Idle Hands

Only two days until the half marathon. With two good trail runs this week, I feel great. A short hike yesterday just down to the waterfall between shifts at work. Today no running, tomorrow driving to San Francisco. We got a hotel in Corte Madera, and will be driving in to meet my dad and S for dinner (they drove down today). My dad is running the half with me - $50 to run six miles really isn't worth it, and it's only $10 to move up. Though you could then argue it's also $10 to move up to the full marathon, but recovery for that in time for the endurance ride the following weekend is pushing it. T is coming to be part of the cheering squad also. Feeling a little restless today with no company, and pouring rain so hanging out in pony's field wouldn't be the best fun. Hence a pointless post to keep me occupied while I dye my hair :) Not sure what else to do with myself on non-riding non-running non-working days...

Blogs without pictures are boring, so here's some from Russian Gulch the other day. We nearly got stumped (sorry..) on our run the other day at Russian Gulch, who knew scrambling was a required trail running skill.

Mushroom Tree

Tree blocking the trail

No way up and around, gnarlier ground than it looks here

No way down and around through the creek

For perspective..

Yay New Things!

I love new things :) Materialistic? Yes. Ashamed? Not a bit. I tried on a couple of race vests when we passed through San Francisco on our mini adventure, and liked the fit but not that I could pay a lot to get a vest and bladder, or not a lot for just a vest. While I can order bladders cheap online, I wanted to be able to test it prior to next weekend's race. Quick scan online and I found a good deal from Running Warehouse on the Nathan Intensity pack, and ordered it instead. Love the free overnight shipping, it was waiting for me Friday night when we got home so I could use it Saturday morning.

The verdict? I LOVE IT! Will get its own post when I have more time and more miles with it.

After trying packs, I picked up some new socks to try (still searching for feet bliss). Tried the Balega Ultra Plush - I didn't realise how thick they were. It was enough to snug down my shoe fit so far as to cause crampy aching feet two miles into a nine miler. Not a fan, though they will be great in my winter riding boots when the extra cush is nice.

Cute skirt - not much to say here

Also got some new Altra Superior trail shoes. These started me on my Altra kick (Intuition 1.5 for work/errands, original Lone Peaks for riding, can't wait to be able to get a pair of the new Olympus). They just released the new version so I got some originals at a great deal. Tempted to buy an extra new pair in case I don't like the updated version when it's time to replace again... They lasted me a year, and nearly 500 miles in running/hiking/riding combined. On one of my flooded runs the other week, we spent probably two total miles in standing water, and this happened in the same spot on both shoes:

Sad times

Old and scuzzy                        Shiny and new

New gaiters from Dirty Girl:

I've been looking to replace my phone pouch for a while but not really trying too hard. I decided on a SpiBlt, which I've been eyeing since they were given as prizes at a ride I volunteered at last summer, but never bothered to order one. But since there was a pretty pink one right in front of me, I picked it up. This is the small version, and it still comfortably held my iPhone and bulky rental car keys, no issues on a four mile run (which was not a TRAIL Monterey - paved and in town is not what I was looking for when I asked for a trail run recommendation but not enough time to venture elsewhere. Looks like some great parks to explore next time though...)

Expands as needed, and no bounce :)

Had some great runs recently, and feeling fairly confident for the half, though we drove out to the start area at Rodeo Beach so I don't stress out race morning getting lost, and there's just up in every direction! But that means it's down to finish :) My fancy new pack has space for my phone, so will take pictures along the way!

Whale Run 5k

Up next: Golden Gate Headlands half marathon :) Woohoo!

Brr! About to head to the start...

Yep we were late. Our 5k was 3.25 miles with a quick start to get to the official start and weave our way through the walkers. Oopsie.

24 hours of travelling, 8 hour time difference, still faster than me

Afterwards

Afterwards. (Not boob sweat - drinking problem!)

Quite respectable for me :)

Will Run For Cookies

"In most cases, it isn’t as if an ultra is just a marathon with more distance added.  In some ways they’re harder due to added distance and (usually) elevation gain and the occasional mountain ascent/descent, but in other ways they’re easier because no one judges you if you stop in the middle for a several mile stroll while drinking coffee and eating a bunch of cookies."


My thoughts exactly. Yay cookies. Also known as - why I want to run ultras. This quote was pulled from a post on the UltraPedestrian blog (read the whole thing here). This is the same blog where there was a podcast that briefly touched on 'Mountain Lion facts'. They gladly informed me that most people don't die from cougar attacks so we can run easy in the woods. Yeah, thanks. A little mauling doesn't bother me in the least, after all... Also that most attacks occur in California - gee thanks, that may be reassuring to your Washington listeners (UltraPedestrian is based in Seattle) but it doesn't do much at all for me! Oh well :) I will continue to fear being eaten, at least I can now look forward to a disfigured survival.

T, Ruger, and I headed out to JugHandle today for a longer than our usual run (not quite enough for me to call a long run, but satisfactorily tiring). At our brief pause at one end of the trail, a much speedier runner than we came sailing past. We decided that he was going so fast because he had 'runner legs' (basically much more definition than we'll be seeing any time soon...) T asked how soon he might be headed back (should Ruger be leashed) but no way of knowing if he was doing some more miles on the fire roads or just taking the boardwalk through the pygmy trees and heading back, in which case not too long since it's only .2 of a mile. Gave me some motivation to run on ahead and see how far I could make it before he catches me. Further than I expected, but while I was moving at a fairly reasonable pace, I felt like wading through a vat of Gu compared to the glide of Speedy politely asking for trail and vanishing ahead faster than a blink (a brief moment I thought about trying to keep up for a moment then remembered I was doing two laps today and therefore wasn't less than 2 miles from the car like normal). Pleased to see some good negative splits today (down 60s, another 60s, then another 30s). And felt good the whole way, even reasonable hitting the stairs at the near-end of the trail. I liked the tailwind (lemon again, 1.5 scoops 20oz water) and am confident enough in giving it a proper test based on how my stomach felt, and I think it's partially responsible for feeling an increase in strength towards the end of my run. Will be interesting to see how the half goes at the end of the month. We both used the tailwind today, and since it wasn't a huge run just had the one bottle each, therefore no plain water for poor Ruger. T ended up not doing the second lap so he could go back to the truck for water, and wait there while T ran back out to meet me on my way back. Need to find a little dog pack for trails that don't have easy water access for four legged training partners. Suggestions?

Fat Kid Fun

I had a terrible hangover this morning! We went on our adventure yesterday, primarily for Bugsy food and shoes for T. We added in a stop for (GF) pizza. Maybe a run or hike at Lake Sonoma. It was muggy and w had to sit in the car with each other for nearly two hours post-lake so we chose to forgo the run. First stop, realising we were hungry near Ukiah, was a restroom stop, with chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries at Jack in the Box. Scoot on down to the feed store in Sebastopol for pony noms, and swing by the used tack store. Got some nice new heritage gloves, sounds like the mare I'm riding in a few weeks will warrant glove-wearing! On to the shoestore, where T was highly entertaining and tried on many many pairs of pretty new shoes. She left with a pair of Nike Wild Horse trail shoes with gortex, and I was $15 poorer thanks to a pair of socks! One pair! Adventures continued with more stops for items that we can't get or are much cheaper than in Fort Bragg such as Aloe juice (also for the pony...) and some clothing basics. Completely forgot to get bodyglide at Athletic Soles, so tried to pick some up at Big 5 and couldn't find it (also no luck on handheld bottles or hydration packs, should have gone to one of the other running stores in Santa Rosa but never mind). Sugar adventures included chocolate and ice cream milkshakes, and feeling awful driving home! It was fat kid day.

This morning we ventured out to JugHandle, both feeling sickish, gassy, and crabby (we're so good at being girls "Go ahead of me, I think I need to fart" and plenty of belching. Keeping it classy!) Both thoroughly sold on not going so overboard on future fat kid days, and suffered the first half of our run for it. T got to get some christening mud on the shoes, and I got to test my new socks, which I wasn't sure I would love as they had more arch support than I typically like. But as soon as my foot warmed up I didn't notice it, and even though my shoes weren't dry after the puddle jumping on Monday, no sign of blistering or even hotspots around blisters that are currently healing. Maybe we have a winner. I went a size up which maybe helped with the support not being too restrictive for my foot. It was good to see again that even feeling as crappy as we did, and having to stop a few times for typical new shoe adjustments, our time was better than what even three weeks ago we considered a decent run! Woohoooo! Love seeing improvements :) Just no more fat kid food for a while...

Speak up Universe

It would appear that powers greater than I destine me to run the half at Golden Gate Headlands, not the full marathon. I had decided to make my decision a few days after an 18 mile training run (that would have had approx 3600' elevation gain). I elected to run on Saturday, and allow for onset of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) before picking my distance. Phone rings, it's work asking if I can work day shift Saturday. Sure, no problem, I'll just go for a shorter run with T, we'll have our Sunday shoe and pizza(!!) adventure, and I'll run long on Monday. My box of Tailwind arrived Saturday so I would get to test it out also. Sunday, message from a co-worker running a fever, could I work for her? Now long run Monday, shoe adventure Tuesday. Wake up 4am Monday and can't sleep, J is snoring loudly and won't stay on his side. He's sick so I get up and move to the couch for a restless couple more hours. Alarm at 6.40, look outside, and it's hailing. Um, no thanks, half hour more sleep. Coffee, still pouring. Spinach juice for breakfast, still pouring. But now it's rain. And not really that cold. And the wind's died down. Made up some lemon tailwind, decided I would do nine or maybe a half, no time for 18 now. Not sure when I can fit one in the rest of this week? Nearly wreck my car aquaplaning on the way to the trailhead. Who needs a warm up when you can send adrenaline shooting through your whole body instead? Didn't want to get out the car, the rain got worse and it's getting windy. Decide to hit the trail, and if it still sucks in 20 minutes I can turn back.

More than enough of these to play in!

Set off, and was soaked to the skin by about the half mile mark. There was a rivlet running down each trail, sometimes covering the entire trail, branches down to jump, and I soon quit pussy-footing around the puddles and splashed right on through. On more than one occasion they were deeper than I predicted and found myself in mid-calf deep water nearly going a-over-t. Decided to keep going to the split in the trail for doing nine or five miles and see how I felt.

Was having some rumbling in my tummy. Not the fault of the tailwind, as I hadn't been drinking it long or enough or in near enough quantity as early on as the tummy issues started (namely about twelve minutes in...) Finally got to a point that the rumbling was getting more than a little concerning, resulting in a dive off the trail at the first opportunity to, uh... take care of things. Would seem I can drink coffee OR spinach juice, but a combination of the two is highly inappropriate for today's activity. Felt much better after that and continued happily on and headed up the nine mile split. However, it didn't take long to realise that my GI distress may not be entirely resolved and home would be the more pertinent location. Turned back and enjoyed the trail along the creek to the waterfall that looked spectacular with all the rain, and loud!

Russian Gulch waterfall

The steps leading up from the other side were slick as hell, and wouldn't have been fun the second time round if I had gone for 18:

Stone steps above the waterfall

Will try again for a long run either Friday (if I don't go riding instead), or Saturday morning. But looks like I'm being directed towards the half marathon. Though I am riding 100 miles in two days the following weekend so that may be no bad thing...