Triathlete Teamwork and Togetherness

I did not sign up for all of the T-Rex TRIs before they filled up this season, which is not all bad.  Now I get the opportunity to volunteer and cheer on fellow athletes.  Tonight was Pterodactyl Tri and I was lucky enough to get there in time to get a 3 mile run in on the hiking trail before my Run Marshall shift started.  It was scorching hot and I was pretty slow and at times nauseous, and felt a lot of empathy for those doing the Tri.  A part of me was relieved not to be competing in this heat, and admiring of those with the stamina for it. I was a hot sweaty mess to start my shift but felt great for the effort and looked forward to cheering my fool head off while directing folks around the dumpsters.  (Yes I found a position that was downwind to wait for the runners.)

I really love being a cheerleader, I like the brief smiles and thanks and sometimes people pick up pace when they hear me cheering them on.  I know there are times in races when my energy was flagging and I was able to pick it up a bit when someone cheered me on. It's wonderful to return the favor.  I got many compliments of being the best cheerleader.  Though admittedly there was one runner who winced and said I could "tone down the enthusiasm a bit".  I guess he just couldn't handle all of my fabulous self.  Towards the end of my shift with hand numb from clapping and voice hoarse with shouting, there was a runner who wasn't in the race who stopped to chat and congratulate me on my enthusiasm. He mentioned that when he volunteered he found it difficult to stay enthusiastic for the whole race.   Really?  I get a little tired but often the folks at the end need as much if not more cheering.  I have been at the back of the pack, and DFL and it is mentally stressful to be behind everyone else.  It's hard to fight that inner voice that says "you should just give up", and push through the heat and pain and fatigue when it feels like you have already lost.  The back of the pack needs just as much kudos and cheering as the front runners and everyone in between. I heard several stories from other triathletes of people helping each other on the course tonight.  One women told me she was falling behind a group of 3 other women and they all pulled together, wouldn't let her quit, and finished together.  One of the other Athletes who couldn't get into this race was also volunteering.  When told he had put in enough time and could head home, said that he would rather stay to cheer in all of the athletes.  He echoed what I had shared with the other runner how those in the back of the pack deserve to be cheered in just as much as the front runners.  I love this community.  We are all competing, but people reach out and encourage and help each other to the finish.

On my run back to the start from my spot on the course I saw a spectacular sunset and stopped to take a moment to enjoy.  Life is good my friends.  Be there for each other.

On The Trail Again

I admit I have not been running enough or been out to see my friends on the trails enough this summer.  It has been a very busy summer of moving, a little Tri training, but mostly selling our house and moving.  Steve and I are signed up for the Half marathon at Woodstock this year and we are very behind at training.  This morning I was determined to get on the trails and Steve actually woke up early enough to join me.
We met up with a good group of friends down at my old haunt the Poto, and there was another group arriving at the same time who were friends with Cindy.  Fun times with lots of folks out to enjoy a great day on the trail.

I somehow twisted my ankle after only a couple miles and fell hard on my knee.  I was fine and able to keep running after a brief walk, unfortunately my Lotta Breeze Capris just got a bit breezier!

It was a muggy, sweaty, buggy time on the trail, a typical Summer run.  I found myself thinking about the differences between the winter runs on this trail and summer runs.  Summer has the lush greenery and wonderful warm sunshine, however in the winter we don't have deer flies.  Steve tried out the fly tape you stick to your hat.  I wasn't really bothered by them much but Steve was proud of every one that he caught.  He commented that it was like having his cell phone on top of his hat and the constant buzzing made him think he was getting messages.  (Eeww!)

We ran into a third group and stopped to chat with Dawn, who I had met at the Highland Loops race, Leslie you were missed!  Steve and I had left the group and were doing a shorter loop with the hiking trail to make 6 miles when we ran into Dawn's group again on the other side as they were trying to add some more miles to their run, meanwhile Cindy's group had run into them earlier on.

Lots of friends on the trail today.

Steve got a second wind in the final stretch and went on ahead of me, I was being careful on the downhills and found a big turtle in the middle of the path.  He took up a good chunk of that part of the trail.  Steve said he never saw him.  Either Steve was going too fast or the turtle climbed up there just after Steve breezed through.  Poor shy guy didn't want his picture taken.

Steve and I finished up before most folks and had a nice wade in the lake before heading to the Howell farmer's market.  I am a little sad we missed folks returning from the run, but this just means I need to make it out to Poto more often.  It's a great time to be on the trails!

Spirited Away at Proud Lake

There are days when work is dragging me down with patients who require a lot of emotional energy to work with them, it leaves me feeling like a limp rag at the end of the day.  Couple that with some sad news about a friend and former coworker and then the stress of selling and buying a house, and I don't feel up to running at the end of the day.  I really feel like going home, collapsing on the couch, giving in to the blurch (See The Oatmeal) and eating lots of chocolate. Stepping out of work, however, the wind in the trees and the beautiful sunny day called to me, and I knew I would feel better if I spent some time in the woods.

Near the beginning of the trail I was greeted by a strange spirit on top of a sign post.

You never know what you will run into on the trail, it was a friendly if rude creature.

I seemed to have some trouble picking my feet up this run, I somehow managed to turn my left ankle once (not badly, I could keep going) and I kept snagging my toes and tripped several times on roots that I swear were not there seconds ago.

But the temperature was perfect and the breeze kept the mosquitoes away. and I could feel my worries melt away with the miles.

The greens of the woods were stunning, and the wind, water and bird song remind me that I'm working to sell and buy a house to have this in my backyard when I get home.
In the end the stress and work will be worth it.

I again found the handy work of trickster spirits when I came across this signpost and could not make sense of it.  It was pointing back up the trail where I came from saying that I had come from 12, when I know I had just come from 17.  I spent several minutes contemplating if I had run farther than I thought and missed a sign, when I realized someone had loosened the sign post and turned it around to face the wrong direction.  I moved it back to the correct position and hoped I wouldn't run into anymore tricky spirits on the trail today.

Overall a lovely run and mostly all to myself.  I finished 5 miles feeling refreshed, relaxed, and in much better spirits than when I started.

Into the woods I go to lose my mind and find my soul.   May all my friends find their own way to inner peace.  Good bye Dana, thank you for all you taught me in the short time I knew you.  You were one of the best PT's it was my honor and privilege to work with. May your final journey bring you peace and joy.

Bright Blessings my friends.

Trail Marathon - No Wimps Challenge

Trail Weekend -  No Wimps Challenge

This is a two day event: the first day we run a Half Marathon and the second day either a full marathon or 50k.  This year I chose the half marathon and then the full marathon, to run a total of 39.3 miles for the weekend.  And yah, I am a bit crazy, but over the last 6 years of running I have met a lot of great folks who make crazy seem possible.

Saturday – The Half Marathon 13.1:  I was nervous and excited as I rocked out to my favorite run tunes on the way to the race.  I started thinking about all of the amazing, supportive, and positive friends I have met over the past years and started crying.  I am not sure I could have made it this far, or been brave enough to attempt this race without all of that positive energy encouraging me on through all of the training runs.  My trail peeps kept me honest about my miles and gave me a reason to keep to my training plan.  I do this race every year and I think this has been the best year of training so far, and it’s because of the enormous support from my running peeps.

Saturday was supposed to be my easy run day.  As the miles got rougher and rougher I kept telling myself  “With all of my training 13 miles should be a fun walk in the park, right?” My Pace goal was to keep between 13-14 miles/min to save my energy for tomorrow’s longer Marathon distance.  I am proud to say I was pretty successful with that even as the miles got more and more painful. 

I had a shoe malfunction where it felt like the tongue was pressing into a nerve in the front top of my ankle.  I have worn these shoes for 2 months with no problems and no pain and now it felt like I was bruising a nerve with each step. Each downhill step was a burning and stabbing pain.  After stopping to re-tie and adjust 4 times I gave up and just pressed through, tried to ignore the pain and focused on staying on pace.   I don’t really remember the people around me or the scenery.

I tried to distract myself with songs; Middle of The Ride-Jimmy Eat World, I’ll Fly Away – Allison Krauss and Gillian Welch, Carry On- Fun along with snippets of several others were playing in my head.  You know when you can’t remember anything but the chorus?  There is a song that I can’t remember the title or artist but the chorus is “The bells, the bells, the bells” in my head it became “The hills, the hills, The Hills!” 

I made it to the finish in the time I wanted and with a crowd of cheering friends to greet me. I did it!  But I was part elated, part scared. I was very sore, 13 miles was not easy it was a rough ride, and I had changed my gait to try to relieve my ankles causing some different pains in my hamstrings and glutes.  I was worried that I would not be able to get through the next day’s 26.2 miles.

Sunday – The Full Marathon 26.2:  Sunday morning I was not as sore as I feared, and after some trial and error I found that with 2 layers of socks and pulling the tongue of the shoe over to the side alleviated my ankle pain.  The day was cold and gloomy, with threatening skies and a forecast of steady rain.  My friends, however, were all cheerful, excited and full of enough sunny smiles to brighten any day. 

The plan had been to pace Leslie for her first full marathon at 15 – 16 min/miles for the first loop, then pick up pace for the second if my body was feeling up to it.  However Leslie was considering a slower pace at 16 – 17 min miles and Connie who joined us at the last minute wanted to go slower as well.  Erinn, Leslie, Connie, and I started out together at the back of the pack, however Erinn and I kept to a 15 – 16 min/mile pace and Leslie and Connie soon fell behind.  I was surprised to find that I felt really good at that pace with no pain or soreness, it felt like the day before had been a rough warm up and today I was falling into the right rhythm and relaxing into the pace right off the bat. 

Erinn and I picked up another runner named Kim, who said she liked my pace and she remembered me from yesterday and how I looked like a natural and made it look effortless. If only she knew what an effort yesterday was for me!  I assured her that every step was an effort. Kim and I stuck with Erinn for the first 8 ish miles then Erinn picked up pace and after a mile at 14 min miles I decided to slow down and stay with my planned pace. Kim stayed with me for the rest of the race, she said she liked my pace and that I inspired her to run more and walk less.  This was a first for me, after 6 years it’s nice to know I have gotten to the point I can hold a pace that someone else likes.  This is the first Marathon that I have had company the whole way and it really helped the miles go by!

 I was also lost in memories of the trail.  6 months of training on the Potowatami trail, and I had memorized every turn, hill, bench and rock along the way.  I was accompanied by memories of all the fun times with friends; Pacing Leslie with her grit and determination, and occasional rap music inspiration to keep going through any weather or soreness.  Hearing Cindy’s voice yelling “C’mon Jen, you got this!” as we run up some of the toughest hills on the trail.   Kim yelling “My ass hurts!”, and singing loudly and enthusiastically “These are a few of my favorite things!”  Erinn’s dry, sarcastic humor and her swearing, a lot at the cold, and the rain, and the trail, none of which seem to slow her down.  Steve’s “I think I know another way to get to 20 miles, I’m sure it’s over here.” Leslie’s hearing an owl for the first time.  Climbing the “Jurassic Park” fence, switching around the race magnets on another Ultra runner’s car. ( I wonder if they ever noticed?)  And hundreds of other silly, grueling, and awesome moments with Cindy taking Go Pro pictures of the journey. These memories kept me company on the trail. 

Kim and I had some of our own silly moments especially in the second loop towards the end when I was getting a bit loopy from fatigue.  Kim remarked that she could no longer go in a straight line, my thought that Steve complains about that with me when I haven’t been running a marathon.  May Apples were looking like little umbrellas in the rain and reminding me of an anime character Totoro, standing and waiting for a bus.  I imagined lots of little forest spirits waiting for the bus and thinking if it came by I would love a lift to the finish. Seeing a scattering of broken red pottery on the path and thinking I should be careful not to cut my feet, then realizing it was bark, not pottery, and I have shoes on so it wouldn’t cut my feet.

We were a ¼ mile to the finish when another runner came up behind us and remarked “My everything hurts!”  I was with him at that point, everything hurt, but for some reason I didn’t want him to pass me. And with Cindy’s voice in my head I roared as I picked up pace and ran up the next hill, and kept my pace up.  He passed me anyway, but Kim quickly fell behind as I ran up the remaining hills and saw a crowd of friends shouting for me as I pushed into a sprint into the finish.  I felt Brilliant!  I had done it!  6 months of slogging through ice, snow, mud, and an occasional sunny picnicking day.  I think this is the first race that I felt well prepared for and didn’t charlie horse or cramp up during, and I didn’t do it alone.  “It takes a village” and I have been blessed to find a village of inspiring, supportive, and kick ass friends to get me to the finish.  

Thank You everyone who shared in my journey!

20 Miles with some off the beaten path

"...I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

The Road Not Taken

-Robert Frost

Today was Leslie and I's  last 20 mile run before the big race in 3 weeks.  Steve and Erinn  came along to join in and encourage the adventure.  We have gotten to know the Potowatami trail pretty well over the last  few months and perhaps it was time to shake things up a bit.  So when Steve said he had an idea of a different route that would add 2 miles to the Poto's 18 to give us the required 20 we were up for it.  When looking at the trail sign and seeing the area he was going to use was off the map with no marked trails (Here be dragons!), I wasn't particularly worried, after all I was with two very experienced trail runners one of whom knew the area pretty well.

The day dawned bright and beautiful, everything the last 20 mile run was not.  it was a great day to goof around, enjoy nature and explore.  I did take a dive in my first 2 miles landing smack on my stomach and knocking the wind out of me. luckily no more damage than a few scrapes and bruises and a good reminder to pick up my feet!  

  I spotted the first flowers of spring!  Cute little purple things that reminded me of violets. Erinn says they are Forest Anemones whatever their name it was nice to see flowers again.

The "off the beaten path" Steve led us to turned out to be a Boy Scout trail, with a Big yellow sign saying No Trespassing BSA property. Steve said "just ignore the sign" My reply "Sign? what sign? I'm looking at the trail to keep from falling again."  We came to a fork in the path with one path leading up an enormous hill.  Erinn made a comment that sounded like she thought it would be a good training hill.  I thought so as well and said "With a hill like that don't you guys want to see what's at the top?" and with a whoop started up a hill that reminded me of climbing the Saugatuck dunes.

The pictures don't quite do the steepness justice, however Erinn was still smiling when she reached the top so it wasn't that bad of a climb.  We had found one of the boyscout cabins with some picnic tables in the sun, perfect for resting at and some outhouses that where somewhat needed by that point. It was ironic that one of the tables had "Training" painted on it.

 

Continuing on our path it eventually petered out and dumped us into the middle of the Boy Scout camp.  Eventually we found the road which led to a Scout owned trail that Steve knew connected with the Waterloo/ Poto trail.  The scout trail was pretty fun and great training for warrior dash as we jumped up onto, over and under fallen trees.  

After several of these obstacles Steve commented that this route was a bit more bushwhacking than he anticipated, and

we became very grateful for groups like the IMBA Trail Crew  who work to keep the paths clear for the rest of us adventuring out in the woods.

I enjoyed the rolling green of the Waterloo trail for the short time we were on it. (Does anyone else notice that distances seem shorter when you have new trail to explore?)  Sadly it did not add the extra miles Steve was hoping for and I did a 1 mile out and back at the end to reach my total 20 miles for the day.  Still I think it was a fun detour, definitely worth more exploring.

Today was a much easier run than the last 20 miles, maybe due to weather, or goofing off with friends in the woods, or the new shoes that kept my feet from hurting as much.  Whatever the reasons it was a fabulous day in the woods and I am just grateful to have the time to enjoy it.   

Thanks to Steve our navigator, the "dude" who shows the way.  Thanks to Erin for your feisty wit and encouraging me to keep up my pace, even after 15 miles.  Most of all thanks to Leslie who's tenacity and spirit brought us together to conquer the trail.

Happy Trails my friends!

All Thrills Run

Huron Meadows Metro Park is home to the All Thrills No Frills trail run, which I spent the morning helping out with.  It is one of the races I really enjoy volunteering for.  This is a lovely, wide and not very technical trail with rolling hills. The trail is jogging stroller friendly, dog friendly, and perfect for group runs as two or three people can run side by side with no fear of bikes, and I have often recommended it as a good trail race for beginning trail runners.

Today's weather was perfect, chilly at first but I had fun staying warm by jumping up and down and cheering for the runners.

Of course I had my own run to get in today so after all the cheering was done I stripped down a few layers and hit the trail myself for a double loop of the 8k course.
Have I mentioned that I get lost easily and frequently make wrong turns? It's pretty funny that I missed a turn in my first loop and ran 6 miles instead of 5.  Yes I can get lost even on a course I am familiar with and that I am marshaling at. I am just that talented! It is however,  a beautiful day for going extra miles. The peepers were raising their spring cacophony. The birds were calling their "Hey Baaaaaby, Hey baaaaaby" calls for a mate.  And the wonderful scent of earth and green filled the air.
It is really nice to finish a run and be able to lay out and stretch on a picnic table in the gloriously warm sunshine.  I could feel all my worries and stress from the week melt away in the sun.

Happy Trails my friends!!

20 mile run gone to the dogs

Let us say conditions were not ideal, 45 degrees and intermittent pouring rain is not the best weather for me to run in.  Keeping my feet and hands warm enough becomes a challenge when they are soaking wet and then throw in a tough 20 mile slog through mud with intermittent foot pain and it's rough to keep my spirits up.  I think it would have been miserable if I had been alone and I am very grateful for the companionship of great friends Leslie, Cindy, and Erin who helped cheer me on and gave me a reason to keep my  positive juices flowing as I cheered them on in turn.

Fun parts of the run:
Pacing along with a group who had a Blue Heeler.  That crazy cheerful dog raced up and down the line of us checking in on the lead runner, pacing along side Leslie for a bit, then chasing into the woods then racing back to travel up and down the line of us, checking we were all there.  It must have been putting in three times as many miles as we were with a happy grin on his face in spite of mud and rain.


Taking goofy photos

 Climbing the Jurassic park fence. Leslie: "Are you sure it isn't an electric fence?" Me: "I'm sure it's not but if you hear a hum let go quick!"

Cindy also took a movie of me dancing and singing "Singing In The Rain".  I'm actually pretty proud that I had the energy left to dance at the 16 mile mark. Honestly it had just started to pour again as we were waiting to take turns at the outhouse and the singing and dancing was an attempt to keep warm and not cramp up.  It worked rather well and got a laugh from Cindy.



We ran into another dog about a mile from the finish, a beautiful Shepard husky mix who's owner gave us treats to hand out.  I was mean and made him work for them.  He was happy to sit and shake for treats and was a good reminder of the simple joy of just being out there on the trail.

They say you learn more about yourself from your bad runs than your good.  I'm not sure I would classify this as my worst run, but it was definitely not my best.  It is nice to know I can still laugh, sing, cheer others on and appreciate the stories and cheerful greetings of those I meet on the trail. Even when cold, wet, and in pain I can make it 20 miles.  The next 20 may not be easier but I know I will have laughter, stories, and friends to get me through.