Tales from the Trails

From the website on the Breaks 40-miler: " THIS IS NOT A RACE FOR FIRST TIMERS . The terrain is treacherous, and the elevation is extreme for a 43 mile race. If you have not completed an ultramarathon in the past, this is not the race to start. The Breaks 40 Miler requires experienced trail runners due to the variations in terrain, complexity of navigating the course, and elevation levels." Elevation Chart The quick and dirty about the race: This was an inaugural race. It was listed as 42.3 miles with 11,400' net elevation gain; most runners ended up with 45-47 miles by GPS watches. (My Garmin Fenix 5 Sapphire had 46.91 miles with 11,300' net elevation gain).  62 registrants, 57 starters, 21 finishers.  First place overall finished in 10:22 and last place finished in 15:35. This is the kind of race for people who like technical ultras with more climbing and tricky footwork than running. No matter how hard this race looks and sounds, it's harder

Two weeks before race day, I signed up to run the Big Turtle 50 Miler when someone offered to legally transfer me their bib. I was already planning to be at the race because another runner (who I hadn't met yet) had asked me to pace him for miles 33-50, and I had agreed. I was pretty sure I was undertrained after losing so much time while healing after the bike accident, but I had managed some long runs and some back to back mileage lately and I kind of wanted to see where I was with training anyway. Three weeks later I'll toe the line at Dark Sky 50 Miler, so I planned to treat this as a training run. I spent some time figuring out how I would be a good pacer while also running the race. I didn't really know Rick, but I had been following his training. I planned to run the first hour or so with him so I could get a feel for his pace and style, and then meet up with him at mile 33 to stay with him the rest of the race. I always like to have a few miles to myself on a lo

I thought last weekend would be hard. Traveling to a race that I was supposed to run, but not running it. But it wasn't. It was one of the best weekends ever! Before toeing the start line. She was ready! I teared up as Jeanette started the race, feeling emotionally overwhelmed at the work she had done, and the work we did together, to prepare for her first 100 miler. She didn't let anything get in her way, but she also didn't let the training consume her life. She did lots of preparation for the mental aspect of training for a 100 miler. Her dedication to training and keeping it in the right priority for her was impressive. I definitely learned from her. She wrote about the training experience on her blog. Crewing is an experience of it's own. There's lots of preparation and planning that goes into it, just like an ultra. It helped that Jeanette had prepared a spreadsheet of her expected pacing between aid stations. And this race had only two aid stations

My youngest daughter is 5, and got this book for Christmas. It's about what happens to Humpty Dumpty after he falls. My daughter wants me to read this book to her every night. And every time she hands it to me, she says that I am like Humpty with my broken rib. Humpty is scared to climb the wall again because of his fall, and parts of him are broken that are not fixable with tape or glue. He tries some other stuff, but ultimately, he misses his wall and decides he needs to climb it again. And then he hatches into a bird and flies! Time has passed quickly, and winter is now almost over. It's been almost 10 weeks since the bike accident and broken rib. My winter was filled with a different kind of training than I planned, and I found time for a different kind of reflection in between weeks when I couldn't get out onto the trails. I learned things about myself. But I am always learning. I'm back up and going again now. Slowly increasing mileage and getting myself out

It started in mid-December when a friend tagged me in a Facebook post announcing that I was the winner of the "Unstoppable Award" at Redbird Crest 100k. WHAT? I don't win awards! But really when I read about the award and thought about the race recap that I had just posted, I found solace in this word "unstoppable" that really does sum up my persistence and determination and drive. It works: past, present, and future. I was planning on the following races for 2018: - Lake Martin 100 Miler (mid-March) - Tour de Lou 65 mile bike ride (end of April) - Flying Pig Marathon (early May) - Superior Fall Trail Races 50 Miler (again; early September) Also, I would be co-race-directing the Mad Otter 10k trail race in March with Jeanette, as part of the adventure race put on by Orienteering Louisville. I had a few other races on my possibilities list: - Run Under the Stars Corydon, IN (early July) - Cloudsplitter - An adventure race - A Ragnar Trail While

I had the most amazing time in Costa Rica last week with my mom. So much fun. We laid in bed awake together the first night listening to the loudest and longest fireworks display we didn't even see, to bring in the new year. The next morning we got up early, had some breakfast, and headed to the meetup spot for our Backroads Multisport Tour. I was so excited to see what this kind of tour would be like! And we had the best time! The group we were with was awesome. Our tour guides were great. The land was beautiful. The weather was...not so beautiful. It rained a lot. But that didn't make us enjoy the trip less. We got to hike, bike, explore, raft, swim, sit in a hot tub, sit in hot springs, fish, read, and talk. My mom is really very cool and fun to be with. I am so lucky. I had one unfortunate moment on the trip. On the second day, I ended my second bikeride in the rain and I failed to unclip my shoes in time before I fell onto the handlebars as they turned sideways. I a