I leave for Tucson in just four days. I’m pretty excited for the desert but there is so much going on here that it’s also hard to leave. Someone asked me why I would fly across the country for a long weekend to race. My only answer: it’s what I do. I love to travel but at the same time I hate kenneling my dogs. I love seeing new places and going where I’ve never been, but I hate the air travel part.
Contradictions
As far as the race, like most things, I just don’t know how it’s going to go. I’ve been on the course and I have a very specific race plan (Thanks Coach) including how much food and water to eat and drink between aid station. I know what I’m going to wear and I feel fit. My plan while running is to think about the Presidential Traverse and how I got to the end despite the pain. I’m going to think about Leadville and how this race is a mental training test. I’ve done everything my coach said, except for one training run after my booster shot. I’m ready.
All I can do now is finish my 12 miles today, 8 miles tomorrow, and the rest of the plan leading up to Saturday. I can’t wait.
Everything is Good. Hard. Fun. Difficult. Complicated.
I could probably write that sentence about how I’m feeling every day and it would still be true.
Also true: I’ve done every training session assigned to me for the last two weeks.
I’m tired.
Today is a 22 mile trail run and I have a fun run planned. I’m going to go find new trails (to me) over in Oak Hill on the east side of Concord. Concord (NH) has so many great, well-maintained trails.
Oak Hill Trail System Concord NH
Today is going to be Good. Hard. Fun. Difficult. Complicated.
The goal today is just to finish the miles and get my body ready for the 55K in three weeks.
I will be in the desert in 3 weeks. I get a chance at redemption at Colossal Vail 55K.
Here’s me in 2014 before the 55K. This was the first year of the race and I didn’t finish. Dec 11 my plan is to finish.
Some things just don’t work out no matter how much we would like them to. Case in point, Saturday November 6 and Ironman. However, I have the distinct good fortune of being able to turn it around and learn from it and move on to the next thing. You see, I’m in it for the long haul and one setback, or in the case of Ironman in 2021, two setbacks, isn’t going to get me down.
In transition, before the swim, Ironman Florida
Saturday wasn’t my day in the water. The current took me off course and readjustments and waves made me swim 3 miles instead of 2.4. My swim speed wasn’t good enough to finish by the swim cutoff. I’ve never not made a cutoff in Ironman. My swim segments were always good. I’ve always felt good in the water and Saturday I still felt good. I can battle waves and jellyfish bites and current, I’ve just never been fast. With buoys moving and everything else, I just couldn’t cut it. It’s just such a bummer.
I ended up cheering on Mark all day and he did great and finished. He did amazing.
Mark at the finish
On the Friday before the race as we were hanging out in our beachside condo, Mark suggested coming back to Houston with him and joining him on this (boring) road trip on I-10. I totally read this as let’s stop in all the cool places along the Gulf on the way home. I looked at a map and we could go to: Mobile, Biloxi, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I’m in. I immediately changed my flights from flying out of Panama City Beach to flying direct from Houston.
I love going where I’ve never been and the southeast was completely interesting. We drove through a bit of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and southeast Texas. I’ve been to Jackson, Mississippi but all the other places were new to me. As we were driving Mark asked me how many states I’ve been to and I had not thought about it a long time. I am working on my marathons-in-every-state goal but didn’t know how many states I was missing from just seeing. I initially thought I had three left: Oklahoma, Arkansas and North Dakota. Later I realized I haven’t been to Michigan. So I have 4 states left.
BiloxiBourbon St. New Orleans
I love traveling and seeing new places and that is what Ironman Florida was for me. I thought I wanted to stay extra days and sit on the beach and swim in the ocean, but I like to keep moving. Being able to pivot, roll with it, move on is my super power.
What’s next: Tucson in December for my 55K race. I ran 20 hilly miles yesterday and gearing up for big miles. I can’t wait to see my friend Kassandra and the desert. Life is good – it’s just all perspective.
Everything I read the year I trained for the Leadville 100 Run in 2019 said to volunteer at a 100 mile race. I did not add that to my training plan. Advice also included running at night, hill repeats, intervals and practicing throwing up while running. I didn’t do any of these things.
Now that I’m training, again, for Leadville in 2022, this time, I will do all these things, so first things first – I signed up to volunteer at the worst aid station – 11pm to 5am. This meant, most likely no sleep for a day which I knew was going to be problematic at some point and definitely screw up long training days needed as I train for Ironman Florida in 3 weeks.
My BFF Jeff said yes to joining me since I didn’t know what to expect. I knew there would be an EMT there but really it’s all I knew.
We arrived at 11pm and then runners started coming in at 11:30pm.
Have a plan for dropping at remote aid stations – it’s up to you to get a ride home, not the race organizers.
Know the course and download the maps. The app for this race had a speaker stating they were arriving at aid station 9, how many miles and their pace, plus it stated their approximate finishing time. WOW. Annoying but cool. Many people ran extra miles because they missed turns or were following others. This course has a way of doing that, though.
Get lean. The runners who were arriving first were lean. Weight matters.
The runners were so thankful we were there. Be Thankful.
Stop, take break and think about what you need at aid stations.
Be thoughtful about who you choose as a pacer. This person must know your gear and what you like when you are completely out of it. I saw great teams out there. Pacers knew what to do and what their runner liked. They got their bottles and bladders out quickly and efficiently. I saw a couple who were running the 100 mile race together and they complimented each other perfectly. I saw one woman runner who was running her first 100 and her pacer/husband/boyfriend said all the right things while she was doubting finishing. I knew she would finish. I told her – You Will Finish This. Find your person.
I’m sure there are more lessons but these were the ones that come to mind after sleeping for 12 hours.
I can’t wait for my 100 mile race and training properly for it. Bring on the 2am runs.
Woman seeking pacer for Leadville 100 August 20, 2022. Must be motivational, but not too motivational. Must be used to running at 10,000 feet and higher. Contact blog writer.
I mostly write blog posts so I can remember really fun times and look back to an adventure, a hope or dream. When the stars aligned for a Presidential Traverse on Oct 6 I went for it. One Day. 19 Miles. 9,000 feet of elevation gain. Hiking the last 3 hours in the dark.
Heck Ya!
It was great fun to look back at my post about my first Presidential Traverse and compare the trips after the second one.
Here’s my Presidential Traverse Trip Review: An Epic Day in the White Mountains
Greg and I did a car spot at Highland Center AMC and drove up to Appalachia. We were on the trail by 7:30am. We took Valley Way to the hut and then a short out and back to Madison. Since it was a Wednesday we only saw about ten people on their way to Madison. The clouds prevented us from seeing Adams in the distance, and for Greg, this was his first time in the Northern Presidentials, so it was a bummer he couldn’t see where we were going. Or maybe it was good… He didn’t know what he was in for…..
Greg on Madison, Peak Number 1
Adams – well, it was Adams. Slow and steady wins this race. No views.
We got to the top and then down and on to Jefferson. Again, we couldn’t quite see Jefferson from any peak but we got an occasional glimmer through the clouds to the west and the valley; beautiful peaking foliage. There are many little summits on the way to Jefferson but I recognized the summit from last year once we got closer. A quick up and a break – no views – and on to the Rock Pile. The sharp rocks cut my hands as I maneuvered over rocks and boulders in that lunar landscape. It’s a few miles from Jefferson on the Gulfside Trail to Mount Washington. We opted to bypass Clay and chugged on to the summit. We knew we were getting closer as we heard the Cog approach. Three trains passed as we climbed boulder to boulder, just waiting to get above the clouds. We walked over the cog and there it was – the view we were waiting for. Undercast.
Mount Washington Summit, undercast
We took a break, filled our bladders with water and chatted with some people who took the Cog up.
The way down to Lake of the Clouds was a welcome respite from climbing and finally hiking on a dirt trail. We passed the hut and on to Monroe. The entire hike up to this point was pretty warm. I could’ve worn shorts and a t-shirt (but didn’t). There was minimal wind and at some summits we had to swat flies.
Photo by Greg, Washington looking north
The clouds were moving through and we saw several minor peaks in front of us. The trail junction marked the Mt Monroe Loop and it is a quick climb to the top. Then onto Eisenhower. Again, we couldn’t see it as we hiked on the Crawford Path and less rocky, for a bit. At this point my feet just hurt but not zombie-like, like I felt last year on this hike. My quads were good. I was tired.
Up, Up, Up to Eishenhower and some nice views finally. Still cloudy but we could see across both side of the Crawford Path. As we descended the light started to fade to that nice, soft light. It got colder and I had to put on a jacket for the first time. A few minutes later I looked up to the west and the sunset turned pink and then a few minutes later orange. This picture doesn’t do it justice.
Sunset on Crawford Path heading south
Onto a quick out and back to bag Pierce with the headlamps on, and it was down the Crawford Path to the car. It was a bit of a slog. Seriously, 3.1 miles to the car took almost 2 hours. We both thought it seemed like 5 miles. We just couldn’t move faster and with the dark, we didn’t want to miss the trail.
We got to the car at 9:30pm and it felt great to be off the trail. We drove back to get my car at Appalachia and I was home by 11:30pm.
The Good:
The Lunar landscape in the Presidentials is otherworldly and hard to capture in a photo
I had a Great hiking partner: funny, okay with leading, we never got lost and he even had beer in the car for after
Great weather despite the clouds
Amazing sunset on the way to Pierce.
The Bad:
My watch died before Washington. And seriously, since that is the only thing we considered ourselves lucky!
What a day in the Presidentials. Now, three days later, I’m still pretty sore. My feet, which were hurting so much are fine, but my legs are sore to the touch and it’s hard to walk and go downstairs still.
And, I just want to go back. But I think I want to do a few peaks at a time and just sit on the summit for a while. I think. I’m a pretty fast hiker and don’t stop much but these mountains are so special. It was a great day and now I can say that I can’t wait to do the traverse again next year. But this time: more leg workouts and big hikes prior to the day.
Then there is the grid. I enjoyed checking off these peaks for the October grid. But the thing about the grid is that I love getting to know these mountains and the grid is the way to do it. For my grid I’ve been to Mount Washington twice (not counting ascents prior to 2020). I want to get to know all the peaks and features of the area around it. This is why life is so fun and interesting and exciting – there are so many opportunities to see amazing places and challenge myself physically.
