Flagstaff Marathon Review

Knowing that there was going to be some problems with elevation adjustment since I train at 2000 feet and the race was between 8000 and 9000, I got up to Flagstaff mid afternoon on Friday.  That didn't allow me a ton of time for acclimation, but I figured all the time I spent in Colorado a few weeks ago would soften the impact.  Boy was I wrong! 

The race didn't start until 8 AM on Saturday morning, which allowed me the ability to sleep in and then check out of the hotel before heading to the start line.  I still got there about forty five minutes early, but spent most of that time in the car because it was only 47 degrees outside.  Promptly at 8AM, the airhorn went off and caused me to jump.  I had gotten in my pre-race "zone" and it scared the bejeezers out of me!  The first couple of miles weren't too bad, but at mile four I felt a familiar burning feeling in my right sock.  A blister was forming and there was nothing I could do about it.  I was momentarily distracted as three deer darted across my path and I couldn't help but wishing I was one of them (or at least could harness their mad running skills).

When I got to the aid station at mile six, I had a pleasant surprise!  My friend Nicole ran was waiting for her mom, but decided to run with me for a couple of miles.  It was great to have company on those lonely trails!  I left her at the 8.5 mile aid station to wait for her mom again and continued on my trek.  The next three miles were uphill with little tree coverage, so I began to feel the heat of the sun beating down on me.  My legs were exhausted from lack of oxygen.  By the time I got to mile ten, I was ready to be done.  This was a new occurrence to me as I typically don't hit a wall in a marathon until mile 22 or 23 and it was totally disheartening.  The trails were tough with all the pine needles hiding the holes in the ground and tree stumps. Tripped five times and rolled my ankle three.  One of the water stations had already run out of water and all they had left was Heed, which made me sick to my stomach.  The only positive thing I had to say at the halfway point was that I knew what to expect since it was the same as the first half.  My ankles were sore from rolling them and my hamstring throbbing from tripping and straining it, but I continued.  All by myself on those trails, I found my mind wandering.  Mile fifteen was spent praying for some friends that I knew needed it and really trying to correct my attitude.  I'm normally such a happy person and all this negativity was wearing me down even worse than the physical circumstances.  It didn't help.  Somewhere around mile sixteen is when I pretty much decided to give up.  A lot of walking occurred after this point and the marathon turned into more of a hike.  At least three of the aid stations were completely out of water by this point and one was packed up.  On more than one occasion, I found myself saying, "*&%^* this!" and totally meaning it.

On my final stretch of downhill, I passed two runners and the three of us agreed that this course was ridiculous.  Looking back, I'm glad I kicked it in those last couple of miles because I ended up coming in third to last.  If I wouldn't have passed those two runners, I would've ended up being last.  This race was an anomaly in the fact that I was in a bad mood most of the race.  It was like a cloud of negativity was hanging over my head and thunderstorming at me.  

I try to keep all of my blog posts positive to some degree, so it's taken me a couple of days to think about this one.  I prefer my marathons to be flat, fast and on the road, so this race was totally out of my comfort zone.  I save the trails for days that I want to play or my ultras.  I was definitely not in a playful mood last Saturday.  It was the hardest marathon I've ever done, with 5000+ total feet of climb at an already uncomfortable elevation.  My allergies were going crazy with the trees and grass and I was blowing snot rockets left and right.  I would recommend this race to anyone who normally trains at 8000 feet and on those types of trails with trees and pine needles.  As for me, I will stick to my road marathons and rocky trails where I can actually see where to place my feet.  I guess I can finally and officially call myself a desert rat.

Athlinks Website Review

I was surprised to recently find out that there are some in the running community that haven't heard of www.athlinks.com, so I have decided to write a review on this handy website.  Athlinks houses over 155 million results in their database and adds 3 million new results each month to the site (from tris to trail and road races).  Usually within two weeks of race date, the full results are uploaded-even the one local 5k my mom walked in 2008 is in there!

Athletes create profiles and add their friends to their circle where they can compete against each other virtually in the same races.  This website is a great tool for tracking your own progress and, if you are as competitive as myself, looking up others Personal Records to set your own goals ;-)

When you first log in, the main screen lists all of your races and you can scroll through all of your PRs.  The PRs compare you against the rest of the Athlinks Community so one can see how they measure up against other runners.  In the middle of the page, there's an option to view all unclaimed results that match your name.  You can also add races and results (pending verification from Athlinks).  If the user adds upcoming races to their profile, the results are added even quicker!

Overall, I would give this website an A+ as it's easy to use and new features are constantly being added.  If you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should!

INKnBURN and Orange Mud Giveaway

To celebrate my first blog post that reached over 200 hits (my Imogene Pass Report), I've decided to give away a $25 gift card to each of the two amazing companies where I serve as an ambassador:  INKnBURN and Orange Mud  :-)

All you have to do is comment below with the following:

1.  Name
2.  Which gift card do you prefer (INKnBURN or Orange Mud)
3.  Tell me one person or thing that inspires you and why

Entries will be taken through Sunday, 9/14, and winners announced Monday evening!

http://www.orangemud.com/#_l_20

www.inknburn.com

Imogene Pass Run Race Report

I've taken the last two days to contemplate how to write this report, but the AWESOMENESS that is #IPR has kept me from being able to express in words all the feelings that came about during this race. So here it goes-I'm going to try...

When my Cholla Chicks first told me about this race months ago and how it was their big annual event, I dismissed it thinking to myself, "I'm not even that crazy!"  Fast forward two months to registration day and I'm setting the alarm to remind myself to register since it typically sells out within the hour.  This year did not disappoint-it took just over an hour before it sold out and I was one of the lucky people to get in.  Miles and miles of hill training later including summiting the tallest peak in Arizona, I felt I was ready to go.

We rolled into town on Thursday afternoon to start getting acclimated.  Seeing as how Phoenix is around 2,000 ft above sea level and the race took place between 7,800 ft and 13,112 ft, this was a necessity.  I ran an easy four on Friday to get my asthmatic lungs used to breathing in that elevation, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Saturday morning, the alarm went off around 4AM and half of the house was already awake.  We finished our pre-race rituals and headed out the door.  The bus ride from Telluride to Ouray was rather uneventful as I tried to catch an extra half hour of sleep-I had tossed and turned all night with pre-race anxieties.  We got to Ouray and made a beeline for Mouse's Chocolates where we had some coffee and breakfast before start time.

7:30 AM and we were off.  The first couple of miles were run-able thanks to the prep-work of acclimating and I found the path surrounded by undescribable natural beauty.  There were snow dusted mountains, streams, little waterfalls and canyons to navigate through and I kept finding myself catching my breath-not because of my asthma, but because of how in awe I was of my surroundings.  I caught up to my friend Jenn around mile three and thanked her for inviting me to this race-I was so grateful for the experience, but by mile nine, I was cursing my beloved Chollas.

I made it to the first cut off with thirteen minutes to spare and couldn't help but giggle as I left Upper Bird Camp and crossed a plank wearing my pirate pants.  The only thing that could have made it more amusing if I had had the entire pirate costume on!

The last mile of ascent

Between miles 8 and 10 I wanted to die.  This was when I found myself regretting the day I met my Cholla Chicks.  As the air got thinner, I started stumbling.  Sharp pains stung my lungs like needles on sunburned skin.  I felt as though at any moment, my lungs would decide they had enough and I would collapse.  Finally, I reached for my inhaler and after letting a few good puffs settle into my lungs, I took off again.  We marched single file for the most part up the last 1000 feet to the pass, eventually making it to the summit.  Upon reaching the top, I felt this huge sense of relief wash over me as I headed straight for the chicken broth soup that I had heard so much about.  It was the most amazing tasting Campbells I had ever consumed.  The rest, as they say, was all downhill from there.  Taking care as I navigated the steeper parts of the descent, the downhill went much faster than the uphill.  I had three goals when I set out on this crazy adventure:

The Downhill

1.  Don't die
2.  Don't get cut
3.  Finish in 5:30

I met all three on the first attempt...  and for the record-when I crossed the finish line, I was ready to sign up for next year and no longer cursing my Chollas :-)

I reached the top!