Today my baby girl turns SEVEN!? That’s three years short of TEN!? I know, I know, I realize that is an insane way to think, but that is how my mommy brain operates sometimes. And when she turns 10 I am sure I will say “that is three years short of thirteen!” 🙂
Our Peanut
It is amazing how things can change in just a year. I read my birthday post from last year and actually laughed out loud at how MUCH things have changed. That whole “spelling words thing?” Well you can forget about that, we can’t spell squat around this kid now. She is more of a sponge than she was as a toddler!
Still, she’s our girl. Our little mermaid swimming, book reading, sarcastic little wisen-hymer. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dearest Peanut ….
When you turn seven, you are excited to think that you are catching up to “the big kids” at school not realizing they too, are turning another year older.
When you turn seven, you have moments where you want to be little again but yet you relish in all the things that you are allowed to do, that your little sister cannot.
When you turn seven, you develop a level of sarcasm that at times is inappropriate and yet oddly funny.
When you turn seven, you can read. Plain and simple. (Note to self: don’t leave blog posts open on the computer.)
When you turn seven, you moan about how annoying your little sister can be but when no one is looking, I see you take her hand to cross the parking lot or I catch you reading her books in your room.
When you turn seven and you get into trouble, you immediately start talking back, fighting for your rights and defending yourself. As frustrating as that is as a parent, I applaud your emotion and ability to argue (must be a Jersey trait).
When you turn seven, you are still pure, honest and sweet. You see the world in black and white. You trust in everyone and you love unconditionally. I hope you never lose this.
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When you turn seven, you become your own person. The comments and observations that I hear from teachers and other parents are often sides of you that we never get to see. You are becoming you on your own. As you should.
When you turn seven, you become self-conscious. No matter what we say to ease your fears or concerns, you have sadly started having negative thoughts about yourself. Don’t. Love yourself the way you love others.
When you turn seven, you want to wear every single color and every single pattern of clothing that you own. At the same time. Rock it kid.
When you turn seven, you start to understand the concept of time. Literally. “Just a minute” becomes a challenge, and 60 seconds later you are at my side reminding that a minute is up.
When you turn seven, you want to be a lifeguard so that you can save people.
When you turn seven, you despise your homework. Something tells me that I will be writing this same sentence for many years to come.
When you turn seven, you have your future before you but you cannot see it. You want what you want now and cannot wait. Welcome to life kid.
My dear sweet Peanut, you are my sunshine, my being and my reason for waking up every morning. Without your smile every day, life would be a dark unhappy place. You have the ability to make others laugh and you warm the hearts of everyone you meet. You are kind, you are thoughtful and your father and I love you more every day and we are so proud of the person you are becoming.
Since my last big post, Â I have been trying to get motivated to do a lot of things that I feel I put to the side during training. Since AR50, I’ve been spending more time with the girls, more time resting, hanging with friends and planning birthday parties for the Peanut and Squeaker.
I have also been contemplating this blog and my last big post about being Plant-Based. I am basically learning on the fly and finally diving into what this website can do or really, what I can do to this website.
What I have learned is that I cannot have a “blog” like format (i.e. multiple posts) on separate pages. So that Plant-Based page I was dreaming of, did not quite materialize as planned. Instead, I spent quite a bit of time “Categorizing” my posts into separate…well, categories. If you see on the right hand side of your screen, there are four categories listed: Trail Running, Plant-Based, Race Reports and Uncategorized.
So basically, I will have to continue posting on this page (Home) BUT if you recall a post that you read here that you’d like to go back to, or if you missed a few (hey, it happens I can’t expect everyone to subscribe – hint hint) then just click on the Plant-Based category and you’ll find what you are looking for (I hope anyway).
I am working on a few posts (in my head) that I need to sit down and pan out a bit. Time has been consumed lately with a certain little Peanut’s 7th birthday that is quickly approaching as well as an awesome get-away weekend with some old and new friends.
The Trailmomma family traveled to La Porte, California (population 26 – maybe on a good day) for a wonderful weekend where we “unplugged” so to speak and enjoyed good company and great food.
Stonegate planned and organized the whole thing and she did a fantastic job. She assigned me to a crew that consisted of 3 or 4 other families for our Saturday evening meal prep. I was in charge of the vegan/plant-based dish. I lugged my Instant Pot all the way to La Porte and it came through 100%. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of my final meal, but it was pretty tasty and I used a new (to me) bean called a Pinquinto! I followed this recipe here modifying it a bit to my liking. Some specialty massage includes hot stone massage that absorbs water and retains heat. order viagra uk There are many brands available in the markets which vary click over here now viagra 50 mg in design, quality, effectiveness, sizes, and more. Many of them stopped their business of producing other products and started the manufacturing of tadalafil 5mg tablets and also is used for the same purpose, and they also perform the same way. Get these great savings viagra discount prices for yourself! Join the increasing number of senior citizens and companies.
The Saturday Night Meal Spread
Also, I have a Facebook page – www.facebook.com/trailmomma that mostly consists of plant-based nutrition posts or photos. So if you like that kind of thing, feel free to head on over there as I tend to post more frequently over there than I do here. 🙂
So I realized the other day, as I was maintaining my Plant-Based “page†on my internal work “Facebook but not Facebook†page that I am recreating the wheel here.
So I thought I might get a twofer done by reposting some of what I post on my work page here, until I can figure out the best way to manage this Plant-Based page. The WordPress “gods†won’t allow me to post “entries†like I do over on my trail running page, but it does allow me to post new pages – hence we have this Potato Page.Â
Recently, someone asked me to talk about “bad veggies,†for example, potatoes or corn and to dispel any myths that may be associated with these veggies.
So today, I’ll focus on the good old potato! It seems that the introduction of the Paleo diet all but destroyed the lovely potato’s healthy reputation. And they ARE healthy. Just look at its nutritional stats!
Potatoes are low in calories, low in fat and low in sodium and sugar. They are high in potassium, Vitamin C, magnesium, Vitamin B-6 and our friend FIBER – we need more fiber in our lives!
I eat potatoes, whether it is sweet, russet, Yukon or red almost daily. It’s true, I do. I actually make a whole bag of potatoes in my pressure cooker and then store them in the fridge in a container. Potatoes are versatile and have quite a long shelf life. If I get home late I know that I have an already cooked potato in my fridge that I can top with broccoli, nutritional yeast or salsa and have a quick, easy and filling meal. I usually like add black beans too which really completes the meal. I often do this on a bed of spinach or kale to bump up the nutritional value.
Remember, potatoes are not the enemy. The important thing is that you vary what you eat. Change things up a bit but don’t avoid the almighty potato for fear of gaining weight. Just be mindful of what you top your spud with … you’d be surprise how filling a veggie loaded baked potato can really be!
When I signed up for the American River 50 Mile race (AR50) back in February, I had just had a string of really strong and powerful training runs. I was on a high. I felt the strongest I have ever felt. And then, a series of unfortunate events started happening one after the other. I was bit by a dog on a training run that caused me to tweak my back. I ran a really super hard 50k that was primarily down hill, something my knees and back really did not like and basically, I just started losing quality sleep little by little. In my head, I was falling apart so how on earth did I think I could run 50 miles? What was I thinking!?
Yet, I kept plugging at it little by little. I pretty much took my taper more seriously than I ever have before. The week of AR50 I ran 3 miles on Monday afternoon (it sucked), I ran 4.5 miles on Tuesday morning (ugh, again it sucked) and I ran another 4 miles on Wednesday afternoon (oh boy, shoot me now). Then, I rested. Completely. No stairs at work. I tried for quality sleep each night. I ate really well. I even decided to work from home the Friday before the race.
Working from home = less stress and more relaxed. Plus I got a ton of work done.
When Friday arrived, I was still super nervous. I had to go and pick up my bib and race packet and I knew the minute that I did that, my energy would change. If you have ever been at a packet pick up for a big race like this, you can just FEEL the energy of everyone that is there. You look at people and think “Wow, they are going to crush it!” or “Wow, they are running too?!” You just get sucked into the awesomeness of an ultra’s race scene. It is infectious.
I brought the Peanut with me as I had to drop her off at a friend’s for a sleepover. She wasn’t as impressed with packet pick up as I was. 🙂 Still, it was neat showing her everything and introducing her to people.
When I got home, all I had to do was make myself dinner. I had pre-packed my hydration pack, my cooler, and everything else that I had needed earlier in the day. I made some yukon gold potatoes for dinner. Simple. Easy. Nothing that would upset my tummy and I made sure to eat early enough so as to digest it all before laying down for sleep.
Slowly but surely, I started to get a migraine. It started slow and low on my head but by 7:30 pm, I was struggling to keep my eyes open due to the pain. I kissed Squeaker and Vans goodnight and crawled into bed close to 8 pm.
I woke up a few times during the night. I had that “late for the airport” feeling that you get when you feel like your alarm might not go off. But, eventually at 3;45 am it went off and I immediately hopped out of bed. I felt, rested. For once.
I changed, grabbed all my gear, filled my bottles and hydration pack and I waited in the garage for Pigeon and Missouri to pick me up on their way to the starting area. Due to some unfortunate planning on my part, Vans would not be able to see me throughout the day. He promised that he would be at the finish. This meant that I had to build myself my own little personal aid-station again for Beal’s Point and make it easy enough that Missouri would be able to carry it from the car to somewhere close to the course.
At the starting area cars were lining up in the lot and the sky was dark. There was an eclipse of the moon so it was exceptionally dark at the start this year and I didn’t bring more than a dinky little light. Ooops
Trying to get the eclipse
The minute we arrived, Pigeon and I hopped out of the car and headed to the porta potties. The line was short (at the moment). When we were done, we loaded back into the car and for some reason, I buckled myself in. Missouri turns to me and says, “Are you afraid we’ll get into an accident just sitting here?” I looked at her for a minute not quite comprehending what she was saying and then I realized what I had done. HA! My mind was obviously occupied and not thinking clearly. 🙂
We had a good laugh about that for  while and that seemed to lighten the weight in my chest.
Soon however, it was time to head to the starting line. The race started at 6 am and it was still pretty dark outside.
Pigeon had a flashlight with her but I only had the little light on my visor. It would do but it wouldn’t be great. We only had to run about 3 or 4 miles in the dark, that was my guess anyway based on the sunrise. Luckily, a lot of other runners around me had lights.
Here we go!
Without much hype, the race started and wave 1 began running up the 1 mile marina drive towards the trail. Pigeon and I were able to chat with Miss P and Blisters for a bit which was nice. Everyone seemed to have a nice nervous energy.
Immediately I just felt like what I was doing was work and not fun. In the back of my head, I still had a lot of doubt. My knee was achy and I just dreaded any downhills that I would have to face.
Pigeon took the lead on this section which is funny since last year I took the lead. She also scolded me last year for going out too fast so maybe she thought if she took the lead, she could keep me settled down. I was content to follow her. My mind was still not in the game yet.
Finally we reached the levee and the sun was up (or mostly up) and our lights were no longer needed. We had to run to Folsom Point where the first aid-station would be (at mile 4.97). As we were running down and around Folsom Point, the door of the restroom opened up and I ran straight in. Pigeon followed as the door next to that one also opened. We were amazed that there were no lines! Last year they had really long lines. I was happy to get this out of the way now instead of later.
We said ‘hi’ to the Fleet Feet crew manning the aid-station and then dropped down onto the road making our way to the parkway bike path. Here, the sun was rising and you could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.
There is that sun!
When we dumped onto the bike trail, I had forgotten how much downhill there was on this little section. Paved down hill doesn’t bother my knees as much as trail downhill for some reason. Pigeon and I just kept running. We weren’t chatting too much. We did occasionally comment on the gear of some of the other runners. We saw some crazy things out there and it is always interesting to see how people prepare for runs like this. The announcer had said there were 350 people running their first AR50. That is awesome.
Pigeon and I just made our way down the path. She was being rather quiet, as was I. Last year I had my headphones in at this point so I started digging them out of my pocket only to realize they were in a complete knot. Pigeon decided she needed to duck off the trail to take care of some business somewhere around mile 11. I told her I would walk. I needed to keep moving. I had a feeling that if I stopped, I wouldn’t start again. My head and my heart were just not in this yet.
When Pigeon finally caught up to me, she was running with TiggerT!!!!!???? TiggerT just happened to be out running with the Java Joggers group when she just kind of ran into Pigeon emerging from some bushes! How funny?! TiggerT ran with us to the next aid-station at Willow Creek (mile 12.77).
I didn’t take any fuel here or get any water. This year I ran with one bottle on my pack and my hydration bladder filled with electrolyte water. I did eat some of my peanut butter banana cookies but they weren’t tasting so great so I stopped. Nothing seemed appealing to me which isn’t good 13 miles into a 50 mile race.
As we were making our way to the Hazel Bridge, we saw that quite a few runners had gone off course and were running around the aquatic center parking lot. They looked at us like we had cheated but we had clearly followed all the ribbons. They must have been kicking themselves for adding at least a half mile to their legs.
As we crossed Hazel Bridge, I had that familiar feeling of relief. You see, at this point in the race, you start running TOWARDS Auburn and the finish line, no longer away from it. There is something to be said about this. It just switches something in your head and you feel better as you start climbing those crazy beautiful bluffs.
Coming down the back side of the bluffs.
I just took my time going down the rockier sections not wanting to aggravate my knee. I had forgotten about the next aid-station, one of my favorites in this race, until we came upon it (Main Bar Aid-Station, Mile 16.98).
At this aid-station, they blast the best 80s music around and as we approached, super happy super sweet volunteers rushed to see what we needed just as Bonnie Tyler’s I Need a Hero started blaring from a radio near by. Awe yea!!!! I was starting to warm up and get a little excited …. I even started dancing like a fool calling to Pigeon to come on, hurry … WE NEED A HERO!!!!
Granted, she looked at me like I was crazy and laughed. I told her it was the music. It set me on fire a bit. We started running. Soon we came a cross a stray (oddly clean) porta potty. Pigeon needed to stop so I decided to stop as well. I didn’t have to but I tried and it worked out timing wise.
Next up was the Negro Bar (mile 20.18) aid-station where Diane Hanes and her FTR crew volunteer every year. Diane gave me a big hug when she saw me and asked how I was. I told her that honestly, today felt like ‘work’ to me, that I just didn’t feel like I was having a lot of fun yet. All she could say was “uh-oh.”
Pigeon and I took off. I did get a surge of energy as I knew that our next aid-station would be Beal’s Point which is mile 24.31 and where Missouri and hundreds of other people would be waiting to cheer on runners. Beal’s is a HUGE point in the race. Two years ago, it marked the half way point (sort of). Now it was mile 24.31.
I always run up the hill to Beal’s. I love the surge of energy you feel as you crest that hill and run down across the arches as they call your name. I spotted where Missouri had set up our camp. I refilled my hydration pack and ate a gluten free peanut butter and honey sandwich. I had to really force it down but I managed to eat the whole thing.
I also emptied the rocks and pebbles that had been gathering at the bottom of my shoes. This year, I didn’t change socks. I probably should have but I didn’t.
Off we were again. Pigeon needed to stop at the bathrooms before we left the aid-station. Once again, I decided to go too. Might as well. When she emerged, we made our way back onto the course and headed towards Granite Bay aid-station (mile 29.45).
Last year at Granite Bay we were surprised by Missouri, TiggerT and Vans. This year, no one would be there. As were approaching the aid-station, Pigeon mentioned that her foot was hurting her. She hadn’t said a peep the entire day so it took me by surprise that she was having some discomfort.
She even said, “Missouri will kill me if I have to call her to pick me up here.” Wait. What? She went from “my foot hurts” Â to considering dropping in a nano second. I couldn’t process it all just yet. We then spotted Dasie and Pigeon ran to talk to her while I made my way to the aid-station. I needed some food in my tummy as I was planning to take the Advil I had stuffed in my pocket. My knee was just starting to tweak a little bit and I didn’t want it to flare just yet. Not now.
When I found Pigeon, Dasie was rubbing her foot. I started to stretch  my legs and squat to keep myself limber and from totally stiffening up. Pigeon I could tell didn’t know what to do at first. Her goal race is in four weeks. This race, AR, was just a training run for her. She was torn.
We were at that aid-station about 8 to 10 minutes when Pigeon laced up and thought she would start running but instead, she told me that she had wasted too much of my time already and that I should just go on and if she could, she’d join me but she wasn’t sure just yet what she’d do.
I told her, “Okay, I’ll start out walking just in case. Just don’t fly by me like last year!” 🙂 But, she never did. I did walk for a bit and then the trail started to develop into a nice rolling course. Something that was runnable. So, I just ran.
This is a critical point in the race as the next aid-station at Horseshoe Bar (mile 38.14) is 8.69 miles from the last aid-station. That is the farthest stretch between aid-stations in the entire race and it was getting WARM, on second thought, it was getting HOT and fast. I had started dunking my bandana in any ice buckets that I could find and would wash my face and neck. It just cooled me down and kept me present.
Alone, and full of fuel, I just ran. I started passing people. I am not normally one to pass people. I usually just settle in behind and ride the conga line but something took over. I just started saying, “on your left” whenever I could and would, bit by bit, pass runner after runner.
This section of the course is full of mountain bikers and I ran into a couple. I felt bad as they had no idea a race was going on. I also ran into quite a few horses out on the trail, causing me to stop and move to the side. It was busy out there!
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Steady and strong. I just kept running. My Garmin was slowly starting to lose its battery strength. I kept watching the charge get lower and lower and wondered if it would make the whole race.
My legs felt light as air. I had no aches or pains. I honestly felt like I was out for a nice easy jog. I couldn’t believe it. I tried not thinking about it as I didn’t want to jinx myself or trip and fall as I am apt to do while trail running.
I knew I was getting close to Rattlesnake aid-station (mile 40.94). I knew that once I reached that, I was in the single digits to the finish line. Last year at Rattlesnake, I could barely make it down the hill the pain in my knee was so excruciating. Now, I just ran down it, passing another runner (what the heck is going on?!).
I as entered the aid-station I got a huge “HI PAM!” from Legs which made me smile and then I saw Pigeon. She had dropped after all. She wanted to know what I needed. I kind of laughed, because I went from having no crew to having Missouri, Dasie and Pigeon all attending to my needs. I didn’t know what the heck to do! I told Pigeon I wanted ice in my pack. I dropped my water bottle since I had never even touched it and I wanted to lighten my load.
I was off running again. Dasie had made me a nice neck scarf of ice out of my bandana which felt amazing. Back up that steep hill I went and when I got to the top, I passed four more runners. Watch out, I was on my way to the finish line.
Photo by Hassan
So it continued happening, I just passed runner after runner. When I got to Dowdin’s Post aid-station (mile 43,92) I just flew in, grabbed a few things and flew out.
Around mile 45, I came across Hassan who was pacing another runner in front of me. This runner let me pass and I said ‘hi’ to Hassan who immediately ran ahead and hid behind a corner and then started taking photos of me as I ran by! What a hoot!
Smiling the WHOLE time. Photo by Hassan
Hassan’s happy demeanor brought a new wave of energy for me and I just never stopped smiling. Well, I did stop smiling when I realized that I was running up behind Miss P. If I run into Miss P in a race, I know it isn’t good. She must be struggling. Sure enough, I didn’t get my usual smile and “Hey!” from her. She said it just wasn’t her day. She just wanted to be done and she let me pass. My heart broke for her. Miss P is an incredibly strong runner. It saddened me to see her not feeling well.
I motored on and almost yelled with joy when I was dumped off the trail and onto the final road that leads you to the finish line. I power hiked as much as I could up this gravel rocky road. Some parts I ran, just eager to get off the gravel. My power hiking has improved and it didn’t fail me now. One step in front of the other.
The Last Gasp aid-station ( mile 47.56) is hilarious. It is run by a bunch of young guys who wear spandex. It always brings a smile to my face.
Soon I reached the infamous 3 mile sign. I’ve taken a photo next to this sign every year.
Me and the sign in 2010 – photo by my pacerMe and the sign in 2014 – photo by my pacer
This year, I was all alone. No pacer. No one to take my photo. So, I took a photo of the sign anyway.
The sign – doing it on my own in 2015
I decided now was the time to find my easter candy. A handful of starburst jelly beans is what got me up the Damn Hill and those last 3 miles. I’d walk a few steps and run 10 times more. I ran into Annabella on the this section too. I said hi and just kept motoring on. I was determined. I knew that I could beat my old time. Part of me wondered if there was any way that I could get sub 10 hours (my dream) but my Garmin decided to die at mile 48.9!!!!! It almost made it!
My pace up this big hill was hovering around the 11 minute mile range. If you have been on this hill, that’s pretty good (in my book at least). Walk two steps then run 10 times more. Repeat repeat repeat.
I saw the hill that crests up to the top near the parking lot. I couldn’t muster the energy to run up this whole hill but darn it I tried! I ran down onto the street and then up onto the curb and then I just started running as hard as I possibly could. People were clapping and cheering and I just ran as hard and as fast as my tired legs could manage.
The girls were waiting!Run Girl Run!I did it!! I finished!Someone was impressed with my medal!Pigeon was there waiting with a smile and a high five.
I had scored a 22 minute PR!!!! I finished in 10 hours and 11 minutes. Not too far from a sub 10 hour finish!!! There is hope ….
My girls
I felt pretty awesome. My body felt awesome. I mean, what the heck? I made it down to the canal and I rinsed off the poison oak and iced my tired legs and then changed into warm clothes and took advantage of the recovery boots at the finish line.
These things rock
I was just on a complete and total high. I can’t believe what had started out to be such a hard and grueling task had ended up being so much fun.
Everyone was having fun apparently.
My body had responded and came through when I asked it to. You see, I had had a nice talk with my body the night before the race. I promised that if it would get me through those 50 miles that I would honor it and rest completely for two weeks. Nothing but stretching, walking and sleeping. I plan to keep my word and not run a step, which will be hard but also somewhat enjoyable.
The day after the race was Easter Sunday. We went on a family hike around where we live. Nothing too grueling. Just some easy walking with Vans and our six year old and three year old and TiggerT.
My mini me
Now, two days later, I feel amazing. I am not sore at all. Nothing! My knee doesn’t feel “right” but my muscles feel great. I really focused on nutrition this time around too. I didn’t drink any alcohol for the month leading up to AR50. I watched my sugar intake and I ate really well race week too. During the race I tried to take a salt tab about every hour and monitored my water intake too.
Now, with this race behind me, I am looking forward to running for fun. Vans asked that I not run AR again for a bit as it always falls during the Easter holiday making it hard on our family and I can understand that. Some day though, I will return.
But for now, I am content to get back on the trails when the time is right and to run with Pigeon, Stonegate and Burning Girl all of whom are training for the Tahoe Rim Trail races (Pigeon is doing the 100 miler and the other two are doing the 55K). Their training plans and runs will be vastly different so I will get a mix of everything.
I have a few “paid for” training runs on the calendar and only one race in late June (a marathon while on vacation). All of these are low pressure runs. Even the marathon is purely an effort to keep my mileage up while on vacation so that I can pace Pigeon in Tahoe in July.
I look forward to just running for me. Running for fun. Running to help someone else. Having lost that love and spark in the early part of AR really unnerved me. I generally love the first half of that race. However, I am glad that I finally found it and that it carried me to the finish line with a smile.
A few weeks ago we joined forces with Stonegate and her family and had a garage sale. As often happens when you have a garage sale, you find things that you forgot that you had. While searching through boxes and closets I came across the following book ….
This book brought back a sea of memories for me. You see, years ago my friend Sally Edwards reached out to me and told me that a friend of hers was writing a book about women conquering triathlons. Â She wanted me to contribute a story detailing my very first attempt at a triathlon. So I did. My story in this book is called The Monkeys on My Back. When I found the book, I reread my story completely forgetting what I had written.
Essentially my story was about all the doubts in my head (aka those monkeys riding my back dragging me down) and how I defeated those monkeys and doubts, tossing them to the side as I completed my first challenging race.
Since my last post, I debated even writing another blog post. That race left me pretty beat up physically and mentally. Months ago, when I was feeling super strong and invincible, I signed up for the American River 50 mile race (again). Then Salmon Falls happened and I was left cursing myself for signing up for 50 miles after feeling how I felt after that last 50k.
The monkeys were back. Clearly.
I took a week off from running trying to nurse some aches and pains and I saw my miracle worker Dr. Lau. I didn’t know what to do. How did I think I could run again in four weeks?
The time off was good. I focused on stretching, foam rolling, eating well and catching up on lost sleep. The latter is hard to achieve with two little ones. 🙂
When yesterday came about, Pigeon had wanted us to go run our last long run before AR in the canyons. As much as I love the canyons, those monkeys were telling me I was crazy. We have done this run before (you can read it here) it was hard and it hurt. Yet we needed the hours on our feet and in the back of my head, Â I kept telling myself that the canyons are way harder than AR despite AR being more than twice as long (my brain works in mysterious ways).
Bright and Early
Pigeon and I left town in complete darkness and arrived just as the sun was rising. We parked at Michigan Bluff and got ourselves ready. We both knew it was going to be a warm day but it was pretty chilly to start.
I didn’t know what to pack for fuel. I wanted to test out a bunch of new things so my pack was pretty jammed with all kinds of new to me fuel for the day.
As we were about to embark on the trail, another car arrived and out popped three other runners and a Doberman mix. Of course, another doberman encounter. Luckily, this dog was well trained and did not bother us too much.
Heading down down down
This run starts out with a nice long two mile descent. It is rocky, technical and pretty steep. Dr. Lau’s advice kept ringing in my ears (“Don’t run down hill, save your knees”) but of course did I listen? Not really. I was careful and hesitant. I made sure my foot placement was good and I worked really hard on my form as I was going down, but I didn’t walk.
Of course in typical Trailmomma style, I had to make a quick pit stop not more than two minutes into our run. However, that would be the last of my tummy troubles the entire day.
Once you get to the bottom of that descent, you cross a nice little bridge and then begin a super long four to five mile climb. I had forgotten how much “up” this side of the trail had until I was hands on my knees hiking step after step.
Taking a break to enjoy the views.
The climb seemed to move pretty quickly though because before I knew it, we had reached the fire road section by Deadwood Cemetery. We caught up to the other runners that were out on the trail and had a nice chat with them.
Those runners stopped at the water pump to refill their bottles while Pigeon and I continued on towards Devil’s Thumb. The last time we ran this route, we stopped at the thumb and turned around. Today, we sat there debating back and forth as to whether or not we should climb down Devil’s to the swinging bridge. I’ve climbed Devils a few times. It is not an easy section. I have never run down it however.
My left knee had been only slightly making itself known on those earlier miles but I was afraid that the steepness of Devil’s would send it spiraling into a sea of pain. I took two Advil as a sort of preventative measure and down we went.
Fire Damage
Last year’s massive fire has destroyed quite a bit of this beautiful land. Seeing all the charred tree stumps and branches was very heart breaking. It also however brought a bit of mystery and danger to the scene.
They have started logging the area to clean it up and help with regrowth
Without all the trees to provide shade, this was a very exposed section of trail and the temps were rising.
Nowhere to go but down!
The terrain was also very difficult to run on. Tiny seas of pinecones were everywhere causing you to slip. Rocks, branches and debris were everywhere. I slowed more than a few times to try and prevent myself from tumbling down the trail.
When we made it to the bottom, we were greeted by shade and the brand newly rebuilt Swinging Bridge!
So pretty!
Last year the fire had destroyed half of the bridge making it impossible to pass.
The Swinging Bridge in May 2014
A bunch of trail volunteers and angels did an amazing job rebuilding the bridge.
Beautiful construction
We decided to spend some time here and refuel a bit so I took quite a few photos.
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They had a rope tied across the river in the above photo and we had to cross by wading through. It was pretty awesome.
Still the same rules though – Some how 5 runners = 3 horses? #coremathMe on the bridge
But today, we were able to use the bridge and after some fueling decided it was time to start the dreaded climb up Devils’ Thumb.
This is where the trail continues up on the other side
As were making our way across the bridge, Pigeon told me I should take a photo of the waterfall. I never even realized there was a waterfall here before. I pulled out my camera and took a photo of it and I have to say, it was one of my favorites from the day.
So GREEN!
The climb back up Devil’s Thumb consists of 36 switchbacks. THIRTY-SIX!!!???? It isn’t easy and it can be quite demeaning.
As I was climbing my right knee and lower back decided to say hello and by hello I mean “what the hell are you doing?!” I tried not to focus on it. One foot in front of the other. Climb.
Pigeon as always, was pretty silent on this climb. I tend to go in spurts of chatting and then conserving energy.
I don’t know exactly how long it took, but we finally reached the top. Normally we stop at the top but Pigeon locked her sights on those earlier runners who were running back towards the pump and started running. Okay, I guess we’re running. 🙂
We passed the runners again as they stopped at the water pump. As it turns out, they had a friend meet them with a truck full of aid-station fuel. They offered us coke and brownies and a ton of other things, but we passed and continued on.
As we were running we heard the sounds of dirt bikes and sure enough, just like the last time, two guys riding dirt bikes on the same trail we were running, passed us. Luckily we had more room this time to jump to the side.
I was internally dreading the next section. The four/five mile descent down El Dorado Canyon. This section is steep and fairly runnable making it tough on a bum knee.
I settled in behind Pigeon and tried going easy. Watching my form. Watching my steps. It surprised me that my left knee, the knee giving me trouble at Salmon Falls was fine and instead my right knee was the one barking at me. It didn’t matter if I was running down or up, it hurt but it let me continue. It didn’t stop me, yet.
At some point during this decent, Pigeon had to peel off and make her own pit-stop. I decided to play it smart and walk ahead. Walk the downs. Not run.
Before I knew it, I was a the bottom of the canyon. It seemed to have flown by this time. Pigeon had caught up and we started our climb back up to Michigan Bluff. Normally we stop at the bottom and refuel but it was pretty crowded with some hikers so instead, we climbed.
Some how I think it is more than a two mile climb up because it is never ending.
A mini break to fuel
One foot in front of the other again. Climb. Repeat. At some point, I took the lead. I was focused. I could feel the finish, or a least I thought I could. Every time I thought we’d reached the top, I was mistaken.
Oh well, climb and climb again. At one point, decided to wait for Pigeon to catch up, just to check on her. I am kind of glad I did. She asked me where we were mileage wise which is always a red flag for her. She knows her distances pretty well. I asked her how she was doing and she told me her pack was empty. She had no water.
This is a constant joke between us. Pigeon has run out of water quite a few times on some of our runs and since I am a camel and always have more than enough, I usually give her mine. I had my whole 10 ounce bottle completely untouched so I poured it into her pack. We laughed and continued on. I knew that near the top of this climb, the sun would be out and we would be totally exposed which is not a good thing when it was a warm as it was outside. Water was a necessity on this climb.
I just powered on. Despite the pain searing through my knee at times, I felt okay. I felt that I was able to climb. A few times I even ran a bit to break it up and release the pressure in my low back. I had juice in the tank so to speak, which helped me fling those monkeys off my back about AR50.
It was on this climb back out that I thought again about that book. I had some how distanced myself from Pigeon and was just climbing and thinking – one foot in front of the other. If I could climb and handle this day and these canyons, why couldn’t I handle AR50 in two weeks? I have the strength. The race may not turn out what I had originally hoped when I initially signed up, but I know I can do it. The monkeys were being thrown. I was hiking and tossing those monkeys off my back and bringing myself back to a place of positive thinking. A place I have been missing lately.
Such beauty!
When I reached the top I felt whole again. I felt like my old self. Sure my knee was screaming at me but I felt like my inner-self had been reset.
Waiting for Pigeon to crest that hot hot trail
When Pigeon arrived, we made our way back to the car and tried our best to remove all the poison oak that may or may not have been all over our legs. It was pretty nasty out there.
Overall, we had run 19.5 miles or so with 7,583 feet of elevation. That’s a lot. Our first canyon run of the season was behind us. This isn’t an easy run at all but it definitely is one of my favorites.
When I arrived home I got word that Vans had a daddy day like no other!
HOME-DEPOT!
The girls’ faces look exactly like mine when I have to go to Home Depot with Vans. 🙂
Overall, it was a great day. We had spent more than 6 hours on the trail. That’s a long time but it was the time I needed to get my confidence back.
Now I taper. Now I work on the aches and pains. Foam rolling. Eating well and hopefully trying to get better sleep. AR50 will be what it will be but I know a lot of what makes a race a great race, is where your head is on race day. For me, I am going to ride this positive train for the next two weeks.
