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. 

to WS training camp I go

 It's here the Western States memorial weekend training camp.    I just laid out all my clothes for this weekend.  What do I take? Everything that has to do with running is what I want to take. You know just in case I need it all. I got new shoes yesterday and I will get my new insoles fitted in them tomorrow . I know I probably should not of gotten new shoes but my feet where killing me and new shoes feel the best to me. I feel like my little broken bones in my feet are healing. I have been so careful only running on soft sand but still getting my miles in. It will be interesting to see how my feet do in the Canyons of Western. (I can't even believe they picked me )
I am going to over pack of course but I will have what I need to be able to run the 70 miles in 3 days. We are taking a little road trip up to Auburn so it should be fun. I will keep you posted. 

My Morning Routine

I thought it would be fun ti share some of my favorite morning routines. I am a creature of habit and once I find something that works well I try and make it a habit as much as possible. This past year I have learned a-lot about healthier choices I could make that are simple and easy to include into my life.
1. I wake up and first thing is I say Thank You for letting me wake up and it sets a good place for thinking head to be in.
2. I go down stairs and have a glass of warm water with lemon and lately I have added some mint. Here is a link to some lemon water benefits.
3. I  take 5 to 7 minutes to do some stretches. I usually run 5 days a week so these babies seem to really help my legs.  I alway like looking on Pintrest for help with changing up mu routine. I like these this routine the most. 
4. My morning smoothie. There are so many great ways to make a smoothie my favorite is
1 cup of frozen spinach
1 banana
1/2 cup of peaches and pineapple blend and right now I am adding mint leaves too. After its blended I add some chia seeds too.
5. Then before I walk out the door to take my kids to school I go to the bathroom and I look in the mirror and tell myself that I am going to have a really good day G so keep smiling and stay on track.  Positive self talk is awesome . It really helps my attitude. My thought on this matter is. You have to go through the day right . So why not give yourself the chance of having a great day by changing your attitude ...

44 peeps

Holy Cow Batman that was fast .
I just had my birthday and turned 44. I woke up on my birthday and for the first time in many, many years I had no anxiety about getting older or needing things to be different. This year I woke up and I knew that I am on the path I am supposed to be on. I am right where I am supposed to be. It was a great feeling.
I woke up made breakfast for my teenagers and then drove them to school . Then my little man and I went on a walk and even that was a sign that I was where I needed to be. My dad took me out to lunch and Jack and I went for a swim in the early afternoon. SO far so good. I drove home and picked up the my kids and reminded them it was my birthday !! They gave a me a hug and all was good in the world. Then later than night I went out dinner at a Mexican food restaurant that had mariachi. It was a really good day. My  big sister sang Happy Birthday to me and that made it a complete. The best part was through out the day I felt settled. I did not feel sad at all. There are so many reasons or stories I had told myself in the past that just made my birthday's feel so melancholy. One of the things I have learned in this past year is to try to be present and with that comes learning about the self talk. Its really crazy the things we tell ourselves or the negative self talk that goes on in our brain. I have been consistently working on that and lately something clicked where I now feel a calmness within me because that talk has gone down a  level its mostly positive. I am giving myself a break now. I feel like I have earned it.
It is nice to just be present and I also changed my view on WS. I am going to go into the race grateful to be there and grateful for every mile I am able to run. I will be proud of myself for even showing up and taking part of something that is so much bigger than me . I am going to enjoy the journey and stop stressing so much about everything else. My birthday wish is that my feet heal well and world peace. Happy Trails .

update

Thank you DEbbie for the picture.
It's nice to know that I am this happy when I run.. I know I feel it and it shows. I went to the doctor to find out why my feet are in so much pain and he said I have two tiny broken bones. 1 in each foot. The sesamoid is the name of the bone and there fractured. He gave me a cortisone shot that hurt like hell and said it should get the swelling down and feel better. Since I will still be training for Western I am sure it will continue to hurt but what can I do. I guess just be smart with my running and hope for the best. 

I will revise my training plan tomorrow and go from there. 

My PCT and DNF race report

picture by Christopher ferrier
 Her DNF
Once upon a time in a far away land this Mexican girl named Gloria thought she was a bad ass and tried to run two 50 mile races with in 2 weeks. Then as she was running the second one along came the distance bit her in the ass made her stop and walk and before you know it she could run no more. So she turned in her bib and felt like shit and cried. The moral of the story is respect the distance.
Here we go. There are so many books that I have read and listened to that tell you to never DNF. It is supposed to be the worse thing ever. I had made it out to be the worse thing ever and I thought that would never happen to me. How could you ever feel so bad in a race ( beside 100 miler that is another animal) that you would have to stop. It happened to me. I should of known. I should of been sensible enough to know that I am not a runner that can just run Lost Boys 50 miler and 2 weeks later run The PCT 50 miler. Instead my thinking was I need to do  as much running as possible  for Western States. Why ? because it is a once in a life time opportunity and I should be able to run that much. Maybe this does not make sense to you and maybe now looking back it does not really make sense to me either but there it is. I got caught up in myself and did not respect that fact that I needed to rest and I just got to a point where I can run 50 miles WTF am I thinking I can run 2 so close together. The distance taught me not to let me ego get the best of me.  I need to slow down rest and respect every race I sign up for. I just need to slow down G.

I did my normal 5.9.5 this past week. Then I stayed at a friends house and got to the race on time. I had been feeling tired but I took lots of naps so I thought that was enough. I was really excited to be there with all my friends that I really admire and love. The race started and I went out in the middle of the pack. I usually try and go out near the back of the pack because I like going out slower and then getting warmed up and then going faster. That's what works for me. Lets remember I am not thinking about placing and in my heart I am not doing it for anyone else. Running these distances has become one of the great loves of my life and I do it because it makes me so happy.
I went out to fast for sure and at mile 6 I felt really tired. I put on my music thinking it would make me feel better right ? nope
Then I had a GU and It gave me energy but it did not help enough. I kept moving along and all I could think was I just need to find my happy place. That place I find in the mountains where the miles just fly by. Mile after mile passed and I could not find it. Then at mile 20 I just felt this tired feeling come over me. It was exhaustion fallowed by grief. Not a good combination. I walked to the half way point and at the turn around  I saw Angie Shartel and the one and only Scott Mills. They brought my smile back gave me words of encouragement they could tell I was not having fun. I started on my way back. I then walked 3 miles to Penny Pines. I knew Julianne Storm my pacer for WS was volunteering at the aid station and then between the crying and feeling horrible I knew I wanted to stop running. I did not want to finish or continue anymore. My legs felt so heavy my feet hurt and my heart hurt even more. As soon as I saw Julianne she hugged me and talked to me and let me know it was OK. The Aid station volunteers where amazing. They all where so kind with there words and told me many times my real race was WS. I needed to rest up and be ready for that race. Scott Mills told me that for every mile you race you need 1 day of rest. That means 50 days of rest for a 50 miler. I did not know that or I conveniently forgot it. I only got to mile 26 and  I felt sorry for myself but as soon as I got a ride from Julianne down to the start line I got excited for my friends they all looked great finishing and a female won the over all race. This was my first time watching my friends finish and what a great feeling it was. I was so excited for each and every one of them. What a day with lessons learned and a humbled heart. I can not say in word how much I love this sport and this Ultra Running community we have in San Diego. It really feels like a family. Stranger will literally give you the shirt off there back if you needed it in the San Diego Ultra Running Community. So I do not have a bib or a medal for yesterdays race but what I do have is a very grateful and humbled heart. In a weird way yesterday was a good race but for other reasons than finishing. I hope this makes sence somehow. 

Its time for the PCT50

Tomorrow is the PCT 50 miler. I will be running with a bunch of friends and taking easy . I am going to try and use this as a training run for W.S. This would put me at 70 miles for the week. I am nervous and excited. It is going to be a beautiful day so it should go well and be fun. This is almost a 25 up and 25 back down race. I am trying new nutrition and I feel rested so fingers crossed I do better than last year 11:45. I am going to shoot for 11 but my first priority is really enjoy myself. Life is to short for anything else. I have a picture of my sister I am bringing with me. So I am off and I will tell you all about it Sunday .. Happy Trails G

Tuesday talks

Tuesday. Today was a good day Jack and I hit the beach with my dad. It is Mothers day in Mexico today and I could not stop thinking about my mom and what she must be going through today missing my sister. Losing someone is like going through life under a dark cloud but you still have to go through it. I think it might be that motion of moving forward no matter how slow that keeps us going. You just can't give up. When I am really tired during an Ultra and I get to yet another big hill I find myself saying baby steps G. Just keep moving taking baby steps and before you know it your at the top.
I was able to get my run in 5 miles and a did my yoga class at home too. Today was simple we had taco Tuesday the kids got there homework done and my dad stayed for dinner. I am so grateful for simple easy days.