Everyone Runs Half Marathon (13.1 miles) Race Report

Still taking it easy this week. I only ran 2 times during the week (4.5 miles each). I got a killer massage yesterday from the best massage therapist in the world - Dan. He is great at sports massages and worked on my hips which have been screwed up since the 60k. I felt much better - he really worked my legs over good.

Of course, I went and wrecked that nice massage by running a half marathon today - on pavement! By mile 5, my hip was sore and by mile 9, my left foot was bothering me (like it has been since the 60k).

Nevertheless, this race is awesome.

I showed up early to help with registration - I got up at 4am and the race started at 7:15am. It was pretty cold out there on the football field. I was bundled up in jackets, pants, and gloves up to the start of the race.

Saw lots of friends - Shari, my trusty trail running partner, who is looking pretty svelte these days:

Also, I saw my friends Steve (x 2), Boone and Joel and some gals I've met at other trail runs - Becky and Missy.  Steve got 1st in his age group - Joel was 4th overall!

My time: 1:56:56.

I was 4th in my age group out of 15 people. Just missed 3rd place by a little over a minute. I was averaging about 8:48 (which is what I need to do for Tucson Marathon to get 3:50) until mile 9. Then I slowed to 9-9:10 minute miles and ended with a 8:56 average overall. Not bad for being 2 weeks out from my 60k. My fastest mile was 8:36; I know I could get more of my miles faster if I just did some speedwork.
The half marathon course starts on the track at Sabino High School, which is near the Catalina mountains. Beautiful! The course is fairly flat with some gentle rolling hills-less than 1,000 feet elevation overall. It winds around local streets and residential areas and finishes back on the track. We received a long sleeve technical shirt at the finish line.

There were 8 aid stations in the 13.1 mile course. I didn't take any water along with that many aid stations.

And the music! There were all sorts of folks along the course playing musical intruments and singing. Bagpipes, guitars, banjos, violins. It was awesome.

I won a monster canister of Cytomax sports drink (I think it was a random raffle?)

And, we all got a mexican breakfast and Robek's smoothies afterwards.

What a great race. Big thanks to Steve Landau, the RD. I'll definitely do that race again.

TTR Bear Canyon Loop

Well, my internet at home has been down and I have limited capabilities at work, so I'm behind on the blogging. Apparently, someone went up the Quest pole and stole our internet! Didn't know you could do that...

I joined TTR for the running of Bear Canyon loop in Sabino Canyon.  This is touted as the trail run that has, 'been run by more Tucson trail runners, more times, than any other trail run in Tucson.' This was my 3rd running of it. The last 2 times, I came back on Phoneline trail, which takes longer, but this time, I came back the last 3.7 miles on the road (which is the 'traditional route'). So, if you are in Tucson, or just visiting, definitely check this trail run out.

Distance: 17 miles

Time: 3:49

Total cumulative elevation gain/(loss):  My Garmin reports some fantastic gains sometimes, so I'm not going with what it reported. From other sites, looks like it is around 3,000 feet gain/(loss). Looking back on the switchbacks:

I had to hike a bit of it. I'm still recovering from the 60k I ran last week. I took 7 days off of running to help recover, but I still have sore hips and a sore left foot. However, once I got on the flats and downhill today, I was able to run fine!

Well, except I toe-hooked on one rocky spot that I was hiking and got a minor flesh wound! I fell down and hit my hand on a rock.

It bled a little, but luckily, I had a bandana with me that I use to blow my nose, so I wrapped it up in that. It turned pretty bruised looking later on the in the day - looks like I wacked the top screw that is in my wrist from my previous wrist fracture (I have 9 screws altogether). So, it was pretty sore. 

I ran into a lot of my good friends today, but it was particularly good to see my blogging friends, Troy (I ran with Troy at the Red Mountain 50k a while back) and Angie (I did the Zane Grey 50k the same year she did); I haven't seen either of them in a long time! Troy will be running the Ghost Town 38.5 in January that I'm doing, also. Angie is just getting back into the running scene again and is taking it slow.
I'm still taking it slow after my race - one more week of low mileage and then I'll start bumping it up again. Next week: Half Mary race - Everyone Runs
Next race after that: Tucson Marathon in December.
Time to get some long runs in... I'd 'secretly' like to qualify for Boston at the TM. I'd have to get a 3:50:59! Not sure if I can pull that off.
Note to self: It is all about the fun. Don't forget that.

Nashville Ultra 60k Race Report

Be prepared - there are a lot of pictures in this post! They are mostly for me to enjoy when I look back at my post later, but hopefully, someone else enjoys them, too.

This is what I was greeted with on the chalkboard when I woke up on race morning:

Don't I have a fabulous family? My sister in law Carol wrote that - she is always thinking of others.

I stayed at my brother Ken's house in Nashville. My sister Theresa lives there, too, and then my sister Andrea moved there 2 weeks ago, and my other 2 sisters, Jennifer and Lisa, and their families and my Mom traveled up for the weekend. An ultra created a family reunion.

My brother got up early with me and drove me to the race. Thank you, Ken! We had a nice talk on the way, which got me in a good mood for the race.

Well, here is how it all went down:

Distance: 60k (37.2 miles)

Time: 6:27:43

Pace: 10:25 min/mile. I was averaging about 9:30 to 10:00min/mile pace until about mile 26 and then the wheels came off. I had to do a walk/run combo that last 10 or so miles.

I came in 2nd out of a total of 12 finishers in the 60k! They only gave awards to 1st place men and women in each distance (a really cool sweatshirt), but all finishers got imprinted glass mugs (and t-shirts of course), which was nice.

There were other distances you could choose to do - 50k, 70k and 50 miles. I knew I could do 31 miles, since I've done it several times before, but I wanted to see how I would do with a little more distance, which is why I chose the 60k.

It was 100% pavement, with a great deal of concrete in the downtown Nashville area. Painful. I never take NSAIDs during races because of the risk of renal failure when runners get dehydrated, but I was in so much pain at mile 19 that I relented. I just made sure I drank a ton of water.

The leaves were falling and since there was a good breeze, it was raining leaves on me at times which lifted my spirits.

It was fairly hilly at the beginning, with lots of green grass and pedestrian bridges and water. There were definitely a lot of bridges on this course.

Downtown Nashville and Titans stadium:

It was COLD. The high was only 49, which wouldn't have been bad, except for the breeze. I wore sleeves and a tank underneath my long sleeve shirt, and gloves. I would take my gloves off and then put them back on periodically. I never took off my sleeves or long sleeve shirt during the race. Every time I got warm, the breeze would blow and I would be cold again. It was also fairly gloomy during the race; no sun to be seen, which made it hard to stay upbeat.

The mental element was huge in this race. I talked to myself a lot to try and get my positive energy up. I prayed a lot. I sang to myself at times. The runners were pretty spread out, and although I passed quite a few in the end, I never really ran with anyone. The miles really clicked by until....the last 10 miles. I had to dig deep and push through.

The aid stations were about 6 miles apart, which was perfect. I was pretty good about fueling - a gel every 30 minutes. I wish the aid stations had potatoes, because I was really craving some real food after 4 or so hours. The last 6 miles I went without any water or gels, but by then, I was pretty hydrated. I knew when I stopped at the last aid station that I was out of water in my pack, but I was so tired I didn't want to be bothered with refilling it! So, I just swigged a bunch of water at the aid station and off I went. I get like that at the end of a big race. I don't like dealing with anything that is a hassle. I just get focused on the finish line.

My family was there to watch me come in, which was so wonderful. The pics of me coming in and after the race with my family just say it all:

Needless to say, they all think I'm crazy. My Mom said that she was surprised that I didn't have 'noodle' legs afterwards. I think that might be why I was laughing.

I was so greatful that they had pizza at the finish. I was seriously hungry. 

Check out the guy behind me in this one. I think he is trying to eat pizza and run at the same time!

So, we had a house full of people that night after the race for our big spaghetti dinner (a family favorite). My 4 sisters, brother, Mom, spouses/boyfriend, nieces and nephews - I think there were 20 of us altogether.

My sister Lisa caught of a pic of me finally experiencing the post-race tiredness that evening.

Lisa's birthday is Sunday and mine is on Tuesday (and Carol's was last Tuesday), so Carol picked up a cake and we all celebrated our birthdays after spaghetti. What a fun evening. You can really do a lot in a day!

I'm just really proud of myself and so thankful for family. What a blessing to be able to run ultras and what a greater blessing to be surrounded by people I love and who love me. Doesn't get much better than that.

Nashville Ultra - 60k

I finished the Nashville Ultra 60k (37.2 miles) in 6:27:43! My longest race yet.
My family came out in the freezing cold to watch me cross the finish line, which was awesome.
I'll post a report later. I'm tired! :) Just flew back into Tucson today.

TTR Green Bug Run

Well, I pretty much wiped myself out yesterday, so it was really more of a hike for me than a run! Yesterday, I did a 90 minute hot yoga class, followed by a new workout with a personal trainer in the afternoon. This new workout is really working a lot of muscles that haven't gotten enough action, so I was already sore before the end of the day. To top it off, I did a walk in the deep and sandy wash with the dogs in the evening. I wasn't moving very fast this morning, that's for sure.

So...not much of a taper this week for my upcoming 60k - 31 miles this week, three resistance/core/weight workouts, one 90 minute hot yoga class and 3 miles of dog walking, some of it in a sandy wash!

Here was the run:

Distance: 10.2 miles (There was a longer distance you could choose which was about 19 miles.) I did an out and back from Prison Camp to the Bug Springs trailhead - 5.1 miles each way.

Cumulative elevation gain/(loss): 3,097 feet/(3,125) feet

Time: 3:01 (jeesh! took forever!)

Actually, Kenny and our dog Taos went with me and Kenny was having severe knee pain about mile 3.5. So, I went with Taos to the Bug Springs trailhead and then met him on the way back. At any rate, it slowed things up a bit. We think he might have ITBS. Very painful.

This is a very beautiful trail in the Catalina mountains. Lots of hoodoos and neat rock formations. It was great to see all the TTR members that came out.

Time to rest up for the Nashville Ultra - I'm doing the 60k next Saturday. I get to visit my sisters - Andrea, Lisa, Theresa and Jennifer - and my brother Ken. I also get to see most of my nieces and nephews - 9 of them. My Mom will be there and a lot of spouses as well. Looks like my ultra created a family reunion. My brother and sister live in Nashville, but everyone else is traveling in to visit. Very cool. Couldn't have planned it better myself! Thank you God.

Everyone wish me luck. 37 miles is a long way to run. :)

TTR Mt. Hopkins Ascent

This is a great run. It is almost 12 miles up to the top of Mt. Hopkins on mostly dirt road (almost the last 4 miles to the top and about a mile near the beginning is pavement). It gets pretty steep at the top, but otherwise, it is fairly runnable.

Total Distance: 23.7 miles

Time: 4:54

Cumulative elevation gain/(loss): 5,416/(5,394) feet

Elevation at start: 4,164 feet

Elevation at summit: 8,531 feet

Here I am at the top with Mt. Wrightson in the background:

The group had some concerns as fellow TTR member Kandi had done the run the previous day and had reported multiple sightings of bears with cubs. Everyone was keeping their eye out after our 8 mile aid station, as the last 4 miles to the top is where Kandi reported seeing them.

I leapfrogged with Gene and Wayne almost the whole way. A mile or so from the top, they passed me and good thing they did because...

The last bend before the top, Gene is faced with a bear and 2 cubs. He warns Wayne, who is right behind him. I hear him say, 'bear!' but by the time I was rounding the bend, I saw the bear leap off the side of the mountain through the trees! Whew! I had my camera out just in case, but it was too quick for me. At any rate, it was exciting, but about as close as I ever really want to come. Needless to say, Gene's heart rate was up a bit!

Before we saw the bear, the faster runners in the group returning downhill as we were headed up all reported, 'saw bears!' 'bears in trees!' 'bears in the road!' It was an exciting day for the group in terms of wildlife, that's for sure.

Looking back at my progress on the maze of road:

I would have made better time down, but we had a heat wave this week, and it was hot as hell. I could have really run faster on the downhill, but I kept overheating, so I would stop and walk.

I'm glad I have TTR to do these types of runs with. This group is making me stronger!
I've also decided to do a few sessions of personal training to get some instruction on some new exercises I could be doing at home to help strengthen certain muscles. I'm starting to have a few minor aches and pains here and there...

Catalina State Park 8.35 mile Trail Race

Total distance: 8.35 miles (you could select a shorter option of 4.35 miles). My GPS said 8.28 miles.

In the past, this race has been a little longer (10.75 miles), but since I was planning on running almost 24 miles the next day, I was okay with that!

Finish time: 1:21

I was 3rd place in my age group!

Cumulative elevation gain/(loss): 1,522/(1,405) feet.

Got to see my good friend Steve, which I always enjoy.

The race photographer took a lot of pictures of runners (the pictures are free at the Everyone Runs races). He even got a picture of Steve taking a picture of me before the start! I'm wearing my two pom pom ponytails today.

This race has a few big hills and quite a bit of sand. We did two loops of the Canyon Loop trail and the Nature Loop trail. Super big thanks to Steve Landau at Everyone Runs for always putting on great races. The volunteers are wonderful, and you always get a mexican breakfast and smoothies afterwards! It was a beautiful day in the desert. Morning lows are finally dropping to around 60-65 degrees. I even wore a skirt to show my friend Kathleen in CO that I still wear them!

To top it off, after the race, Steve gave me a ride back to my car in his Cadillac so I didn't have to take the shuttle. I shared with him that I was born in a Cadillac, which he thought was interesting. Thanks for the ride in style!

Mid-week trail run to relieve the stress

I rear-ended someone on the way to work this morning. Luckily, everyone was okay. No police called. Nothing wrong with the other guy's vehicle. My bumper on my 4-Runner is pretty messed up. I shook it off as best I could. Heck, there are other things more important to worry about.

Plus, I was actually getting off work early today after our work lunch, AND Shari and I were going to do a trail run! Nothing like a mid-week trail run to shake off the blues. We met at Yetman trailhead at Camino de Oeste and ran Yetman trail and part of Starr Pass trail.I love Tucson Mountain Park. You don't see too many people out there. Some cactus for my lovely friend Kathleen in Colorado:

6.2 miles, 1,339/(1,301) feet elevation gain/(loss). It was fun.

We barely got back before the sun went down.

Don't know what I'd do if I couldn't run trails. I sure hope God is hearing all my prayers. Some days, I just don't know. I could really use some divine intervention in my life...

I'll be switching back to evening running soon. Darkness is slowly stealing my mornings.

Sabino Basin Run with TTR

Still a little tired from Imogene, but I joined the Tucson Trail Runners for a short run in Sabin Canyon. I did Phoneline trail to the Basin and back on the paved road. Most other runners did Phoneline trail back, but I knew I had to get back home that morning. Plus, there was homemade frozen yoghurt and ice cream waiting. Thanks Doug!!!!

Distance: 13.2 miles

Cumulative elevation gain/(loss): 2,748/(2,808) feet

Time: 2:51. I know, I'm slow. I do pretty well on the road, but I'm pretty slow on Phoneline... Here I am at the basin before the turnaround: So, I'm tossing around signing up for the Old Pueblo 50 mile race, which is in March 2010. Since I'm doing the 37 mile race in October, Tucson Marathon in December, the Ghost Town 38.5 mile race in January, and Pemberton 50k in February, it would be a good year to attempt it. Registration opens in about a week, and fills up the same day, so I need to decide soon. I changed the quote at the top of my blog, but it pretty much answers the question on whether I'll do it or not. :)

First ever night hike

Went with the Tucson Hiking Meetup Group and did a night hike tonight (first night hike!) 4.25 miles round trip, Sabino Canyon Visitor's Center to Esperero Trail (out and back). I got to try out my headlamp, which I bought back in the Spring, but never used (I look like I'm getting ready to go spelunking!). It was cool! The desert feels like a whole different world without the sun. I should have brought my camera with me, but I thought it wouldn't take good photos in the dark. We saw a huge tarantula and then a few minutes later, a tarantula hawk (code for BIG BUG) hauling off another tarantula (here is a pic that one of the hikers took): The tarantula hawk paralyzes the tarantula and then takes charge. It is part of the circle of life, but always bothers me to actually see it!!!!
We also saw a rattlesnake (he was way off in the bushes), a scorpion, and some sort of night hawk. There were about 25 people on the hike, so I wasn't too worried about any big critters. 1,041 feet elevation gain. Not bad for 4.25 miles (up on the way out, down on the way back). Fun. Very.

Imogene Pass Run Report

I finished!

Here is the scoop:
Distance: 17.1 miles
Start point: Ouray, CO at 7,810 feet
Highest point: Imogene Pass at 13,114 feet
End point: Telluride, CO at 8,820 feet
Cumulative elevation gain/(loss): 8,201/(7,111) feet.
Course: 10 miles up to Imogene Pass, 7.1 miles down to Telluride, CO. Most of the elevation gain is in the first 10 miles. Mostly rocky, rutted jeep road.

Finish time: 4:38

My friend Christina (on the right) has been trying to talk me into it for a few years. I always said, "No way! Too much elevation! It would kill me." All of a sudden, this past year it seemed like a good idea. :)

Here we are at the start:

There are some runnable spots on the 10 miles up to the Pass, but it was mostly a LOT of hiking. My Mt. Lemmon run/hikes helped to prepare me as much as you can prepare for a race at 13,114 feet elevation!

These are the pics from the start of the race to Upper Camp Bird (7.6 miles). As you can see, it is quite a slog!Occasionally, I would look back towards Ouray at my progress towards the top:
The first cutoff is at 7.6 miles (Upper Camp Bird). It must be reached in 2.5 hours (if you don't make it in that time frame, they will not let you go further in the race). I arrived in 2:06. I was glad I made that cutoff.

View of Upper Camp Bird aid station as I'm leaving: Now for the pics from miles 7.6 to the top of Imogene Pass:

The second cutoff is at 10 miles (Imogene Pass summit). It must be reached in 4.5 hours. I arrived in 3:12. I felt so good about that! It is really a good idea to get up there as fast as possible before a storm hits..

The last mile to the summit was a death march. Nobody seemed particularly chatty at this point. Lots of grades over 20%. Not much oxygen either....

Some things that kept me occupied the last mile:
There was a guy that was playing the theme song to 'Rocky' on his ipod. Whatever it takes to get you there, dude - I loved it! Also, I saw a guy hiking close to the top with cheesy, cheap flip flops on. Crazy. Here he is. Another guy passed me wearing those minimal Keds sneakers with the dressiest pair of linen shorts. You see it all out there.

Looking back from the top, way above treeline:Greeted at the top with a theme (is it supposed to make it feel warmer up there?)...the volunteers are great.

I stayed less than a minute on the summit. It was COLD and breezy.

Here is a pic that the photo company took of me as I started on the downhill.

The downhill from the summit was screaming steep, with lots of scree!Soon, though, we were back below treeline, and it was so green and beautiful! Social Tunnel, near the last aid station at mile 14.3: The town of Telluride comes into view almost 2 miles before the finish. It gives you the idea that you are almost there. That last 2 miles felt LONG. I arrived at the finish line and Kenny was there to greet me. Thank you, Kenny! I had a Colorado peach and some chicken noodle soup, which was wonderful. The weather held out, with only a few sprinkles of rain at the end. The weather is really unpredictable in these mountains. I lucked out again on the CO weather.

I finished 53 out of 88 in my age group (60th percentile), 287 out of 484 female finishers (59th percentile), and 788 out of 1,127 male and female finishers (70th percentile).

One of the hardest things I've ever done.

Yes, I'll be doing it again next year. :)

And, by the way, I got into the Ghost Town 38.5 mile race, which is on January 17th, 2010. Troy is doing it, also. They only let 75 people in. It is held in NM in the mountains. Woohoo! Kind of appears that I'm on my way to training for a 50 miler, doesn't it?

How did I survive prior to the internet?

Well, my internet has been down for over a week and will be for a few more days. I've been out of town for some of it, but I was hoping to get the replacement Quest modem in the mail while I was gone.

Anyway, I feel like I'm in slight withdrawals....I'm at the library right now trying to read email and do the bare minimum until I can get reconnected.

I did finish the Imogene Pass Run in CO this weekend! It was one of the hardest races I have ever done. 17.1 miles over a 13,100 feet pass. I did it in 4:37:59.9. I'm recovering well - just a little sore. I'll post a race report with pictures sometime this week when I get internet access back.

I'm going to try to get into the Ghost Town 38.5 mile race, which is on January 17th, 2010. Registration opens at 8am Tucson time on Tuesday, September 15th. Looks like Troy is going to enter, too. Hope we get in! I'll have to get on the internet at work first thing in the morning...

Silverton Alpine Marathon (S.A.M.)

I finished and I'm recovering well! What a great time! I called it my little 'mini-Hardrock' (although it is nowhere close to the difficulty of that race!)

Kenny also finished it with me. He had never run a marathon before and the longest he had run this summer was 15 miles. He did awesome - living at elevation has its advantages. He was ahead of me at the beginning and pretty much was ahead of me the whole race. It was fun running with him - never in my life did I expect him to do a marathon. Never say never, people.

Total miles: 26.2 miles (my Garmin calculated 27.05 - little bonus, I guess)

Finish Time: 6:34

Total cumulative elevation gain/(loss): 6,839/(6,929) feet

Start point: Silverton - 9,333 feet

High point: California Pass - 12,930 feet (Garmin read 13,043)

My goals were (in order):

1. Have fun. Check!

2. Finish (without injury). Check!

3. Don't finish last. Check!

4. Finish in 7 hours 30 minutes. Check!

5. Finish in under 7 hours and 30 minutes! Check!

You know, if I didn't lollygag at the aid stations and chat and stop to take so many pictures, I could have shaved some time off. But that's part of the fun! And, it is all about the fun. The aid station volunteers commented to the RD's that Kenny and I LOVED the aid stations. I loved chatting with the volunteers. They were awesome.

This is the most beautiful place I have ever run - the San Juan mountains are unbelievably gorgeous. You absolutely MUST put this on your race calendar for next year.

Rodger Wrublick (Across the Years RD) and Jamil Coury (Javelina Jundred RD) were the race directors. This was one heck of a well organized race. Due to the late notice (Rodger and Jamil had picked up the race from the town of Silverton, which was unable to complete the race organization), the registration was low. So, they decided it would be a 'fun run' and our checks were returned. I made a nice donation to the Silverton School Sports Program instead, which was an option we were given.

The aid stations were supremely stocked with the best sports drinks and food, we got t-shirts, a free pair of Drymax socks, gourmet breakfast from the Wyman hotel (French toast to DIE for), and an awesome barbeque lunch afterwards. What a deal. They even drive us over to the race start in a trolley. How cool is that?

Start (Silverton) to Howardsville (mile 4 aid station):

Here we are at the start - it was around 40 degrees. Brrrr. Me running along the rushing Animas River - just amazingly pretty and peaceful. I usually run along here when I visit Silverton. Howardsville to Eureka (7.6 mile aid station):

Yes, it really is this pretty.

Eureka to Animas Forks (11 mile aid station):

Coming into Animas Forks aid station and I'm happy...

Animas Forks to California Pass (16 mile aid station):

This section is the big climb of the race.

Pretty neat old structure right outside of Animas Forks aid station:Probably about 800 sheep up on the hillside in this section. They call 'em mountain maggots up there. They made lots of noises as we passed. Seemed like some of them were screaming or maybe cheering us on. :) All sorts of remnants from old mining operations in the San Juans (I thought this was a cool pic with the clouds and all).The last of the big climb to California Pass: Finally at the top at 12,930 feet! I really struggled to get enough oxygen the last 15-20 minutes of this section. I was VERY slow on this part. But, I made it!

California Pass to Gladstone (19.6 mile aid station):

After having some boiled potatoes and salt (favorite aid station food!), I was happy for some downhill. My mood had improved! On this section, you head downhill for a bit, but then back up again to Hurricane Pass. Here we are at Hurricane Pass (and then it is pretty much all downhill from here!): This section is one of the prettiest on the course:Gladstone to the finish (Silverton):

Here is the town of Silverton coming into sight, and finally, us coming into the finish! We couldn't have asked for better weather - lots of cloud cover and perfect temperature for running. No storms at the higher elevations. Just perfect.

The last 3/4 mile is on pavement, but the rest of the race is on jeep/dirt roads. Overall, I felt pretty good at the finish. Rodger was cooking us up some food, so I had 2 bratwursts on buns. Wonderful. Anyone who knows me know that food is king with me. :)

Afterwards, Kenny and I went down to the Animas River and found an inlet where we could soak our legs in the cold water! It felt good and the dogs had a blast. Cracker Dog swam for the first time. She was happy to see Dixie and Taos Dog. What a great race! I would definitely do it again and would recommend it highly. I would never have done this a year ago. That's what the Tucson Trail Runner runs have done for me; given me confidence. What a difference a year in your life can make.

"Well, there's people that will tell you it's just no use, and there's people that'll tell you that you're gonna lose, people that'll tell anything you're gonna listen to...Do what you gotta do." ~ Garth Brooks

A foggy Mt. Lemmon hike

This weekend, I took my co-worker Jesse on a hike on Mt. Lemmon. He is from Texas and is in awe of our mountains here in Tucson and wanted me to be his guide for the hike.

It had really rained the night before, so the whole summit was under clouds. I was hoping that the hike I picked out would allow him to enjoy some expansive views of Tucson and the surrounding area, but we couldn't see anything but the trail in front of us. It was just socked in up there. It was really eery feeling. All of the foliage was so wet that it felt like we were getting sprinkled on, but it was just hundreds of droplets falling from the forest canopy, shaken off from the breeze. I was actually a little cold during most of the morning! Fun hike. Of course, I took the Crackinator!

We started from the Ski Lift parking lot. We hiked up Aspen Draw trail, across Radio Ridge, over to the summit, onto Meadow trail, and looped back on the Lemmon trail. We veered off for a view of the Lemmon fire lookout cabin, but no views to be seen there either. We returned to the Ski Lift parking lot via the Aspen Draw trail.

My Garmin was being wiggy again; I thought the hike was around 7 miles, but we ended up around 5.75. Drop in the bucket for me, but Jesse was happy with the uphill workout.

My breathing was great! I think I'm getting used to the elevation, but I've also started taking some various herbs in anticipation of the elevation next week for the marathon, so maybe they are kicking in? These herbs are supposed to help prevent elevation sickness: Astragalus, Salvia, Hoelen (5 herb blend), Ginseng (4 herb blend). I was unable to obtain Codonopsis (this stuff is hard to track down!), but the Ginseng blend is a good substitute as well. These herbs help increase oxygen flow, increase endurance, and eliminate water retention. This is primarily a Chinese herbal approach to high elevation symptoms. Guess I'll find out next Saturday if it helped or not when I do the S.A.M.!

The hike was Saturday, and then on Sunday, I did the Saguaro 8 mile training run with Shari and the other SAR runners. I haven't officially signed up for that race. It is on Labor Day, and is 5 days from the Imogene Race. I'm waiting to see how I feel afer the marathon this Saturday. So, I got a big 29 miles for the week (6 of it slow hiking), so I feel I'm tapering good for the marathon. A few short runs this week, lots of good sleep and eating well, and I hope to arrive in Silverton rested for a mountain marathon...

Icky....Spider Bite

Well, I think it was a spider bite anyway - pretty classic 'bullseye' appearance. I noticed it right after my 18 mile trail run on Mt. Lemmon 3 weeks ago. It got pretty bad before it got better.

I still have a light red ring on my leg. Grossed everyone out at work. People tried to send me to the doctor saying it could be a brown recluse spider bite. I figured since my skin didn't turn necrotic in a short time, that it was just a standard bite - nothing much to be done about it since it wasn't infected. It was itchy and hard and fairly sore for a few weeks.

Never know what critters are going to hop on you out there on the trail!

My legs were looking pretty scary there for a bit - well, my left leg anyway. Spider bite, big red scar on knee from pavement fall while running 2 months ago, and some pretty good scratches from the trail race last week. I still wore a skirt to work to show off how burly I am. :)