up with:

(Dear Self: maybe you could be a little faster if you didn't stop along the way to take a canon ball picture.) The sun was throwing some pretty cool light as it started to come up:

I decided since I was in the area that I would run to the top of Molly's Nipple. The total run climbed 2,600 feet but most of it is pretty gradual. This is the area leading to the steeper climb up Molly's Nipple (pretty easy to see in the background):

The view from the top is incredible. One thing I noticed on this trip was the shadow of Molly's Nipple in the foreground:

I also found something that I hadn't seen during any of my previous trips: a geo cache capsule. I ended up spending about 20 minutes at the top reading through the log book which dated all the way back to 2001! This was one of my favorite entries (largely because it mentions Twinkies):

I wore some shorts that I got from the Dogtown Half Marathon last year. They are too short to wear around the neighborhood without feeling self-conscious, but they're perfect for secluded trails where you never see a solitary person:

It's pretty safe to say that nobody has ever looked at me and thought "Wow, he must be using steroids."

Friday, June 22nd 2012: 5 miles @ 10:22 minutes per mile. Boring, early morning pre-work run.
Saturday, June 23rd 2012: 20 mile bike ride with Mel. We plan to go on more of these dates together. Good times.

Speed workouts: Love them or hate them? Don't mind the track, hate tempo runs.
Twinkies: Great snack food or the greatest snack food? Great, right behind Donettes.
Upcoming Summer Olympics: Excited? Can. Not. Wait.

My Next 100 Miler - Javelina Jundred

It's official. I've signed up for my 3rd 100 miler.....the Javelina Jundred on October 27th 2012! I'm more than a little excited.

Last year I ran the Javelina Jundred as my first 100 miler and seriously loved every second of it. It has the feel of a party. The Zion 100 a few months ago was different. Zion was an adventure. And I love an adventure. Zion will undoubtedly be on my calendar next year. But Javelina is a party. 

Javelina Jundred is held close to Jalloween so there are lots of costumes. The desert scenery is beautiful. It's cool to hear packs of coyotes howling in the distance throughout the night. The aid stations resemble a Costco.

The course consists of 15.4 mile loops run washing machine style and I loved watching the race unfold right in front of me. It's cool to see the elite runners coming back the opposite direction and cheer you on while you cheer them on. Since the loops were clockwise then counter-clockwise I never felt bored, and it was impossible to get lost.

I'm excited that my friends Ben and Travis who I ran most of Zion with will also be joining me at the race. Good times will be had by all. (Actually, I'm not sure "good times" is completely accurate for those last 40 miles.)

I think this race will always be special to me because it was my first 100. If you're ever looking to try to tackle the 100 mile beast, the Javelina Jundred would be a great option.