I did it ! I finished Western States

I will post my story as soon I am thinking clearly..Thanks

Day 3 .. Its almost here ..

Day 3. Its almost here. Yesterday was simple we just hung around and waited for today.

Becca , Ricky and Robert checking out whats going on.

This is Crazy.. Here we are !

 A couple picture of the awesome views …  Ill be back later with pictures from this morning.

Day 2 in Auburn

Yesterday, I woke up at 4:45 am. I couldn't sleep so I got up and made coffee and waited to go meet Becca ,Ricky and Robert for a short jog/run. We ran up the start line of the race. Holy Cow it was steep . The weather is really nice right now. It is not crazy hot. I wore my long sleeve and I was comfy. It is really nice having a girlfriend here that loves to talk running. So here is what I am thinking I am going to pretend in my head I have a 28 hour cut off. That way I can hopefully have a buffer for the later half of the race. The last 30 miles are when I felt like shit during my first and only 100. Having a buffer will help so much. I can not imagine how the elites must feel. I am hoping to finish and I feel crazy nervous. 

There is so much to see here. I can't say that my older kids are nature kids but they try. We went on some long walks . we need to get our steps in right ?

I also feel like its the calm before the storm. Last night we went in the hot tub and we all had dinner together and went to bed early. Today my pacer and sister in law fly in. So exciting. I am feeling crazy ass grateful . 

Squaw Day 1. We arrived

Yesterday I got up at 4:15 am and was out the door by 4:45am. Bella and I drove from my house to Sacramento to pick up the boys. I thought it would be better to have my car and all of our stuff so I drove. I am glad I did . I brought Jacks bed and his toys with me and by 4 we where all together. Once in Squaw we got settled in out cabin. (its awesome) then I called Becca and we all got together for dinner. We where STARVING.

Then we went for a walk around the village. A knitted gondola. How cool would that be in my back yard. The kids had a great time exploring. 

Look at number 4. How Exciting !! Western States Trail race. 

Home of the winter Olympics in 1960. Thats a long time ago. The village is really pretty and I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the winter.

Here they are my loves. I am missing Paola . The weather is really nice it was in the 70s last night and no humidity. They where having a concert and we did a little walking and unfortunatly Jack fell and got a big knot but he is ok. 

The sprinklers where on and Jack thought this entire thing was a car wash. He said "running mama". This is where the starting line will be on Thursday.

Then we all went to the playground and before we knew it the mosquitos where eating us. The day ended well. We got here safe and our little cabin is perfect. We saw our friends at this point I feel like we are family. We spend so much time together. I love it. Jack's little head is ok and as I sit here drinking my coffee everyone is sleeping. 3 more days until the big race. I am going to go for a run in about an hour . I find it hard to believe that I am going to be able to run Western. I promised my self not to take any of it for granted. I am going to run with a grateful heart and practice being present. 

Saturday Ramblings

The day is almost here and yes I would say that I am way less scared and way more excited. I did my 10 mile run today and I felt fine. I kept think I just have to do 10 miles 10 times up and down awesome trails. I can do that
Here are a bunch of stuff I thought about on my run today.

I decided today that I just need to stay calm during the race. Sometimes in the middle of long races I decide I am going to go fast and then I blow up. I am going to try and not do that.

I am still not sure about how you keep eating after mile 60 but Its going to be Carbo pro and nuts and small pieces of chocolates and apple sauce.

I am going to focus on the aid station to aid station. I told myself it's two 50 mile runs. 0 to 50 and 50 to 100.

I also got the cutest outfit. A cute lulu lemon orange shorts and mint green top.

I leave you with a quote from Bill Clinton.
Running helps me stay on an even keel and in an optimistic frame of mind.

The Original - Salomon Running TV S03 E06

Wednesday thoughts

Yesterday was a little strange I caught up with an old friend and the idea trying to be grateful and live in the moment just went out the door. I caught myself thinking about the past all day. I understand the concept not living in the past or the future because you can't change it. The best thing seems to be trying daily to be present and that brings you a little bit closer to being mindful and present and living more in gratitude. This practice makes my life more enjoyable and I feel more connected when I do this.
Some how as the race gets closer I am starting to feel  calmer. There have been so many times in my life where I ended up places where I felt I did not belong or where I felt everyone else was better than me so what was I doing there. At 44 I figured out that I always belonged and that was my perception. You do not need to be the best you just need to try your best . When you do that then your wright where you are supposed to be. Showing up is half the battle and the other half is giving everything you have got. Whatever the outcome you have honestly is not the point its that freaking journey... 

Monday thoughts

Today I woke up at 6:30 and the plan was to be out the door by 7. I woke up with a heavy heart after hearing about Orlando and I ended up baking my Peanut Butter breakfast bars. I can not imagine what those families are going through after seeing pictures of the actual people who had there life taken away from them my heart hurts. That's someone daughter and son. My heart just feels heavy. For me Love is Love.
I went for a run and ended up hitting the trails for about an hour and a half. Running always helps me put things into perspective. I came home and loved everyone in my home a little bit better. I showed up more throughout my day and I will keep praying for peace and Love. 

Saturday Thoughts

I woke up at 4 am this morning. Christopher and I volunteered for the woman's wine half marathon. It was about an hour away so Robert joined us and we made it there on time. We had to be out the door by 4:50 am. I really like helping out and getting a chance to be on the other side of the aid station. I have had so many people help me out at races I felt like when I can I should give back. It is really fun. I also need to keep busy because I am so crazy nervous about WS that I need to do stuff. I came home did my core work. So much fun. 20 push ups -100 sit ups -and 50 squats- lunges. I did not run today my body is still resting and my feet are a little sore. I made a  dinner- home made BLT with killer thick bacon and banana chocolate cup bread .I did not eat the bread but everyone else did. I do adore when everyone in my house has had enough to eat. That's all for today. 

My quote for today and I think its a good one.

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of knowing 

u did your best to become the best that you are capable of being. 

John Wooden 

Part 2 of Western States training camp

Back to training camp. Day 2 we woke up really early and got our packs ready figured out what we needed for food and if I recall I spilled a bunch of water on the floor because I was so tired just trying to get my stuff ready so early was a challenge. I am always afraid I will forget something but the true beauty of running is you do not need much. A good attitude, coffee and water and some nutrition. I loved that my friends where with me. I told Becca I felt like we where on a Running Honeymoon.
The thought of knowing all I had to do was show up and run was awesome. The second day was easier than the first. We only had 20 miles to run so that thought was nice. The view was amazing. When you don't live near a trail and it is your first time taking it in it is magical. The river was to left and the canyons where so green. What I took away for race day is I just need to stay focused and keep moving forward. Julianne Becca and I totally bonded . Thats what I think and Ricky is so much faster that we only saw him at the end of each run but he the nicest guy. ( Becca's husband) aka super fast awesome runner. The aid stations has everything we needed. They took a while to get to and as soon as we did the guy said " oh your doing fine your 1 hour before the cut off" I hate the word cut off. It really got me thinking about my game plan for the race. The end came way quicker than I thought it would and they had food for us. I had a burger and chips and we waited for the bus. Some of the cool things where seeing some of the amazing runners I have a huge admiration for. Ann Trason, Sage Canaday , Magdalena Lewy-Boulet to name a few. Always cool to see them in person. I did not ask for a picture because I think they is there time on trails and there training . We needed the day by going out to islands for a quick dinner and then we went to the trail in motion picture festival. I saw Gordy speak ad he is a character. Very funny guy and a great story teller. Bed time came early because we would do this one more time in the morning and we where all tired. All together we ran 72 miles in 3 days. It was an amazing trip . We all got along and the runs where epic.  I would highly recomend doing the training camp even if you don't get it to the race. 14 days to go and we are at race day. Have great weekend..

Be Strong who me

What do you do when you are scared to do something ?
You show up and give everything you've got.

So here I am 18 days to go until Western and lets be honest here. OMG !! I am pooping my pants. I am so scared like literally scared. My tummy hurts and I just never thought I would get the opportunity to actually run this race. I hope I did enough running and training.
Ok so here is the deal I have never ran as much as I have since I found out I got into Western States (50 to 80) mile weeks consistently.  I have never gone to the gym or done this much core work. I have never ran so many hills or run down so many hills. You know they say  it's a down hill race. A big part of me feels like what if I did all the work and I am still not a good enough runner to finish Western in 30 hours. The training camp was not easy and we had three days to do it. Maybe I should be writing that I feel strong or that I am so excited. Maybe I should be a bunch of positive stuff but man oh man I am just not feeling it. I know its just a race but It is a really big deal race.  We rented a place my whole family is flying up. I am really nervous and I hope I can let go some of this HOly Shit feeling soon because its really messing with my happy vibe. I have had this poster of Gordy running on the course for years and hanging in my closet. Every morning when I get ready to go for a run or just   look at it.. This has  been a crazy dream of mine forever and I just hope I can do it. 

My Sunday Rock and Roll Run

This past Sunday my dad ran the Rock and Roll half marathon and I ran the full. My dad is 65 he ran his first full marathon at the age of 60 with a time of 4:30. That's amazing don't you think. I do I am so proud of him. This year he ran the half and he did really well 2:10. I am so proud of him. The weather was amazing. You know perfect running weather . The race started at 6:15 am. SO early but I picked up my dad at 5am and we made it right on time. I ran alone and I thought if I could run around 4 hour marathon I would be pleased . I honestly just wanted to have a good run. I ran a 4:12. I was happy with that. The best part was seeing my dad as I crossed the finish line yelling G. Then I yelled HEY DAD as loud as I heard and he heard me. That was an awesome feeling. The Rock and Roll did a great job putting on the race. It was amazing with the music and costumes and the energy was beautiful running magic. 

Western States training camp day 1

Day 1. Day of of camp was the hardest day for me. The run was a scheduled 32 miles with 3 water stations about 8 miles apart. We woke up really early because we really were not sure how many people would show up and how much parking there was. The run started at 8 am we arrived at 6:30 am. There was so much excitement in the air as we all stood together and listened to the directions and information we needed to know for the run ahead. My pacer Julianne won a north face Western states Jacket early in the morning and I knew that was sign that we where going to have a great time. The run started in the snow and at Robinson Flat. A huge part of me could barely believe I was there. A bigger part still can't believe I will be running this race in 20 days. The three of us stayed together and Julianne led the pack then Becca and then me. This was the hardest day for me. I was doing well until mile 16 then I got really hungry and I threw up. I just kept fallowing along and making progress. 

I had a great time but I just felt kinda sick. I did not have breakfast just banana and I figured out that I need a full breakfast. The trail was so so beautiful. I have not smelled or seen that type of beauty before. The pine trees stood high and the sky had levels of blue. The air was so clean I felt like where running in fairy land. We talked about life and kids and love and God. We laughed and I just felt like my heart was going to burst with happiness because it was just so beautiful. I did get my butt kicked. This was not easy for me and that's OK. I did to and I felt OK.

I was so happy to be done because I was starving..We crossed rivers and saw waterfalls. The actual trail is epic. That's why it Western States right !! I felt like we where on a very cool running adventure the entire time. I think it took us like 7 hours to run 32 miles. The hills went seriously up or seriously down. My legs where burning but I would be lying if I did not say I love that part.  I was relieved to see that I lived through day 1. The actual training run was really put together nicely. They had aid station and the course was really well marked. I love that. The people where all really sweet and friendly too.