I did it! I'm an Ultrarunner!

Woo hoo! I called my dad yesterday afternoon our conversation went something like this: "Dad, guess what?" "What?" "I'm not a marathon runner anymore." "You're not?" "No. I'm an ULTRAmarathon runner!" "Oh! Well, I'm glad you found something you like!"

Yesterday, I crossed over into the ultrarunning world as I ran in the inaugural Unknown ?K--a 50K/31mile run through San Mateo, down off Ortega highway. Aside from the fact that this is my longest distance I've ever run, it was one of my favorite runs I've ever done. Charlie organized a supported group run (not an official race or event) for the OCTR. We had a group of about 25 people from the club running yesterday. Half of us started at 6:00 (the slow people!) and half started at 7:30 (fast!). I, of course, started with the 6:00 crew, with my new pink headlamp, 'cuz it's still dark at that time. As fun as it is to run in the dark, I am never let down when the sun rises while I'm on the trails. If you're running on dirt (as opposed to cement-ouch!), you are going to have some beautiful views. And San Mateo did not let us down. We were running through wildflowers, crossing over streams, patches of green grass, running up hills, down hills. . .

Lisa, Pete V., Kirk, and EKP

I managed to keep up with Pete and Lisa for most of the run. Around mile 10, I was running when I saw and felt a small branch hit me in the eye. It actually didn't poke me, but I felt a soft flower bud or something drag across my eye and it pulled my contact lens out!!! How does that happen!?!? I called out, "Hey guys! I just lost my contact lens!!" Lisa came over and found it immediately! "Oh, here it is!" She picked it up, rinsed it off with her water bottle, and then I took it and put it in my eye! The funny thing is, as I was packing my new hydration vest the night before, the thought of bringing an extra set of contacts crossed my mind. Then I thought, naw--why would I do that? I've never carried a spare set of contact lenses! I feel kind of old school talking about contact lenses. I heard there is this new surgery that will fix your vision. . .
The second aid station was at mile 17. I was still feeling good and strong. I had Charlie's map with me and it said that after the second aid station there was a stream crossing that there was no way around without getting wet. You had to take your shoes off and walk through. When we get there, me and Lisa sat down to take off our shoes. Suddenly, we hear some loud splashing. We looked up to see Pete just charging through it--shoes and all. Without a word, he just took off! He's probably thinking--silly girls! Then Lisa and I start walking through and, I have to say, the cold water felt sooooo good and refreshing on our feet! I even brought a clean pair of socks! As we were sitting down to put our shoes back on, we hear Charlie's voice coming down from the aid station. He was showing a group of casual day hikers how to get around the stream without getting wet (just a few feet to the left!) And then he saw me and Lisa putting our shoes and socks back on and starts making fun of us! Apparently the water level had gone back down after he made his map. That was pretty funny! But I liked having clean feet and socks!
My smile was soon gone because the next 8 miles were the longest 8 miles in my life! It was mostly climbing (which means a lot of walking for me). Lisa, Pete, and I kind of got spread out. The 7:30-ers started passing me on this stretch. I started feeling really low on energy. I kept looking at my Garmin, wishing the miles would go by faster, but it was like waiting for a pot of water to boil. The miles seemed to go on forever. At least the scenery was nice!
I finally made it to the last aid station at mile 26. At this point, it was starting to get really cold and windy. My friend Leon was waiting there with a big smile on his face. He told me I only had 5 miles to the finish. I told him I was low on energy, so he put a mixture of Monster Energy drink and Gatorade in my water bottle while I ate some little peanut butter and honey sandwiches and chocolate candy. It's amazing how quickly the human body can turn food into fuel because before I could even drink the Monster/Gatorade mixture, I was already feeling a million times better. I didn't even stay at the aid station very long because it was so cold! It was 47 degrees! And I was ready to finish the race, so I took off.

The last 5 miles of that race was probably the best race ending of any race I've done. It was beautiful, winding single track, with mostly downhill. I was suddenly in the best mood! I turned up the music on my iPod, and actually started singing out loud--Poison, Travis Tritt, Relient K, Nelson ('memba them?), Def Leppard, and Kid Rock. No one heard me, I think, but I didn't even care if they did!

Me at the finish line of the Unknown ?K

So I crossed the finish line where everyone was having their post-run meal. And, I have to say, it felt so good to do that with so many of my friends from the OCTR there. Running an ultra has long been a dream of mine, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do it without these people who have inspired me. There are also many OCTR members who did not run in the Unknown, but who have also inspired me. I'm so lucky to be around such cool people!

Of course, this is only the beginning of my life as an ultra runner. . . :)
Next race: April 12, Old Goats 50K

Two days that changed my life

This will probably sound crazy to about 99% of people out there. I've been wanting to do an ultramarathon ever since I read Dean's book, "Ultramarathon Man" about three years ago. It seems like runners all have different goals in running. For many, it's speed. They want to get faster--qualify for Boston. For other runners, they want to go the distance. That's definitely me. I mean, if someone runs Boston, or simply wants to do their personal best in 5K's and 10K's, those are awesome goals, but for me, personally, I just don't find that appealing. I've always been fascinated by distance. I know more about the ultramarathon world, such as races and top runners, than I know about the street running world. I don't know who the top marathoners are--nor do I really care!
So I read Dean's book right after I ran my first marathon in June of 2005 and knew immediately that I wanted to run ultras. I liked the idea of running really long distances and running on trails. However, I had a problem: I had just moved to Orange County from Los Angeles and didn't know where there were trails to run! I tried google-ing trail running clubs in Orange County, but couldn't find any. (OCTR didn't exist yet.) I would drive around all day for work and look at the hills behind Irvine and Tustin, and the Twin Peaks, and think, "There has to be some good trails out there!" But I didn't know where to go. Then someone told me that if I took PCH down to Laguna Beach, there was El Moro Canyon with some trails. So I drove down there and that's where I started trail running.
So now I had some trails, but I also had a new problem--no one to run with! Running trails alone is not very smart, so I would usually go on a Saturday, late in the morning, when there were lots of people around, but even then, I didn't like going very deep into the park. And I have a lot of friends who are runners, but they are street runners and weren't as motivated as I was to drive down to the trails at El Moro to run. so I rarely had someone go running with me at El Moro.
But my life was soon to change. . .
One Saturday morning--almost a year ago to the day--I was running with Rebecca in El Moro. I remember we ran up No Dogs and No Name and then crossed over to some sweet single track and we were following these two guys through the single track for a little while. Then we came out to a clearing where we all stopped for a water break. The guys said they were there that day running with a trail running club called the OC Trail Runners. They also said that some of the people in the group were running 20 miles, training for various races--marathons and longer. So of course, I was SO interested! They gave me the website and told me to come out on a run sometime. (I forgot who those guys were since it took me about 4 months to actually contact the group, so if you are reading this and remember it's you, tell me! Thank you for telling me about the OCTR!)
So, it took me 4 months to contact the group because I wanted to get in shape! That same Saturday morning in El Moro, Rebecca challenged me to start training for the 50 mile Rosarito to Ensenada bike ride, which was a month away. She told me to start incorporating spin classes into my training. (I was currently training for the Saddleback Memorial Half, the Wasatch Back relay, and the Nike Women's Marathon.) Well, I thought cycling might become a new sport for me, but I quickly became addicted to spin classes (as long as they have good music and a good instructor). I also found that the cross-training helped my running. I became a stronger runner.
After doing the Rosarito to Ensenada ride (on a mountain bike!), I soon after gave up sugar and sweets. It was a $100 bet Holly and I made for 6 months. It went from Memorial Day to Thanksgiving. It's amazing the difference I felt in my overall levels of energy. By July, I was feeling good and healthy. I contacted the OCTR and heard back from Wendy Garcia. She gave me a list of runs to go on. I remember preparing for that first run like I was preparing to run a marathon. I made sure to eat really healthy the few days before. I rested my legs for a couple days. I got a good night's sleep the night before. I mean, I had no idea how good these people were going to be! We were going on a 13 mile run in Whiting Ranch and I had no idea how hilly it would be either. I didn't want to show up and humiliate myself as a bunch of strangers were being let down and having to stop and wait for me to catch up!!! I imagined they would probably be muttering to themselves, "Maybe we should have a better screening process for newbies." "Look at this girl, she is in way over her head." And then they would tell me this group probably wasn't for me and I was afraid I would be embarrassed if I ever saw them again on the trails. And then I would go home dejected. :(
OK, that didn't happen. I mean, I went running with them and they were cool! I remember meeting Wendy, Skip, Corrinne, Kiko (where's he been?) and a few others, and they were so cool! I felt strong that day even though I wasn't used to so many hills, and kept up the pace just fine! I learned that you run a lot slower on trails--maybe a 12-15 minute mile--with walking breaks. Everyone was so friendly and I absolutely loved running with a group! I was immediately hooked on trail running.
So that was the other day that changed my life.
Since then, I have been running with the OC Trail Runners almost every Saturday morning and sometimes mid-week runs. I've also done my first trail races--Bulldog 25K, Boney Mountain 21K, Calico 30 (or 33?)K, and WTRS 18K--all with the goal of training for an ultra. But I also have to say that I have made some great friends with the OCTR. They are the coolest group of people. Running trails is great, but it is even better when you run with so many great people! I have loved every minute of my experiences with the OC Trail Runners!