Its almost that time. LOST BOYS

Lost Boys is this weekend !!!

Here we go again. I am excited and nervous about Saturday's race. I think it might be the last Lost Boys 50k and 50 miler. This will be my 3rd year running it. The course is insanely beautiful. I am going to try and take pictures this year. I love this race for several reasons. This truly feels like an adventure run to me.
First you get picked up at 3:30 am and you get a bus drive down to the bottom of the Anza Borego Desert. There they proceed to drop you off and at 5am you start running.
There are two distances this year 50k and 50 miler. I will be running the 50 miler and I my bib is number 40 this year. Last year I was 39. You run about 25 miles up the desert and then when you get to the mountains you run another 25 to the finish line !!
50 mile baby !!!!! I love hate this distance because its a butt kicker.

So here is what I would like to do this weekend. See my time from last year 11:37 ..I want to beat that time by 15 minutes. I remember thinking last year that there was no way I could go any faster and I have worked so much harder this year on my running that I think unless something goes wrong I can do 11:15. That's right you heard it here first. I don't care what place I come in what I want is to do better than I did last year. I am racing myself peeps.
I am also excited to see how my nutrition goes . I need to eat solid food out there. So wish me luck and I hope you have an awesome weekend.

Bits of this and that

Some times there is a little bit of us everywhere. We don't need to be perfect we just need to be ourselves. 

Mountains to beaches makes 45 miles

This weekend was all about running and more running with
San Diego 100 so close by I am just trying to stay consistant with my milage and with my work outs. Showing up to all our Saturday runs in key at this point and coming up with a long run on Sunday too.. I think that is even more important. Its those back to back long runs on tired legs that get you ready. This Saturday we went to Black Mountain in or near Poway and the plan was to run 26 but we ended up with 25. something. Its a hard run because it has lots of hills and there super rocky !! Welcome to San Diego trails 

I really do love making new friends that share the same love as I do. You would think it would be hard to find other females that love to run these long distances but its not !! Each one inspires me to keep working hard . Just like this girl she is go getter and I love that. We will be sharing the trails at SD 100. 

I love having all sorts of coversations and sharing the mountains for hours at a time. Here is our Saturday group.
When you get the text that says group run 26 miles you kinda cringe and then think..that is such a long way to run. It is a long way right ?? but now I just let the number be and like with so many things in life I know that I just have to show up and the rest will fallow.
Sometimes when I have been out there for to long I have these crazy ideas and then I say them out loud and next thing you know. It is the day after your 25 mile run and I find myself at 5 am running to a run a half marathon. The craziest part is a couple of my friends joined me. 

I woke up Sunday morning after getting crappy sleep. I say that because I woke up every hour afraid I was going to be late or that I would over sleep. I set my alarm but sometimes things happen. I got up at 4am  and once I finally woke up got some coffee I got really excited. The plan was to meet about 6 miles away from the La Jolla half and run to the race. I loved getting there when it was still dark and hearing the ocean. I felt safe because I had two friends with me and it was that kind of morning weather that let you know it was going to be a hot day. We ran to the race and made it with 30 minutes to spare so we hung out and then we all ran the race separately. I like the run your own race thing. I have to say the more I run the more I like those just me miles. The race went really well. I ran a 1:54 . That is really good for me. I think about all the miles I put in the day before and I feel more secure about my training for San Diego 100. 

Its beer garden time !! I do not drink after races because migraines love me but I had a blonde ale and it was really good. So cheers to having awesome weekends while wearing running shoes.

Oriflamme 2018 race report

I ran the Oriflame 50k this past Saturday.
The race is about 1:30 from my house and it started at 7am,  so that was perfect. I arrived at 6:30am and, to my surprise, I did not forget anything. I had cold and hot gear because you just never know what to expect when you're running from the mountains to the desert floor and back up. The weather did not let me down. As soon as I got there, I knew it would be a little bit of everything. I made my way to the staring line and noticed I had dropped my car keys. So I asked around and I found them (as everyone had started already) but this made me the last runner out. 

The weather started out in the 50s. It was windy so it felt colder. Most runners had on there long sleeve shirts and jackets gloves and buffs. It's the mountains, so you just never know.

 It is nice being in the back because you can take everything in. All the colors, all the runners and the whole thing is just special. I love it!

The funny thing about this race is I try and avoid this training run because its just so hard. This race is rocky and the elevation gain is 4,268 and the max elevation is 5,100. It got to 90 degrees as we started climbing up the canyon. I try and keep my focus under my hat and I just climb.

I love running 50k. I think its my favorite distance because you still have enough energy to drive home and hang out. 

Gemma took this picture. (thank you) I was so happy to be done. I was done with the climb and ready to just sit. On this run, I listened to the Gypsy Kings and just sang my way to the end, feeling so good. 

We all ran and this is our Trail Crasher finisher picture. These are truly happy runner smiles. 

How crazy is this? I got 3rd female!!!! I got my medal which fits into The Old West medal like a sweet little puzzle piece.

It was an awesome day and I love being there with my friends in the mountains running.
This race was well put on the shirts are really nice and the aid stations had great volunteers. You park right where you start and finish and there are good bathrooms ...Everything you need to run an ultra..