Lake Hodges 50 here I come

This is Lake Hodges  we run here  a-lot. There are lots of trails and its close to everyone. Maybe not close but about an hour drive and that's close. It is really pretty and you can get a ton of miles out here. The San Diego 50 miler is this weekend and I decided last minute I wanted to run it. I love The Ultra running community in San Diego. I always feel like it is such a treat to be part of racing or volunteering at any Ultra here.
I haven't trained for the 50 miler but I think I will be okay because I have kept up my training and I feel excited.The last time I ran this race in 2014 It took me 9:55 minutes so I would like to do better than that.
I am going to use take it easy and see if I can just keep a steady pace the entire time. The Trail Crashers are going to have an aid station at mile 15 and 35 so I get to see my friends twice.
The world outside seems like such a mess right now that getting a good long beautiful run will be awesome medicine for my soul. I look forward to telling you all about the race . It this Saturday at 6:30 am so please send me good running thoughts. Have an awesome day !

Day 3

Oh My Gosh it was so cold this morning. We started running at 6:30 am and it was 32 degrees. I was freezing my a-- off. I even made cold noises for about 20 minutes. I thought to myself what are you doing G. Then when I got to the top of raptor ridge even though I have been up there so many times I looked down and thought to myself.  I run so I can experience moments like these. Its just that feeling of I love this and I love this view and hey people I am doing what I love. I am running . Its passionate and so filling. Maybe that's why there are so many pictures of runners jumping they feel Passion too.

On my way back to my car the sun was shinning I felt warm and all was good. 

Then I took this little guy out for a run. I chased him and he chased me and all of this and so much more fill my heart to the core with love and happiness.
I read this quote today and it really hit home. You must take responsibility for your own happiness. I do not know the author but its so true. In life you have to seek out what you want and need no one else can do it for you. 

24 miles from the back

I ran 24 miles today way behind my friends today from the back.
This morning it was hard getting out of bed at 5 am because it was cold and early and I was being a baby. I finally just thought about race day and how its only 3 weeks away and that was enough to get my warm body out of bed dressed and out the door by 6am. It was 34 degrees outside and my car does not get warm quickly. I was freezing. Luckily I was only cold for about an hour before the sun came out and made everything better. 

Lately running with this group has been humbling. I am always the last one and they all kindly wait for me every couple miles. I felt kinda bad showing up today because these long mile weeks make my weekend runs harder. My legs are tired but somehow I know or tell myself that hey I must be getting stronger. All I want to do on race day is my best. That's why I show up. This guy Robert usually always comes back to run with me . We talk and it helps the last long miles go by faster.

Today we ran 24 miles of the 50 mile course we are running in 3 weeks. The Hodges 50 miler. Everyone will be running the same race. That makes it so much more exciting.

This is part of course. I have grown to love this course. I used to cringe at the thought of running here because its was so hard for me but slowly it getting easier and my heart has grown fond of Lake Hodges. I have good time here. 

So about my run today. I got my butt kicked a bit , I spent a lot of time way behind my group but I loved every minute of it and the cool guys I ran with. It was a good run day. I also feel thinner after all the food I ate the last three days...

Oh la la …4th

I got the results from the race on sunday and I came in fourth in my age division.  Yeah that has never happened but its kinda of exciting.  This made my day . So I will smiling all day as I change diapers and cook dinner.. Life is good..

My Lake Hodges 50k race review

Hi guys :) sorry it has been about a week since my last post but Jack and I had a really bad cold. I was actually looking forward to Sundays run when I was sick because there is nothing like a long run to clear you up. So Sunday morning the Hodges 50k started at 7am. That is such a good time to start a race because you can have  everything done by 7am. I had breakfast and I didn't forget anything. (that is a big deal for me ) I parked on the street and walked about a block to the start line. The weather was perfect. Not to cold not to hot. I saw a bunch of people I knew and that is always nice. I like hearing familiar voices. Specially the Oh Hi Gloria so glad your here.. Always nice.

We took of at 7am and the race director Jesse gave us a good morning send of with some directions and off we went. I have to say that everyone was really nice. Saying good morning and how are you ? Here and there. I felt good and I was excited to be able to run a 50k locally and actually because the weather was so great I was really looking forward to running so close to my house. Right after I took this picture I saw my friend Jeff running out there too. So that was an excellent surprise. 

I did not listen to my music for about 15 miles. I was really trying to work on having my breathing in control and good posture. I find when I run relaxed I can run farther . That's what we want people.. Long easy runs that don't hurt. The only thing that bothered me was my right knee and that's where I fell a while ago.  The scenery was beautiful and it was a flat race. I found out flat and cool was okay with me.

I ran behind this girl for a while she had a good pace and good form. Those are things I always work on. 

I did not stop at any aid stations . I had my Camel back with me and it was full of water and Trailwind with caffeine. I love caffeine. I did grab some bananas but quickly ran away. I am finding my body really likes bananas when I run.

I promised myself I could listen to some Dave Mathews after mile 15 and I did and it was good it helped me think about other stuff.. I honestly felt great the entire time. I prayed and I felt like my heart was so full of gratitude.. I got to be outside and I felt good and I was running. All things that make me happy. 
Around mile 27 I knew I needed to just push and not walk at all.  Its difficult in my mind when I see other people walk to not really want to walk. I only walked up Raptor Ridge because there was so many people walking I had no choice but in all reality there is no way I could run up that hill anyway. (one day ) after I came down I just played the game. 
 I kept finding the next person in front of me and try to catch them. That's always a fun way to keep yourself motivated. I got new glasses too. I could se everything clearly. That was nice too.

Here I am almost done. This is me being a total dork and saying hi to my dad. I wore orange and black for Halloween and I was really happy the whole time. My mantra was  Don't stop trying G. 

It took me 5:45 minutes. Not bad hu.. Last time I ran a 50k it took me about 7 hours so I did way better. Mike and Jack were also waiting for me. I was very happy with my time but most importantly my experience was awesome. I highly recommend this 50k. Its put on by Off road pursuits and the director is also an Ultra Runner. Really nice guy and the entire race went really well. 

The winner did it in 3:40. Crazy fast times. I saw the winner running and he was just flying by and it looked so easy for him. Love that. So here I am my medal my new glasses and me. 

Jack likes my pint glass and we had Subway and a bunch of good food after the race too. I am so thankful for my health and that I am able to run races like this. Its also nice to have my family waiting for me at the end. What I learned this weekend is you just have to keep trying and not give up. Oh and my cold is gone. See running is good for your health it made my cold go away…Happy Trails Peeps..

Next Sunday..

Hi. I have been resting up and being a mom. I have gone for a couple good runs but I a trying to listen to my body. I have a 50K that I have been looking forward doing this sunday. It will be my first time running The Hodges 50k. I have heard great things about this race and I am crossing my fingers its not to hot. I know its a really well put together race and the organizer is a really great guy. Mike has ran this race twice and he did great. I just want to have a good time and do a little better than my last 50k. The race is about 15 minutes from my house so that is very cool. A local 50k.
Lake Hodges is always full of runners I think its hard to find trails around here and you can get a-lot of solid miles out there.There are hills and its pretty.  I had a bad experience out there once so I really don't run there as much as I could. I ran out of water and it was over 100 degrees and I was not alone but it sucked . I will be running 31 miles out there Sunday so I should get over any feeling I have about Hodges while I am out there. I am looking forward to the experience and seeing some friends out there on the trail. Oh and seeing my dad and family at the finish line is always a huge plus. I have my kids this weekend so they will be there too. I love having cool races to look forward to but even more the cool life experience you get is kinda awesome .