When we made the commitment to float The Grand Canyon in a dory this fall, I could not have anticipated the change it would make in me.  It's so much more than simply floating down a river.  Yes, there are rapids, scary and exhilarating, but there is so much more.  Water, life, death captured in rock for billions of years, stars that fall and seem to go on forever above the deep canyons, artifacts, petroglyphs, and pictographs of ancient people who were born of the water and canyon walls.

 

We are so small in comparison, not just our stature but in our minds, in our lives.  Billions of years the rock has been there and it's ever changing, always morphing through what man throws to it, morphing with the water, wind, sun, rain, snow, heat and cold.

 

It's a spiritual place.  Not only because those before us consider it sacred, but because it truly is a spiritual place.  Colors you cannot recreate with an artist’s canvas, emotions buried deep pulled out by the nature we all crave, that we all need.  The solace, the quiet, the soft sound of water building to the volume of a rapid, it's something we cannot know until we go there, a place that is so sacred and natural that it takes all of you in its arms so that you can take it with you when it's time to go.

 

We cannot let this go, this canyon, and all the land we call public, we cannot let it fall to the whims of those who will never experience it's magic.  We must fight for the connection we were meant to have.

Good morning!  It's been years since I've written and thanks to a friend who asked me about my old blog I've decided to pick it up again.  So watch out world!

My approach going forward will be different.  I've now run 9 marathons in my quest to get to 10. My goal is to do a trail ultra at some point for number 10, just not sure when.

We moved to Colorado in 2016 and with that comes a whole other level of activity well beyond just running.  We were accepted to San Juan Search and Rescue where we continue to train to help those who get lost or hurt in our mountains.  You will be reading some about that as time goes on.

We do a LOT of fly fishing as Terry is now a fly fishing guide for Williams Creek Anglers.  I love it more and more and would like to think that in time I can join him as a guide, but we will see.  It's going to take a lot of work to get up to that point.

Backpacking has come back into our lives, as well as just good ole hikes up in the mountains.

So as you see there is going to be a lot more to this blog than just running.

To get started we've signed up for the Moab Trail Half Marathon in November.  You will likely hear a lot about that training.  Moving here our running has moved to trail, which is amazing and so much better than road running.  More on that later.

Okay back to work, but be on the lookout for more to come!

Training Begins Again

Good morning world!  This week we started training for the Tucson Marathon.  This will be my 8th marathon.  Believe it or not Terry has decided to run a full marathon and this will be his first!  I am thrilled to be able to share this experience with him. 

In between we will be running the Ragnar trail relay, 120 miles between 8 runners, 15 miles each with a 3ish mile loop, a 5ish mile look and a 7ish mile loop.  Camping at the central point with the team so it's really a big party with a 15 mile run in 24 hours built in.  Good team, lots of fun.  And lots of beer.

This morning we ran our first 5 mile moderate run, hot and humid, but we made it happen.  The sunrise was amazing, several colors of pink and orange between the puffy clouds, it's always inspiring to see a sunrise of beautiful colors as you run toward it in the morning.

The Place

We never expected to live in Texas for 33 years, it just sort of snuck up on us.  We thought we would move back to the mountains where we could enjoy the seasons of outdoor activities with our children.  That wasn't in the plan and here we have been for some time. 

Abilene was a great place to raise children and we loved it there, have great memories from our time there.  However, we always knew we would leave, go back to the mountains when the kids were gone.  And then we came to Granbury instead.

Granbury is a pretty little town with hills and trees, a nice lake, and wonderful people.  We've made good friends in Granbury, we enjoy going to the winery, or Music on the Square, hanging out at Revolver (our local Brewery) or heading over to Fort Worth for unique experiences.  But it's not the mountains.  We thought we would be here three years, maybe five, it's been six.

In all this time we've looked, more often and deliberately in the past six years, for "the place" we would like to make our home for the next chapter of our lives.  We used a website titled Pick your Spot.  It gave us the top 25 places that fit our criteria and we began to visit those places, mostly in Colorado.

We created a spreadsheet of all of the things we would like in a place where we live so that we can compare, including distance from family and activities we enjoy.

We visited Salida, Gunnison, Westcliffe, Fort Collins, Northern New Mexico, and then a few weeks ago Pagosa Springs CO.  Pagosa Springs met every criteria and more, we love it there, it's so much like Ruidoso (or home town) and yet so much more of those things we enjoy.

And so the decision has been made.  We will be moving to Pagosa Springs in the Spring or Summer of 2016.  Possibly sooner if we happen to find a home and can get everything here wrapped up.

Trail running will become the new thing in my blog so stay tuned.

In the meantime training has begun.  Ragnar trail relay in October and the Tucson Marathon in December, there is so much to write I will try to keep up!

It's July in Texas

There really is no need to say anything more, the title says it all if you are a runner in Texas, however, I feel like lamenting.

It's JULY in TEXAS and it is HOT!  We have reached the 100's and I fell like a gooey melted puddle of sweat.

We have been faithful, getting up and getting our run in during the cool temperatures of the early morning, about 80 and 75% humidity.  It isn't easy.  Runs feel sluggish, off pace, frustrating, and yet it's been proven by our training in the past that running in the heat will make us better and faster when the weather shifts to nice cool breezes.

Question is do we really care if we have to run in the heat?  Is it really worth it?  Are we crazy? Do other people do this?

Yes, we care, but we do it anyway.  Yes it's worth it.  Yes we are crazy but we like being crazy. Yes most runners do this and feel the same way.

All that to say 6 miles today, hot hot, but we made it through! YAY.

10 on Saturday YIKES, maybe it will cool down to 78!

Saying Goodbye

As I start over with my blog today, it's hard not to go back and try to catch up on everything that has happened in the last few years.  Instead I am going to start with the last few months so that my frame of mind is evident as I put my thoughts on paper, so to speak.

Thanksgiving 2014 my mother treated us all to a visit to Tucson to spend Thanksgiving with her.  She put us up in a very nice resort just down from her beautiful home.  It was a wonderful visit with all of our children and their spouses, my brother and of course Terry and I.  We told stories, played music, sat by her pool, had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at one of the many "clubs" where they live. 

Mother had the my daugher, my daughter-in-law, and me go through the jewelry and pick out what we might want, and we talked a lot about the future, their plans as young people and of course death.  Because you see, my mother had emphysema, and we all knew it was a matter of time and the disease would take her. 

Thankgiving would be the last time we were all together and I thank God that we were all able to spend that time together, it was in reality, her goodbye to my children.

Time went on and she continued to get weaker and I began to go and visit more often, and then in February she fell and that took a toll on her.  However, she improved, but not to the point where she could get in the pool and swim or even go out with her friends.  Slowly the months took her strength and she slept most of the day but fitully at night.  She no longer was able to play cards with her partner and her friends, so her time was spent reading and watching television.  At this point Hospice became our source of comfort.

She was no longer the active woman we all knew.  As the months dragged by more "spells" as she called them came and went and finally her partner and my brother and I could no longer take care of her.  She could no longer do those things we all feel are private necessities.

We were forced, for her own safety, to admit her to a facility in Hospice care.  It is a very nice facility but it was not her home.

In May as we were visiting our son and daughter-in-law in South Carolina my brother called, she had left us for a place of peace and health.

We held a Celebration of Life in Ruidoso where we are from.  There were so many people we have not seen in years, it was lovely and if I dare say, fun.  And then we spread some of her ashes between our grandparent's grave.  I say some because we had other plans as well, plans that really came together at the end.

We drove up the road to the ski area, Ski Apachie, where our parents were one of the first to ski on the slopes as it openend in the early 60's, we hiked just past Windy Point to a lone tree with wild flowers growing round.  The view of the entire valley below is stunning.

And that is where we spread the ashes of the free spirited woman we called Mother.

Back to the Blog

Hello!

Interesting, it's been years, and I mean YEARS since my last post.  It's easy to get out of the habit.  From looking at my posts the last I really wrote about was the predictive run my husband put together for our family when my father in law turned 90.

My father in law passed away later that next year, in May.  What a blessing that we were able to be together as a family the September before.

In 2012, after running the Missoula Marathon in 2011, we decided to run the Portland OR marathon in October.  We went with some friends and had a wonderful time.

The race was not as easy as I thought it would be, quite hilly actually but it was a good race and I did pretty well.  Enjoyed the time with friends and of course Portland is an adventure all on it's own merit!

Unfortunately I had the same issue after this race that I had in Missoula where I threw up about half an hour after the race.  I have not yet figured out why this is happening.

So that was our 2012, of course we did all of the usual smaller races as well.

In 2013 we decided to do 13, 13's in 2013.  That is 13 half marathons in 2013.  That was a lot of fun but also pretty taxing on the body.  In addition I ran the Oklahoma City Marathon, and had a pretty tough time, I just wasn't into that race at all and had the same issue with getting sick about half an hour after the race.

Our plan was to do the Crazy Horse Half in October of 2013 but there was a huge snow storm and the race was canceled.  We were pretty bummed.

We did some races for our 13, but because of the expense we also ran half marathon courses but not during the race, as long as it was 13.1 we counted that as a race.  Here were our races/runs and no Terry would not allow me to use OKC as one of my runs as it was a full not a half!

1/13/2013 - Red River Train Half - Shreveport, LA
1//26/2013 - Lake Benbrook Half - Benbrook, TX
2/16/2013 - Moe's Worst Half  - San Marcos, TX
2/24/2013 - Cow Town Half - Fort Worth, TX (and the last of my 5 year commitment on this one)
3/30/2013 - Lt. Governors Cup - Coumbia, SC
5/25/2013 - Memorial Day Half Marathon - Granbury, Tx
7/28/2013 - The Half at the Links - Ruidoso, NM
8/24/2013 - Olympic Discover Trail Half - Port Angeles, WA
9/8/2013 - Rails to Trails Half - Garner, TX
9/22/2013 - Woodshed Half - Trinity Trails, Fort Worth, Tx
10/12/2013 - Reuel Little Classic - Madill, OK
10/27/2013 - Monster Dash Half Marathon - Fort Worth Tx.
12/25/2013 - Christmas Day Half - Granbury, Tx

2014 our family runners logged how many miles run in 2014 and we ended up running over 5000 miles as a family.  Tanner, our son, is a GIS guy so he mapped our runs and sent us this really cool map.  It was pretty interesting to see all of the places our family ran or rode bikes.

http://freewheelmaps.com/projects/runners/index.html

Terry and I also ran the Crazy Horse Half in South Dakota in October.  That was an epic race and it warrants it's own post, so stay tuned.

The current year 2015 has been uneventful.  We've run the typical races and done well and are now in the summer and it's in the 100's so we are struggling with the heat which we always do!  We've also been a part of working to start a running club here in Granbuary and are enjoying meeting new friends with a common goal.

From a running perspective you are now caught up!

Read on...

Family

In September my Father in law turned 90.  To celebrate we had the entire family here at our place where we ate, laughed, watched football, and celebrated the life of the man who started this clan!  We had almost all of his children, their spouses, the grand children, their spouses and the great grand children.  I believe we were only missing a couple of folks and so we had 33 people in our home.

What makes this so special is celebrating the man he had been to all of us.  Caring and kind, gentle yet stern, and until recently pretty damn self sufficient.

Food and drink flowing, games and conversation, memories thrown around with laughter all helped us to remember the wonderful times this family has had together.

Sadness also raised her head when we remembered those who have passed on, a mother, grandmother, great grandmother and a son, husband, cousin, nephew taken too early in life.  We celebrate their life as well for they made us all better people.

So what does this have to do with running?  Well running is something that keeps us grounded, just as family does and many in this family run, exercise, bike and otherwise keep fit.  And so what do you do with family when everyone is itching for a run together but there isn't a lot of time to drive to a 5k race?  You have your own!

Terry's idea was a predictive run and everyone was right on board.  You have to run naked in this case means no watch, Garmin, of any kind.  Prior to running everyone writes down the time they predict they will run.  Terry and I got up early to mark of the 3 mile course we had mapped earlier in the week, we did so with flour and enlisted Tanner to ride his bike to lead the course.  We then assigned two other non-running family members to do the timing. 

With a predictive run it doesn't matter how fast you are it only matters that you are able to get closest to what you predict, therefore it's a fun race for all even if you are walking.

We then found an old ugly vase that had the look of a trophy and filled it with almond joy's (Papa's favorite candy), after all this is a celebration of his life.

And so the first annual Papa's Predictive Run went off without a hitch.

So you see, running can bring a family together in the midst of celebration and sadness.  What a great time we had with family, and to think all of us will someday see our children, their children, and their children growing healthy and strong and know that it was because of our love they are in this world.

Hot Days of Training

I have a friend who told me my blog was boring him, mainly because he is having to reread them all as I post so infrequently.

Ok already, I get it.  My intentions are good, I mean to post, I think of topics and fancy words but then the days pass by and still no blogging.

I promised him that today I would begin again and so here I am. 

The last post in June I mentioned training for another marathon in the heat, this time the Portland Marathon in October, just last Sunday as a matter of fact.  This year although we had high heat it did not start to really be a struggle until July and even then it felt different this year.  Maybe because we didn't have as many days over 100 or maybe because I had the previous year's experience, I'm not really sure.

In an attempt to add some higlights into my training days I think back to the 5 am runs.  That means getting up at 4 because I have to have a cup of coffee and some food and well, you know, go to the bathroom.  These runs were amazing for so many reasons and here are a few:

It's dark so no hot sun beating you down
No one is up and moving, you are entirely alone
You can run down the middle of the highway without fear of cars
If the moon is full it's an amazing feeling of discovering another planet far far away
If it's foggy it's like being in the book "The Headless Horseman"
Terry always joins me when I am in the most need of company (after the sun comes up so he can sleep in)
We finish in plenty of time to beat the crowds to breakfast

One morning I ran on a road that usually sees a lot of traffic, I ran right down the middle of the road over the bridge .  It was a surreal experience for some reason, running over that bridge down the middle, in the dark with no one else out, watching the lights and the stars reflect on the water.

Sometimes I look at homes and wonder what people inside are doing.  Are they sleeping?  Many times I see light flasing and I know someone is watching TV or fell asleep watching.

This is also a time of prayer for me, no interruptions, no distractions, just chatting with God about so many things good and bad.  I envision him laughing at my silly questions, but also lovingly patting me on the back so my legs just keep on going.

Amazing sunrises always take me by surprise as do the days storms are coming in and the lighting can be seen far away over the lake.  I never do get used to how beautiful these things are.

Of course the heat of the summer is tough.  Speed work seems like an endless struggle, I can't get enough water or gatorade in my body.  Somehow I make it through.

On the morning of my 19 mile run we had a cool front roll, it was in the 50's when I started.  This run was also one of those where I started at an easy pace but in the second half my coach planned for me to run a hard pace.  In the heat this is very difficult, but this day I ran well, feeling like I was floating.  Wow what a difference the cool weather makes.

Of course my 20's and my 23 milers I was not as lucky, although it cooled some it was still pretty warm on those days.  And yet I made it through.

And then the day was here.  Tainted by some personal events  I went to Portland with a sad heart.  I am very blessed to have a great husband and good friends who were able to keep me light and relaxed.  Of course we also had to experience the local brew...running is of course also about drinking good beer!

On race day I had a plan for how I would run broken up in segments.  10 miles an easy pace,  8 a bit faster, 5 pushing harder and 3.2 as hard as I could push.  I stuck to my plan and my finish was well above my goal and I had my 3rd best time out of my 6 marathons.  Now I would have liked to do even better (no I am never satisfied), but I gave it my all.

The race was a good one, well organized, lots of gifts, great long sleeve and short sleeve tech shirts, good food, great support.  It was not as scenic as I expected, and had a hellacious hill at mile 17.  But all in all it was a wonderful marathon.  Some of the highlights:

Lots of porta potties
Lots of water stations
Beautiful view from the bridge
Great post party area
My very favorite - the neighborhood where they had all these chairs lined up with people sitting and cheering and then they would do the wave as we went by...I LOVED it!
And of course having the half start and go with us to mile 8 so that Terry and I could run together for awhile
And last but certainly not least...lots of good beer in Portland

So now we are back and next on the agenda is the Wurst 5 Miler for Wurstfest in New Braunfels.  Always a great race!

Long Time Without a Post

Wow, it's been a VERY log time since I posted anything.  Life just gets in the way sometimes.  I don't have much to report...the winter for running was very nice, and the sunrises never cease to amaze me.  And now adding boot camp to our repertoire is giving early mornings a new meaning.

I am ramping up training now for the Portland Marathon on October 7.  Another hot weather training like last year but in the end I will feel strong in the cooler weather in Portland.  Going with some good friends to this one and it will prove to be a great time I am sure.

I will keep up with my blog as my training increases.

For now I just wanted to say I am still here :-)

Learning about yourself

Sometimes the lessons we learn about ourselves are important to keep in mind for the future.  Today is one of those days.

Today was the Cowtown Half Marathon.  This is a tough race with brick roads and three very tough, long hills in the last miles of the race.

Going in I knew my plan was to run the first 3 at a 10 minute mile, the next 5 at a 9:00 minute mile, and the last 5 how I felt.  But what I did not do was think about what this meant for a total time in the race. 

Two weeks ago we ran the Hot Chocolate 15K, I did well and felt very good so in my mind I really thought that I would be able to run strong in Cowtown.  I didn't really think about what that meant to me.  What does running well mean?  And how can that be measured if you don't know what the goal was originally?

I was able to follow to my plan (provided by my coach) and hit the times pretty close through the first 8 miles, then the last 5 I was to run how I feel.  Therein is another issue.  What does that mean, how I feel?  In my warped mined it means running hard for the last 5 miles, but I didn't feel that strong.  And I didn't feel well.  My stomach was cramping and I was in am dire need of a bathroom but I would not stop for fear of losing time.  The time had become more important than "running how I feel".

Sure enough my last 5 miles were pretty fast, at least for me, with the last mile an 8:27.  And these mile are where the hills are!  But when I finish my time is 2:00:15.  I was sure I would be under a 2:00 and I felt dissappointed.

When I go back to look at my split times on my Garmin I realized that I followed the plan almost exactly with a BIG push in the last 5 miles, so much of a push I made myself sick.  And then it hits me, the whole plan was to hit the goal of a 2 hour half marathon.  Had I really given it thought ahead of time I would have remembered.  I hit the goal for which I trained.  And that is a successful race.

So what did I learn about me:
1.  I can meet my goals when I train for them, but I ALWAYS think I can beat the goal, even if it's unrealistic
2.  I place unrealistic goals on myself based on the performance of others
3.  I can't just go run a race for fun, I am way to competitive with myself and I feel like I have to push even when perhaps I should not

What will these lessons do for me now?  Well I am not sure, not yet.  I think I will just wait and see how it goes, keep them in mind, and try to train for the goal and then when I meet the goal, be happy in having accomplished what I set out to do.

All in all I came in 25th out of 255 runners in my age and gender division.  This is the top 10%.  You can't be unhappy with that number.

Unintended Speed Work

A couple of weeks ago we were running on a country road at 6:15 in the morning.  It was a morning without a moon so it was very dark.  As we were running I see a dark silhouette shoot across the road.   Me "Look did you see that?"  Terry "you are crazy, you didn't see anything, you are getting old" We run a bit further and I see it again this time on the side of the road.  Me "there it is!" Terry "yeah I see it, I think".  As we get a bit close it becomes clear the skunk is small but running in the little ditch right beside us, keeping pace right along with us.

Screech...we come to a halt.  Me "What do we do?  If we get in front of him will he turn and spray"  Terry "I don't know, we can wait"  Me "Let's outrun him, sprint until we get past him"  Terry "OK, let's go". 

We take off pushing our pace, we catch up to him and for a few seconds he is beside us and then we pass him.  Not daring to stop we keep our sprint pace until we are sure we are far enough ahead that he won't catch us.

Success!  We did indeed outrun a skunk on a day when speed work was not on the plan.  Nothing like unintended speed work.

Sun and Moon

It is easy in this mess we call life to forget to see what is around us.  This morning I was reminded that each day is a new day.

I left boot camp at 5 am, not really in the mood to run, but on my schedule it called for 4 miles.  And so I switched my shoes, put on my Garmin and my shuffle, and hit the road.  By chance, or maybe not, my music was set to Mercy Me.  Soon I was moving to the music without feeling a struggle from the run.

As I ran I realized it was cloudy, big thunder clouds with rain in the far distance.  Although it was still dark the moon, not quite full, was boldly shining behind the clouds, occasionally peaking through to shed a graceful glow on the world around me. 

A few minutes later I realized that I was experiencing one of those times when the not quite full moon was shining through the dark clouds to the west and the sun's orange glow was lighting the sky in the east.  The mixing  of dark, light, orange sunrise and moonlight, wow.  I had to stop and just be still in awe of what God can do.

Missoula Marathon

Have you seen the movie "A River Runs Through It" ? The scenery outside of Missoula really hasn't changed much. Oh sure there are a few roads and cars, but the homes are separated by enough land to give you freedom, the rivers still run wide and deep, this year especially with the unusual amount of snowfall, and the mountains still had snow even in July.

The marathon started outside of Missoula in a little "don't blink your eyes" town, at dawn.

Fireworks against the soft glow of the morning rays just barely starting to light the sky was the signal that it was time to run.

From the moment we began with the day dawning and a much appreciated 48 degrees, I really did not feel my feet hit the ground. I was too distracted by the amazing views of the mountains that surround this glacial valley.

But it wasn't just the mountains, it was the people. From the farmhouse who had a wagon at the end of their long driveway with flowers and a sign welcoming us and a box of tissue tied to the mailbox. Someone new how runners noses ....well...run! To the couple who rode their horses through the valley to cheer us on.

And then there was the long hill, the only hill, but a doozy of a hill at the mid way point. Normally this would ruin my day but I was so in love with this country, the river, the trees, the valley, the mountains, the snow, the clear blue sky...I sailed right up, then struggled downhill a bit, a little tough on the knees.

After the hill and around the bend, music. Not a band, not a radio, but a baby grand piano, in the middle of this beautiful green grass behind a white fence and in front of a beautiful farm house. There, in a tux, was a man playing a baby grand piano. The music seemed to sweep me off of my feet and my tempo picked up. What a treat.

Soon we were heading into town and everywhere, and I mean everywhere, people were out with their hoses and sprinklers holding them out to let us run through. This is something runners truly appreciate, by now the sun is up and shining bright and although the temperatures are cool, we are still hot, oh does that cold water feel good! You find misters on many courses but nothing like this, not this many, not people with their own hoses, their own sprinklers...cheering you on, welcoming you to their neck of the woods.

As we approach mile 20 the inevitable happens, my legs begin to feel heavy. This is how it happens in the marathon. Mile 20 to 23 is always the toughest, you are just plain worn out. My plan was to increase pace for that last 10K and so, legs heavy, but mind positive and thrilled my knee is feeling good, I slowly begin to run a little faster.

The euphoria speaks to my legs willing them to stay with it, keep going, soon the beer will flow. And they respond. At mile 23 I increase a bit more, just a little but enough to know it's an increase in pace.

The last mile I am oblivious to the pain in my legs and my feet. I am amazed that I am running faster in this last mile and then it's up and over the bridge. With the Clark Fork River flowing beneath me I see my family standing on the right of the course. I move over for a quick high five and run in with a smile on my face and a deep love for Missoula.

Oh the mountains they call me home...and there someday I shall be!

Training for Missoula

It's been almost a year since my knee surgery. Two days after the surgery I was walking, not far but walking. Three days afterward I was walking three miles. Slowly I built up to 6 or 7 miles every day. It took about two weeks to get there, but get there I did!

Two weeks afterward I started back swimming, after the incision healed. And three weeks afterward I started boot camp.

As you can see I was not sitting on my tush doing nothing! However, it was 9 weeks before I started running again. It really wasn't running in the beginning it was more like very light jogging and for very short distances.

I won't go backwards to relive, I just want to take a moment to remember that only 9 months ago I was whining, worried, concerned, and afraid that I would never be able to run again. Taking that first step after the surgery was scary and for months the runs were hard and I struggled. My leg was weak, my knee was sore, by breathing was labored. And yet I kept with it, kept with the push to get to my goal.

I am constantly reminded of how the human body can adapt. People who don't push themselves will never know what it's like to keep going, push through, and then one day you realize that you were able to obtain a goal you never thought possible. Our bodies and our minds are amazing machines.

My goal for after surgery was to do the Missoula Marathon and feel good, no pain, no injury, and enjoyable experience. (Well as much as is possible in a marathon).

Running strength for my knee began in October but after the Cowtown Half Marathon, where I did not feel my best, my training for the Missoula Marathon began. The training went well until June. In the years we've lived here June has always been a pleasant month. It does get warmer but generally in the mornings it's something we can handle. This year June days hit 100 plus and it hasn't changed. We are now in our 25th day of temeratures over 100. I am NOT a warm weather runner. I much prefer the 40's to the 80's. And yet here I was doing longer and longer runs in temperatures 80 and above even at 6:00 in the morning.

It is a known fact that your heart has to pump harder in hotter more humid weather, my heart consistently felt like it was going to pump right out of my chest. And yet I stuck to it, getting my long runs in. And then came my first 19 mile run. I made it but it was a struggle.

The next long run of 19 miles was again very tough, I just couldn't keep enough water or fuel in my body. I didn't want it but I had to have it.

And then two weeks before the marathon came my last long run, 21 miles. We started early but the temperature and the humidity were high that day. I was doing ok until mile 14. That is when I began to feel sick. I found that I couldn't drink and couldn't eat my gels without feeling sick. And yet in the heat I needed those two things in my body. The sun was up by now and blaring down baking my shoulders, pounding me into the ground. I felt like the wicked witch of the west melting into the dirt below my feet.

I made it to 17 miles where my husband was waiting. His comment was "you are weaving", not a good sign. I was struggling to even make my legs move. Four more miles, that's it! Surely I could go four more miles. At 17 I rested for a bit went on but found that I could only walk and so mile 18 was a walk not a run, not even a slow jog. I just could not go forward and consistently felt as if I were going to lay down and never get up. Dizzy, sick, there is just a point where you know something is wrong and I was at that point. And so I quit. My 21 mile run never happened.

It was too late to do another long run, it was time for the taper. To be forthright I was happy to be tapering but also concerned that my lack of completion on that last long run would come back to bite me later. My coach assured me I would be fine and so with confidence I let it go and was able to relax. After all my goal was to enjoy the marathon, not go out and hit a tough pace. I knew I could at least finish in good form.

And so my last two training weeks, the taper weeks, were good. And then we fly to Missoula.

Missoula Marathon

If you read my last blog you know that training for the Missoula Marathon was tough. Living in Texas, in a drought year where the temperature has been over 100 every day from the end of May until now, July 17.

Training runs early in the morning, 5:30 or 6:00 am, but still in the 80's at the start of the run. And then add to that any humidity hanging around it's a recipe for disaster. You know I just don't understand how it can be humid and yet not a chance of any rain...how does that work exactly?

Anyway back to that recipe for disaster. I was able to acclimate some and the shorter, 6-8 miles, were OK. Not great but OK. It was the long runs that killed me. It's just not easy for me to run in high heat for a long time. And so the training this time around was killer and I struggled with dehydration.

I began this blog by detailing the race, then I deleted it all. Instead I am going to attempt to capture the emotions. But not tonight. For tonight suffice it to say it was the best marathon I've run. Not that it was the best time, but it was the most beautiful, the best put together, and the most amazing experience. Perfect weather, beautiful scenery and incredible local support.

More to follow...

5th Marathon

Yes the 5th one is coming up. In fact it's the 10th of July. It's been so long since I've written, life is so busy sometimes...it's really a shame.

This is the first time I've trained for a marathon in the summer. Of course this would be the year when the 100 degree days hit before July and every day in June has been over 100. Running in this heat has been pretty tough.

Any of you who know me know that I hate the heat. I would rather run in the cold. But I wanted to run the Missoula marathon and so the training has been in the heat. I've acclimated some but also had some very bad runs with some dehydration. The good news is it will be 50 at the start in Missoula. The perfect running temperature and running in the heat should have made me stronger. I am hoping it will pay off.

Training for the marathon and working lots of hours has make it tough to do cross training, subsequently I've given up the swimming. Cycling occasionally but not enough. After this marathon we are going to get back to strength training, and I am going to cycle through the rest of this heat.

Wish me luck!

Fires

This week we have had very high wind and unfortunately all around us are acres of burning brush, grass, and some homes. This has been a bad year for fires. Terry and I head out this morning for a shorter run as we have a long run tomorrow. The smoke yesterday was heavy in the air with ash falling like little flakes of snow here and there. The wind was so high it was miserable to go out. Today although no wind the smoke still hangs in the air. From the house it didn't look too bad but as we get further out the smoke is hanging. We can smell it and it burns the nose and the lungs. Obviously this isn't a good thing so we cut it short and head home. Tomorrow is a 14 mile run so we are hoping the smoke has cleared, but more than that we hope that the brave firefighters are able to put the fires out and that no more families lose their homes.

Cincinnati

Recently I had the opportunity to be in Cincinnati for work. One of the things I enjoy about traveling is the opportunity to run in different places. While it's difficult running when you travel, you are more tired, you don't where to run, and you have to do it really early or in the evening, it does provide a great change of pace as well. The first look at Cincinnati showed a very industrial city with the Ohio River being the focus. The river itself was dark and full of debris. However that view changes when you have the opportunity to run. I asked the hotel staff where to run and sure enough they had a route all mapped off! I love it when the staff is into running :). This particular route takes you from downtown to a bridge, not just any bridge, but a suspension bridge that was built in 1865! Amazing! 1865, so just what was going over the Ohio River in 1865? There were no cars and it's not a pedestrian bridge. Nope, street cars! As I ran over this bridge with it's glorious stone towers I tried to imagine what it would have been like to ride a street car this high over the river. Speaking of bridges there are many of them across the river, one what is just a pedestrian bridge, it's purple and so is called the Purple People Bridge. It is at least 3/4 mile long. Back to my run. As I exit the bridge and go right there is a bike/run path all along the river through amazing green space with two amphitheaters and beautiful gardens. Some of the path follows an old train rail and all long the path there are columns that house different pictures and text about all of the boats that have come and gone up the river. From show boats to war boats. Unfortunately I was running and didn't stop to read them, I will do that next time! The gardens are from all the different continents so as you run you feel like you are going from one country to the next. The vegetation changes, it's simply thrilling visually and the different aromas tickle your nose. You really have to understand that all of these gardens you are running through are surrounded by a city full of industry it's not as if you are out in the country, you are literally right in the middle of the city. And yet it's an amazing green space that transforms the city into a calming scene. And then in front of me under an underpass, of all places, is a playground! An amazing playground with beautiful green grass surrounding it. Amazing. Most cities underpasses are ugly and filled with graffiti and homeless persons junk. Instead I am looking at this playground that looks so inviting even I want to go down that slide. I turn to go back the way I came and so I am able to experience it all again, but this time going back I also pay more attention to the baseball stadium to my right before I go back over the bridge. What a great place for the stadium to sit. I run back over the bridge stopping to take a picture of the stadium from high up (have to show this to my husband). And run back to the hotel. I am exhilarated! You just can't get this experience in any other way. Thank you Cinci! I am looking forward to my next run in your city.

Uncalled for Frustration

Since I have written I have run a half marathon (Cowtown), the Granbury Road Races 10K, and the Capitol 10K in Austin. I am so happy to be running and feeling good. My knee is really feeling good. However I am struggling. Physically I am getting stronger, but after the surgery it just seems to be taking so long to get back to where I was, it's there in my heart but it's not in my body. It isn't fair for my brain to take away from what my body is doing! I was so excited when I first got back to running, just so happy to be out there again. Loved being able to feel myself get stronger. And here I am whining because I am not fast enough. My body isn't there....yet! Silly brain....let it go I tell it. I am doing it, I am running miles and starting to do some speedwork. Build it, speed will come right? And what if it doesn't? Why can't I be satisfied with just getting out there and doing it? Running, enjoying the feeling of the pavement/trails under my feet? This frustration is simply uncalled for. Time for my brain to let it go.