Team Hooker

Here I am with one of my friends who I totally look up too. He is a determined runner and such a great guy. His wife is one of my best friends..Good people. He has ran SD 100 3 times and tonight we are in Squaw Valley. Patiently waiting for him to run his first 

 Western States 100 miler. It is so exciting being here. There are so many amazing talented determined runners. Holy cow it seems like everyone here is a runner. ITS JUST AMAZING.

So tomorrow its going to be about cheering Jeff on. Keeping him in our prayers. Crewing for him and I get the privalege of pacing him. I get to go across the river and make sure we get to the end with plenty of time to spare. So if you get a chance say a little prayer for Jeff. I know he has put in all the hard work and so here we go. Good Luck to all the runners who are crazy ass brave. You can do it. ( Jeff was my pacer for the San Diego 100 ) He worked so hard to get me though the night. Thank You for that Jeff.
 Its so awesome to watch someone you admire have there dream come true. Here we are and Jeff's dream is coming true… Its true what they say if you want something bad enough then work your ass off and make it happen. Ill keep you posted.

The Fair

Yesterday we hit the fair. We decided to try doing it a little bit different and going early. This was Jacks first time. I do not thing he liked it. There was a lot going on and a-lot of people and this I am almost two and I can cry loud thing is very real right now. So I practiced my patient skills and carried for most of the day. That counts as a workout believe me. Isabella and I held hands and took it all in. The thing I love about the Del Mar Fair and maybe its this way with all fairs is that everything stays the same . It has looked the same way since I was little. That makes it seem familiar. 

Everything took a long time but I felt like that was the magic of the fair it felt like we had a slow day. We decided to cut it short because jack was ready to go home but we ate and bought stuff we probably do not need. A perfect day at the fair. 

A Simple Fathers day

Today was turned out to be mostly about our Jack. I think that is what happens when your almost 2. Everything seems to revolve around his needs. This fathers day I spent most of the day with my dad and Mike. We spent a-lot of time in the pool and the other time exploring. Gifts where handed out and it was nice to see the guys feel a little appreciated. My dad loves getting gifts and this Fathers day was no different. We talked about going out to eat but Jack was tired so we had Pizza and it was really good. Everyone was happy because Jack was happy. In my house eating in is a-lot easier that going out for the time being. We had a low key fathers day but the boys felt loved. Jack gave kisses and there were lots of smiles. Today just like other days simple was good and that was enough for everyone.

A Blue Pool
A happy Dad
A little boy and lots of kisses..
G

Happy Sunday

There are so many special moments that made this race SD 100 special but these are the ones I will hold close to my heart. Its the end of the race. It was when I knew I finally made it. I was done .  After 31 hours and 12 minutes. You know when I was running this race I thought my friends who where there cared but when I crossed the finish line and saw my family and friends ( I had no idea they would be there) where all at the finish line. They drove out a long way just to see me cross the finish line. It was those moments when I received all these unexpected hugs that I realized that running had brought me so much closer to my family. I also realized that even though I get jealous sometimes or I feel negative stuff in my head my family has got my back. I totally added this warm fuzzy feeling to my already exhausted body. What a great ending to the hardest race I had ever ran and finished. 

Thursday Stories

There are so many wonderful memories that I will carry with me probably forever that came from my expirience at the SD100. Training to run these longer distances has taught me a-lot about myself and I have made friends with people I hope to keep as friends/family for a very long time. I went into this race so feeling really emotional and I am not really sure why. I think the distance really scared me. I also felt uneasy about knowing so many people would be helping me. I am a terrible receiver of anything. I love giving but receiving that is hard for me. I had really open myself up to feeling the love my friends showed me. Even know just knowing my friend Charlene stayed up all night and fallowed me around from aid station to aid station just to crew me makes me feel so special. The SD100 took me 31 hours and 12 minutes to finish that is a-lot of waiting around and supporting someone just cause you care for them kind of thing. I feel like maybe my capacity for feeling loved grew during this race. 
Another super fun thing that happens when you run this distance that is so different from say a 50 miler is you have these great talks with total strangers that you have a huge thing in common with (like your all out here trying to run 100 miles) and I think that if I was  not  there during those moments I never would of met these people. I heard so many great stories and crazy impressive distances and races these people had ran it was hard not to be inspired. 
The other thing that really impressed me was the aid station volunteers at this race. These men and woman really care about what is going on with you. They check you out and try and make you comfortable. They feed you and give you good pep talks. They get you ready to go out again and I even got a couple hugs. You have to be an awesome caring person and very giving to give like that. It was great to be around this energy.
I am sure I will be telling stories about how much I love my 100 mile adventure for a while. It was an epic ride even if I did a lot of it in a low gear. Its one I won't forget anytime soon. 

San Diego 100 Mile 2015 - Trail Crashers

San Diego 100 miler part 2

It's starting to get late and here I am still happy but I am hungry and starting to feel grumpy. I knew Charlene was waiting for me with food and a change of clothes. I was nauseous and my back hurt a-lot from carrying the pack I think. I have a huge respect for those people who did this solo. I do not think I could have done this with out Charlene and Jeff. I had warm food waiting for me at some aid stations and lots of awesome pats on the back and words of encouragement. 

Here I have been running for 13 hours. I am getting ready to put  my night clothes on and be on my way. I did learn that staying in the aid stations is not recommended  The best most comfy chair I ever sat in was at an aid station. The best soup I ever had was at an aid station. My legs felt the best sitting in the chair at the aid station. You get what I am saying. Do not sit in the chair at the aid satin for more than 2 min, especially after 50 miles. 

This was my last smile for the next couple hours. Not really but the next 40 miles where nothing like the first 56. They sucked.

I am not a good night time runner. I walked for most of it and I hated how hard it was for me. I did not hate the experience but I wish I would of been more prepared. I don't really have lows when I go on long runs . I have written this before I am not a fast runner I am consistent and I just want to be out there running. I love it. So I don't have lows because I eat a-lot and I just go at Gloria's pace.  I experienced a-lot of lows at this race. I am going to call it Gloria night time lows. Holy Cow I was so tired and all I wanted to do was sleep. I kept asking Jeff to please let me take a nap and as my pacer he was smart and said no. Chances are I would not get up. Jeff got me through the night . He used all the tricks in the book. I don't know how I got through it just that I did. Thank you to my awesome friend Jeff. You were a great Pacer.

This was when he stopped pacing me and what I am saying to him is please don't go Jeff. I was cutting it close and I only had about a 45 minute window. I wanted to make sure I made it and we bonded. He totally came through for me. Running this distance taught me so much about myself. Its such a humbling experience and I am so glad I got to share it with such a good friend. My dad picked me up here and he ran the last 6 miles with me. He was funny and full of energy. Not much could go wrong at this point. I think I was feeling better but I felt like such a baby. To tired to walk and complaining about being tired and hey at this point I have been running for 29 hours so. I was not being happy G anymore. I was done. Here is what got me through thoughts about all my friends waiting for me. The Trail Crashers had all finished hours ago and Ricky took 4th so Becca and him were waiting for 10 hours so how could I let them down. The other thing was if I didn't finish I would have to come back next year. At this point I really didn't want to come back . The last thing was I have been talking and dreaming about this forever. I kept reminding myself how much I wanted this. I have dreamed about this moment forever so here it was. I felt like shit but I was living my dream and with that I finished my first 100 mile race in 31:12 minutes. 

and as I crossed the finish line there was to my surprise My family Mike and Jack. My mom and brother and my sister and sister in law. My nieces and nephews and my friends. All the people I love standing there waiting for me cheering me on. Paul Jesse gave me my medal and the amazing Angie gave me my buckle. 

This was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was nothing like I imagined it was so much better. It has changed me forever for the better. I am so glad I choose the San Diego 100 as my first 100. It was so well marked that I never had to worry about not being on the right trail. The aid stations had really good people that cared and took good care of you. It is such a good race I highly recommend it if you are looking for a beautiful race experience. I would give it 5 stars.
Thank you to my good friends the Trail Crashers for helping me train properly and feel prepared for this. Charlene and Jeff for crewing me and pacing me. Mike for taking care of the kids every Saturday and Sunday mornings I could go run. My family for showing up and being supportive. 

San Diego 100 mile Endurance run part 1

The day was finally here I was so ready to do this. My best friend Charlene was here ready to crew me. Jeff, her husband, was going to crew me.  Scott, the director,  told  us all  everything we needed to know to keep ourselves safe. I felt less nervous after listening to him. I knew this was a great race and they we would be safe. 

I got my swag peeps.

Here we are saturday morning at 5:30 am except Natalie is missing. All 7 of us signed up trained together and ran the same course. Here are the Trail Crashers.

This is Jeff he would be my pacer for most of the second half of the race and his wife would be my crew. He let me barrow his spot and my family felt better being able to fallow me for the next 100 miles just to make sure I was ok. (specially my mom) At this point I was so excited. I knew this would be so much fun and I knew I could 50 miles so why not 100 right? right 

Excitement overload going on here. I mean how exciting right? I am standing with a group of dedicated runners all on a mission. The feeling is so awesome. I felt so lucky. I am attempting to do something I have dreamt of for years. 

The race starts at 6am. As I wait for the fast runners to go then the faster than me runners to go soon it was my turn. I started of taking my time and settling into a good place in the runners line. I could see the lake to my right and the sun was shinning but it was cool weather. I was doing it !! That is  what I felt like. Holy Shit G you are here lets just do our best and run Gloria's race. 

So here we are at Pioneer Mail mile 30.5 I felt great. I was a little slower than what I ran at PCT but at this point I thought I might be able to run 27 or 28 hours. I was singing and feeling the runners I am so happy thing. This all felt familiar. 

Its almost here

So here we are new month with some new experiences to look forward to. 1 day and 22 hours  until I run my first 100 mile race. First thing is there is so much planning that goes into a race like this. There is more than one drop bag. I have nutrition for 100 miles to think about and clothes. I feel like a total newbie because the longest run ever is 50 miles and I am about to double that.
I do love feeling like a newbie. So many new experiences and learning to look forward to. I am super excited and crazy nervous  I can say the nervousness is a combination of anxiety and fear. The cool thing is that as soon as I am at the start line all of this feelings will just go away. I have really enjoyed the journey that got me ready for this race. The long runs and all the short runs. Breakfast with my running friends after our Sunday runs. Our occasional beer after a long hot run . It has been very cool making new friends but most importantly for me is that this experience has helped me  embrace and accept so many different things about myself. I feel fine about my speed . I am way more punctual now. I am just more comfortable with who I am as a runner and a mom. I feel more accepting of it all. Long runs really help with helping you get rid of all the crap. The stuff that does not really matter really won't matter after 30 miles on the trails. Therefor you probably do not need to carry that stuff anyway. I think running has made me emotionally lighter. #ILOVETHAT  any experience that helps me grow as a human being is worth having right …