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..

Ultramaraton Baja Trail

This last weekend March 17th I ran this race. In Tijuana Baja Calif. In Mexico. I just want to start by saying I was really nervous about this one . I had at least 4 people tell me how hard this race was going to be so I knew it was going to be a challenge but a new challenge is always welcome.
 The day started really early , I was up at 2 am and a friend picked me up on his way down to the border at 2:30am. The bus was scheduled to pick us up at 4:30. You would think we would have enough time to get everything done but we barely made it to the bus and then finding the bus was its own adventure.. By the time it found us we had walked 4 miles.

The race had 3 distances. My friend Louka ran the 80k and started at 6 am . The rest of our group  Kylee, Scott, Janell, Maria started at 6:30 we ran the 50k. So there we all are standing in the cold rain excited and ready to go. We all counted in Spanish and off we went. You start in a single conga line going up hill and make your way up a mountain. Then there was another and another. My friends did not lie to me this was a hard race but lets be honest whats the one thing that makes a hard race not so hard.....Perfect Weather
How can you complain when it is 60 degrees with a light mist. 

The views went on forever.

This is at the top of El Capitan. Getting up here was an adventure..

Seeing so many familiar face of friends I admire and call friends made the miles and hard work go by quickly. 

Another familiar happy face coming my way..

and another. Sometimes you run races and you know there are people you just admire and look up to because there so strong and have been killing it in this sport forever. There also so nice and wise and then You feel lucky just to able to share the trail with them. Even if your way behind them it is still special.

I loved the race and I didn't mind the climbs. You know how sometimes your just feeling it. I got lucky because this week I feel good and I went out at my pace and just ran my race and finished around 8:20 something. 

I really loved how the entire day unfolded. It was such great course and the rain all of it made it a special day.
I want to mention a couple things.. The course was so well marked. They did a great job marking it. The aid station and the volunteers so kind. They gave me hugs and food and so much encouragement . If you get chance to run the Baja Trail Maraton Just do it.
Be the girl who decided to go for it !!! That's it.... Happy running 

Saturday Morning Miles

I woke up at around 5 am and hit the tapped the snooze button on my phone. Then I laid in bed and thought about how fun it would be to see my friends. So at 5:14 I finally rolled out of bed into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. That is what I do to let my body know I am getting up this is real. Then after that got dressed and went down stairs and was out the door by 6:15 this way I could be on time. (New Years resolution) be early. The weather today was perfect here in San Diego. The plan was to run Black Mountain for about 16 miles but unfortunatly we ended up getting lost and going a bit shorter than planned. 

Personally I didn't care because I know we will figure it out and I feel so grateful to be there with so many fun humans just running.

The morning did not go as planned but we got lots of climbing in and a whole morning with friends . What could be better ??

What 331 miles !!

The month of September is gone . Forever I thought the Tahoe 200 would never happen and now its all in the past. Thanks to that crazy ,beautiful race I ran my biggest month ever. I ran 331 miles in September and maybe that is why my feet hurt. (ha ha) I am still having a hard time believing that Robert and I did it. We finished 200 miles in 99 hours. I was so scared going into that race. My biggest motivation was remembering what my friend Becca always tells me when we go into race. Trust the training G. When you put in the work and you don't cheat yourself your chances of finishing are really good and when your brain knows that and believes it . You finish what you start. The older I get the more I really get how good this running thing really is.
Sending you awesome blessings for next month.

The finish line Tahoe 200

We finally crossed the finish line. I aged aged a couple years. You know when your so tired your like a zombie. Thats what I felt like. A very emotional tired G. I cried a bunch and I wanted a shower so bad. Robert and I did well. 

look at this thing ! Insane 

Here we are with the race director. I was so mad at her during the race it was just so hard but now looking back. at our run what makes it special is that we conquered even though it was insanely tough. Would I do this again ?? I said no way but now 2 weeks have passed and well I am thinking about it. I would like to do the other 200 she has. Moab or Big Foot maybe next year.

This is my new sexy buckle ...Do you like it ? I love it.

The Black Canyon 50k

I signed up for The Black canyon 50k . I thought it would be a great training run for Tahoe 200 . The weeks fallowing the passing of Chris I had no running in me. I felt guilty leaving my kids to go for a run so I stayed as close to them as I could. I was not happy because running is my happy and training for a race is what really keeps me motivated but life has been mixed up lately. The last two weeks I kicked myself in the butt and started running again. 

On Saturday July 21 I woke up early and drove 25 minutes to the race. Another reason I signed up for this race it's so close to home. We started at 6am. I had no freaking idea what I was in for. I thought oh its a 50k I can do that and we don't have that many hills in San Diego so I should be okay. BS
It was really hard and challenging. I got my butt kicked and it was just what I needed to remind me that I need to keep at it if I want to take part in this sport.
About the race. It was really well organized . The shirts and hats totally rock. There logo is awesome and they had Popsicles at the aid stations... The volunteers as usual where so nice and helpful.
The course was a bunch of complicated loops but the way they marked the trails was really well done. I did not get lost and there where so many ribbons that I never really freaked out about being lost. The heat and the climbing sucked and it went on forever and ever. The moment I got to the top of a hill oh wait there is another hill and another.
It took me 8 hours peeps !!! That is a long time but looking back this is a great race because your working your ass off. Your running climbing and trying to keep cool. All the things we look for in a good challenging race !!!

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I felt a-lot like the green guy in the picture !!
Now its back to training the Tahoe 200 is in about 1 month. Yes, its going to be a great time because even when it sucks its good. 

Lost Boys 2017 race recap

The day before the race I drove up to Lake Cuyamaca with the plan of sleeping in my van. The sun was setting on my drive and it was devine. I don't remember having a more beautiful spring in San Diego in a very long time. As I was standing here I could smell the mountain flowers. 

I stopped one more time along why 79 to take this picture too. My thoughts where tomorrow morning at 5 am I will start running from the bottom of the desert straight up here. Man that is a long way !!

I was on the bus at 3:30 am. They drove us about an hour I think into the desert and  by 4:30am I had checked in and had my bib. #39. The race director had everything ready to go. There was muffins and I think coffee I am not sure. The RD for the race was there making sure we all knew what was going on and giving us some safety tips. The race started promptly at 5am. I decided to leave my head lamp because the sun would be out soon. This is a picture of the sun rising over the desert it was stunning. I was running with Robert and Mark at this point. Robert and I are running the Tahoe 200  together so we had talked about trying to hang together during this race to get a feel of how we would do. 

The morning is my favorite part f this race. I highly recommend the 
Lost Boys 50 miler. I mean look at this light. The start felt easier this time than our training run 3 weeks ago and that's probably because we ran it and got a feel for it. I am sure my  excitement had something to do with it. San Diego has such a supportive and just great ultra running community how could you not be in running haven. 

Here it looks hotter than it was . The weather was perfect not to hot and not to cold. There was the perfect head wind and everyone was still smiling. The first aid station I remember coming into Larry told me I was number 39 just like my number. I also remember they had the best potatoes I have ever had at a race. I had 2 and kept moving and talked about how good they where for a while. Robert was really good about not letting me lag. I think if I was alone I would not have been as motivated to keep moving and I would have taken way more pictures but nope I kept running along.
 I always run with head phones but lately I have been rewarding myself with music. This time I told myself when I get to Orriflame Canyon I will turn on my tunes and I am so glad I did because I was able to push and yes dance my way up the canyon. I felt like a lucky kid that gets to play outside all day with her friends while climbing the canyon. (while getting her butt kicked by the climb )  After climbing up Orriflame I started to get my second wind. I think it was all that NWA that got me going. I almost forgot to mention that Becca with Nutritiously Balanced helped me with my nutrition and that made a huge difference too. I never felt sick and I was able to keep my energy levels consistent. My expectation going into Lost Boys  was running 25 min faster than last year. That gave me a goal to work towards. Imagine my surprise when a man at an aid station told me your 5th female. I knew there was only 14 woman running and lets be real here in the past I am always near the back. I have never trained so much before and its true if you put in the work you get better results but better results for me would of looked like 30 minutes faster. This training thing really works !!!

I kept running and thought  to myself maybe you should try and catch the next girl G. My thoughts ... what do you have to loose  just run. I pushed myself and pushed some more. Than I passed 5th and then 4th and I had a fun conversation but  she encouraged me to keep pushing so I did. I ended up finishing 3rd female 10 minutes behind second and an 1 hour and 16 minutes faster than last year. 
 All my training with the Trail Crashers is paying off. I get so emotional after I run too. After this picture I gave my friend Becca a hug and cried.  This is such a good race if you love running challenging courses that take you places this race offers just that. Climbing ,stunning views all while getting your butt kicked.

I kept thinking of this quote during the last 5 brutal miles when I asked myself why are you doing this.
You can choose courage or you can choose comfort but you can't choose both.   Brene Brown

Weekend Update and some running stories

This weekend was so rad !!! I have to first say thank you to my husband who loves me and thinks it is so great I love to run  and doesn't mind watching the kids  Saturday mornings and sometimes  that turns into Saturday afternoon.
I feel like we are deep in training for San Diego 100 miler. The miles are getting longer and the runs harder. It is also getting warmer. This weekend was an oh shit and yeah run weekend. Saturday I was up at 4:30 am and in the car by 5 am to get to the mountains by 7am. I had stop for coffee and a bathroom so the ride turns into 2 hours. I was grateful to be there on time and ready to do the training I find to be the hardest.  The Orriflame suffer fest. We run on the PCT for a couple miles and then down the canyon and then up again. 10 miles down and then back up it feels like so much work coming back up. I think that runs like this are so important for mental training if you are training for an ultra. Doing the long hard runs that scare you are the ones that make a difference. That was my oh shit run.. Then Saturday I had the San Diego half marathon . I love this race it was my 6th year running it. I saw a bunch of The Trail crashers before the race and ended up running with a friend Nartaya the entire race. It was a really easy race and I was so surprised I didn't have a-lot of pain. My legs felt better the farther we got into the race and we talked the entire time about our kids and just ran. We ended up with 2:02 and that was great time. I know we could of gone faster but I think both of us just wanted to run at a good pace. That put me at 70 miles for the week and well on my way to the right training I need to finish SD100 . I hope you had a great weekend and happy trails..

Training run in the dessert

I slept about 3 hours on Friday night. Jack is sick and his coughing along with just being his mommy kept me up. I ended up getting up at 3 am I contemplated getting ready to run or getting back in bed. I knew when I sat up in bed that running would win. I have learned that when ever I hesitate on a run either because the drive is so long or the weather sucks or I just feel lazy that if I just get ready and leave the house I will have a great day! It usually works that way. I got up and made coffee got ready and looked at the forecast. It said COLD !! 40 and windy :( Then I pack every jacket I own just because having my jackets in the  car helps me feel more ready. 

Our run was the first 18 miles of the Lost Boys course. Can I just say it was really difficult. A total work out. My mantra when running really hard stuff is this is making me stronger. I just say that over and over and over .

We climber boulders that used to be waterfalls and we just kept running. Then I realized that for me this was one of those runs that you get what you put in. It was really pretty out in the dessert and the sky was bright blue. The weather ended up at a perfect 70 degrees . I got to see my friends and yes getting 3 hours of sleep having to leave my house at 4am and being uncomfortably cold at the start of our run was so worth it. This weeks run felt like an adventure. 

Saturday's training run

Today's run took place in Cuyamaca. We ran 18 miles of the  Orriflame course. It was so cold my teeth kept chattering. Last year when I ran this race my feet where in bad shape and running down the rocky Orriflame course was so painful and it took me forever. I felt running today was a big mental boost I felt way stronger running down and even though I didn't feel great running up hill that is okay because I just ran a 50.  This running lifestyle it is a very good one. Wishing you a very happy Sunday. 

Weekends are for running

Our Saturday run was so much fun. We meet at Lake Hodges and went out for 14 miles. The mountains are always so pretty after a week of rain. Everything was a green and just looked clean. 

A-lot of us showed up and I love it when the group gets together. Lots of great runners in this picture. The longer distances seem shorter when you have friends to talk to and catch up with. It was 40 something when we started but it quickly warmed up.

I came home took a shower and then the family and I went to go see Isabella perform. She was awesome so happy to be acting. 

Then Sunday my dad and I went Oceanside to run. We went out for 10 miles the day was perfect. So beautiful. I felt great and it was an easy 10 miles. I am always surprised by what my body can do. It just keeps going. That put me at 65 running miles for the week. I am hoping to just keep this pace up as I train for SD100. 

It's time to start training

It's that time. Training for the San Diego 100 officially starts this week for me. Training is my favorite part of this journey. When race day arrives there will be so many new stories about how I barely made it on time to a run because I totally forgot my shoes and had to drive back home to get them (that was this morning)  or about how we did a 25 mile training run that I dreaded but I ended OK. There are going to be so many beautiful trails we are going to explore and mountains we will run up and down. There will be the fact that by race day I will look super fit. ( great bonus ). I can't forget that on this journey I will eat healthier than I do the rest of the year.  Then when you thought OMG what the heck did I sign up for there is RACE DAY ! 

This is me 2 years ago at the start of the SD 100. I had no idea what I was in for but I would not change a thing. It was a huge growing experience for me. I know I train better and work harder this year because I know you have to put in the work to succeed and the harder you work at this the better the out come will be. This year my goal is to run this race in 27 hours. I think I can do it. I have a plan. It starts with a 45 mile week . Do you have a race this year you are excited about ??