2008 Recap and 2009 Goals

This past year in running definitely had it's ups and downs for me--and I'm not talking about running hills. The first half of 2008 was nothing short of amazing! January started off with running the XTERRA Boney Mountain 21K, followed by Calico 30K one week later. In February, I ran the WTRS 18K, and after some longer training runs, I felt ready to run my first 50K, the Unknown, in March. Then I ran the Old Goats 50K in April, Laguna Hills Half Marathon in May, and then the Holcomb Valley 33 miler in June. I was in the best shape of my life! And I was having a blast! My body was quickly recovering from long runs. Every training run felt great. So I decided to attempt my first 50 miler in August. I signed up for the Mt. Disappointment race, knowing it wasn't the easiest of 50 milers, but I figure it's better to try and fail than to never know what might have happened.
But then, I had to put my dreams on hold. On a training run in July, less than a month before Mt. Disappointment, I was running down a steep, overgrown trail when I stepped in a hole and fell over and sprained my ankle. It was very disappointing. Here I was at a high point in my running career and suddenly my running world came crashing down all around me. I didn't want to aggravate the injury at all and with my doctor's advice, I decided to take a break from running to let it heal completely.
Since then, I've been back at running, but it's taking a little time to get back to where I was before. I've had to back out of several races I was planning to run, due to my taking some time off last summer. In November I started training again and found I was still able to log the same kind of mileage I was prior to my injury. I was hoping to run the Twin Peaks 50K in December, but I think my dropping out of that race was ultimately a lack of confidence.
The first half of this year was truly amazing! I've learned in life that I am happiest when I am on track to achieving my dreams. And up until the day I got injured, I could really feel my dreams starting to become a reality. One day I hope to be doing 50 mile races, 100 mile races, and multi-day races. But, as someone said the other day, "ultrarunning is a microcosm of life." You will inevitably suffer some setbacks, but what is important is that you deal with your challenges, pick yourself back up, and keep pressing forward toward your goal.

And now, here are some things that made this year memorable!

BEST RUN OF 2008: The Unknown ?K--though not an official race, was my first ultra and the first time I ran anything past 26.2 miles--it was in the 31-33 mile range. Other things that made it great: beautiful, non-technical trails south of the Ortega Highway in South Orange County, perfect running weather, amazingly well-stocked and well-staffed aid stations, and the best part of all--meeting, for the first time, a lot of super talented trail runners from our club--the SoCal Trail Headz. Everything about this race was perfect! And the fact that this was my first ultra made the day even better.

HIGH POINT: Finishing the Old Goat's 50K. I wanted to quit so bad, due to having a cold and feeling exhausted from mile 8 on. But thanks to the encouragement of those around me, I was able to finish the race! And as a bonus, I managed to beat the only other girl in my age group for 1st place in the 20-29 year old female age group. Then I turned 30 years old the next day!

LOW POINT: Spraining my ankle. I took nearly 3 months off running to let it heal. I'm so paranoid about re-injury. Even though I am back to running trails, I can tell it's still not the same. Better watch that.

DAWN PATROL: I am so thankful to have a group of friends who help keep me on my training schedule. At least twice a week, we meet at El Moro State Park in Laguna to go for a 8-10 mile training run. We usually start at 5:00 AM, wearing headlamps to find our way. While it is painfully early, it is SO WORTH IT! On these days, I get to watch the sunrise, have panoramic views of the ocean, Catalina Island, Mt. Baldy and the San Gabriels (which are covered in snow right now), Orange County's twin peaks, and all the beautiful city lights below. Best of all, I get to enjoy the company of some great runners like Jeff S., Molly, Mike K., Pete, Natasha, and sometimes more people! Who knew you could have so much fun at 5 AM!

LAGUNA COAST WILDERNESS: The great thing about running in Laguna is we have so many different options starting from the Ridge Park cul-de-sac. You can run down into El Moro Canyon and explore the many trails there. There is the 12 mile Nix Center loop. You can also head down to the 133 and cross the street to get to Aliso and Woods Canyon and just keep on running forever! We never get tired of running there.

RUNNING GOALS FOR 2009:

• Run my first 50 miler
• PR in the marathon
• Get faster!
  
• Stay injury-free
• Gain my running confidence back
• Do at least 3 other 50K's

Don't try this at home

A lot of times, ultrarunners are asked why they run so much. "Why do you run 50 mile or 100 mile races? Why do you keep putting your body through this? Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" And an answer I frequently hear when people ask this is: "I don't know. I guess because we're stupid!"
Well, seeing myself running down this path of stupidity, I spent my last three days doing something I always advise against--I went on a running binge! Since I started running again last month, my training has been very inconsistent. It is really hard to get back into the habit of waking up early to run and then cross training later in the day. But, lately I've been feeling really good, strong, and healthy. My sprained ankle seems to be a thing of the past. I've had a few really good, strong runs in the 8-10 mile range.

Feeling a need to do another ultra before the end of 2008, I looked at my race calendar. I am signed up for the Santa Barbara 9 Trails race. It's 35 miles over 11,000 feet of climbing. That is more climbing than many 50 mile races! I signed up for that about a week before I sprained my ankle. But, I know there is no way I would be prepared for that kind of intensity with so little time left to train. The next race I'm signed up for is the Twin Peaks 50/50 on December 13, which is 31 miles and 7,700 feet of climbing. This gives me two more weeks to train, and there is less climbing. It sounds so much more doable!Orange County's twin peaks from Laguna Coast. Modjeska Peak is on the left. Santiago Peak is on the right. You can see the 73 Toll Road and the 133 down below.

So I decided to start cramming for an ultra. Again, this is something I would never advise, but I decided to try it anyway. My strategy was to take it day by day and see how I felt. If I felt seriously sore or any major joint pain, I would stop. My main reason for doing this is to see if the Twin Peaks 50K in 4 weeks was a real possibility.

I started my running binge at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday morning at Laguna Coast with Pete V., Molly, Jeff S., Cyrus, Natasha and Beiyi. I feel so lucky to know lots of people who like to wake up early to run. . . in the dark! There was a beautiful full moon and we saw the sunrise around 6:30. It was a beautiful 9.1 mile run!

You could see the sun rise in the east, and the moon set in the west.



Day 2 of my running binge was another Laguna Coast run. This time, it was just Molly, Jeff S., Beiyi, and I. Jeff showed us some new singletrack that we had never been down before, which added another mile and a half to our run, so we finished with 10.5 miles. By the end of that run, my legs were SO TIRED! I wasn't sure about doing the 16 miler I had planned for Saturday morning, so I decided to see how I felt later that day.
On a side note, during Thursdays run, Molly and I were talking about these new trail running shoes by Brooks that are this awesome electric green color! They are so cool-looking! I saw a girl wearing them on the trails a few months back, and I looked for them at 3 different running stores, but no one had them. Then Molly found them on Zappos.com, and ordered a pair. I went to Road Runner Sports to get some new running sunglasses, when I spotted the shoes on the wall, beaming bright in all their green glory! I made a beeline for them. An employee saw my interest in them, and asked me if I wanted to try them on. I said, "I need these in a size 9, and no, I don't need to try them on." Brooks always fit my feet well, so I paid for them, and, when I got to my car, I took them out of the box and put them on the passenger seat so I could look at them on my drive home!

Do these make you green with envy?

My legs were feeling surprisingly good as I went to bed Friday night, so I got all my running gear together for another early morning run. I didn't get much sleep that night, and when my alarm went off, I started thinking of excuses, but then I saw my pretty green shoes and knew I had to get them dirty--but not too dirty!

The sign only applies to mountain bikers. . .
(Lori, lsdChris, me, Jamison, Greg, Mary, Maya, Alexa, Wendy, Jeff W., Melanie)

So Saturday morning we took a trek up the Santiago Truck Trail, which reopened only a week ago. It had been closed down for over a year since the Santiago fires in October of 2007. I had never been on these trails before, so I was looking forward to some new trails!
The wind gusts were gnarly! I thought it was ironic that we were running on some recently reopened trails in the Santa Ana winds--conditions that lead to fires, and closing down these trails the year before.
We had a good-sized group of 11 people who showed up for the 16 mile run to Old Camp. It was warm and windy. We took a break at the flagpole. Greg was excited to see that the journal he had placed there in April 2007 had survived the fires.

It was a beautiful, clear day, but, looking at the flag, you could see how strong the wind was blowing. (By the time we finished our run, a large fire broke out in Chino Hills/Yorba Linda--one of my favorite places to run.)


I was pleased to find that the 16 miles were kind to my tired legs! I actually felt really great the entire run! In fact, I felt better during the 16 miler than I did during the 10.5 mile run the day before! It seems my body is getting back to "normal" and it was very encouraging, with the Twin Peaks 50/50 coming up. I took this 3 day running binge as a test to see if I could be prepared enough for Twin Peaks.
So, against my own advice, I dove headfirst back into my usual running routine. I ran 35.6 miles in 3 days! Today is Sunday, and I feel great! Anytime you ramp up your mileage, you're putting yourself at risk for an overuse injury. It's always good to listen to your body. Any aches and pains are signs your body is telling you to slow down.

More pictures from my running spree!

Such the gentleman, Jeff S. carried mine and Molly's headlamps
after the sun came up! (Mine is the pink one!)

Jeff and Molly running up Bommer in Laguna Coast

Mary, me, Greg, Jamison, and Jeff W. bracing ourselves
against the wind on the Santiago Truck Trail!

Sunrise over Holy Jim

This morning, I woke up at 3:30 a.m! I know that's really early--or late--depending on your perspective. Every time my alarm goes off that early to go run, my mind immediately bypasses the grogginess and starts thinking of many excuses that I could send my running friends via text message as to why I will DNS.

"All my running clothes are dirty."
"I forgot it was Saturday and started getting ready for work instead."
"I've decided to retire from trail running."
"It's more fun to be a couch potato."
"I think I might be pregnant."
"I need to taper for the 5K tomorrow."
"Pete always brings an attitude, and I don't like it."

It's obvious I'm a horrible liar, so I got out of bed and got ready to go. I met up with Pete, Natasha, Sid, and Cyrus and we carpooled to Rancho Santa Margarita. Our route was up Holy Jim, across the Main Divide, and then down West Horsetheif, for a total of 14 miles. I did this run once before last June with Michael V. and Beiyi, but we included the run to the top of Santiago Peak for a total of 20 miles. It's a beautiful run, with lots of hill climbing, so once I actually got out of bed, I was looking forward to it. Here is a picture from the run in June, with me wearing my Garmin Forerunner 305, showing where I am, and Santiago Peak, which is where I am going. My mom asked me what a Garmin is, so here is a pic. It's kinda blurry, but it shows I've been running for 43 minutes 54 seconds, heart rate is 125, ran 3.01 miles (Santiago peak is 8 miles from the start) and an elevation of 3162 feet.
This morning, we started the run at 5:40 with headlamps, since it was still dark. We kept the headlamps on until about 6:30 when the sun started to extend it's rays over the hills. I stopped and took a few pictures with my Blackberry. I like the way these pictures turned out!

I enjoyed the run, except that I rolled my ankle 4 times! That was so frustrating. The good news is that it is not swollen. The other good news is I can build strength and better balance in my ankle by doing certain exercises and running in the sand barefoot. So at least I can do something about it. It's just going to take some time for my ankle to get strong again. After the 4th ankle roll, I practically tiptoed down West Horsetheif. I was very nervous about falling. That trail has a lot of unfriendly rocks! Despite the weak ankle, I was so glad I got out of bed to run with my friends. It was a good way to start my weekend, and now I'm going to go take a nap!

Making a comeback!

So it's been 8 weeks since I sprained my ankle. I completely avoided running until about 2 weeks ago. I tried to stay in shape by doing lots of spin classes and lifting weights. I started out with an easy, flat 4 mile run on the bike path along the beach. I was pleased to find that I was in no pain. A couple days later, I ran in the Disneyland 5K, which I signed up for a while back. I took it really easy, wearing an ankle brace. That race was a lot of fun, too!
I did another 4 mile run last week, and then a 5.5 mile trail run at Whiting Ranch on Saturday. The trail run was like the real test, because of the uneven terrain. My ankle felt great the entire run! The rest of me. . . well, that's another story. I felt so out of shape going up and down those hills! I kept thinking about how just two months ago I liked to run no less than 16-24 miles every Saturday. And 1.38 miles into Saturday's run, I looked down at my Garmin wondering if I should turn back! Despite the fact that I struggled a bit with that run, it felt so good to be out on the trails and to be with my running friends again! I missed everybody!
Today I came home from work and ran 8 miles on pavement with no ankle brace, and felt great the entire time! I think I had a big smile on my face the entire last mile because I could tell my ankle is much stronger now. Even though I really have to be careful and ease back into it, I can't wait to get back to my long-distance trail running!

Big Disappointment!

I should be running 50 miles right now (or at least attempting), but instead, I'm sitting on the couch, watching TV, and have a bag of frozen peas on my ankle.

When I fell down during that crazy run in my previous post, I thought I just tweaked my ankle a little. The next day, it was really swollen. I thought I just needed to ice it for a few days and then on to the Tahoe 50K the next weekend. But when I realized it was an ankle sprain, I knew Tahoe was out of the question. I still remained optimistic about running the Mt. Disappointment 50/50, thinking worst-case scenario I would have to downgrade to the 50K. But I after a couple weeks of not being able to run, I realized that I would have to completely let go of Mt. Disappointment, and that was a BIG disappointment.

Ankle sprains are notorious for coming back to haunt you. It seems like some people who sprain their ankle have the same problem again and again. Other people let it heal and they never have another problem. So I went to a foot and ankle doctor a few days after I injured it to get her opinion. She deals with sports injuries just like what I have. I told her that my biggest fear was not healing properly and then having the same injury repeat itself. She told me I did the right thing by coming to see her. She gave me a fancy ankle brace to wear and told me stay off it and ice it as much as possible for 10-15 minutes at a time. This, of course, means NO RUNNING. Since an ankle sprain is due to overstretching the ligament, the ligament may heal too loosely, which is the cause of re-injury.

I have confidence in her since she said she has dealt with other long-distance runners and those who have stuck to her advice have healed and never had another problem. There are also some balancing exercises and ankle-strengthing exercises that I can do on my own.

As brutal a race as it sounds, I am pretty bummed that I couldn't run the Mt. Disappointment 50 miler today. My training was going so well and I was feeling so strong, recovering fast, and then I got hurt! This morning I left my house at 3:30 a.m. to go volunteer at the starting line. Even though I wasn't running, it was so fun to be there. I could just feel the pre-race energy in the air! I love that feeling! I was also able to see a lot of my friends from the SoCal Trail Headz who were running the 50K or 50M and wish them good luck.

Even though I haven't run in 4 weeks, I still have running on the brain! I keep looking longingly at the hills along the Orange County horizon. I'll be back to my adventures soon!

East Horsethief "Exfoliation" Run

If you forgot to exfoliate in the shower this morning, then I've got the perfect trail for you! Our fearless leader, Steve "Harv Dawg" Harvey took a group of us out on an "exploration" run Saturday morning. We had a good-sized group of adventurers: Chaz, Kirk, Rachael, Kristen, Maya, Lori, Lorraine, newcomer Shari, Steve, and myself. We met up at the corner of Ortega Hwy. 74 and North Main Divide Road and carpooled up N. Main Divide until we hit the Main Divide fireroad. From this point it was 1.7 miles to the top of the Trabuco Trail. The last time I was on this section of the Main Divide was the Old Goats 50K. During that race, I was so tired, it felt more like a death march. So I was anxious to see how I did this time. It is a gradual uphill and I was happy to find that I was able to run up most of the way.

Old Goat Steve

At the top of Trabuco, we hung a right and stayed on Main Divide. I found myself running next to Steve. We started chatting. He has been running trails for 20-30 years or something like that. He's been on almost all the trails in Orange County. But yesterday we were on an "exploration" run. He was taking us on the East Horsethief trail, which his mountain biking friends had told him was one of the most challenging downhills in the area. So this trail was new to all of us, even Steve.

So we ran down Main Divide a little ways and found what we thought was the trail head. It looked innocent enough, starting out. Much of the trail initially was runnable singletrack, though rocky and mostly downhill. But it seemed that the farther we ran, the steeper and more overgrown the brush was. Then we were quickly drawn into a mess of overgrown brush, loose rocks and sand, extremely steep slopes, abandoned tractors, and tree branches that grabbed at our shirts, shorts, hats, and sunglasses and filled our shoes with rocks and sticky things! My legs were so scratched up from running through the overgrown brush. After a while it started to hurt because branches were scratching my already scratched up legs! This is where I got the idea that this was something like exfoliating. Sometimes the trail wasn't always clear, and I don't think a single person made it down that trail without falling! I actually took a bad fall myself and seem to have sprained my ankle. It is swollen and I am icing it as I type this. The trail came to a sudden end at some land cleared out for a housing development. We had to climb down a concrete storm drain and then onto a paved road in Lake Elsinore. Then we ran up the street to the El Cariso truck trail and back to our cars.
This run was crazy, but so, so, so fun! We were laughing at the ridiculousness of the trail we were on. Later, Steve figured out we weren't even on East Horsethief. This gnarly trail is called McVickyer. With the new housing development being built, we might be some of the last people to go down this unmaintained trail. This was just another good reminder of why I trail run! It's so much fun! We go out on an adventure almost every week!
I'm supposed to be running the Tahoe Rim 50K next Saturday. I'm just a little concerned about my ankle. Hopefully the swelling will go down, since Tahoe is going to be my last, final long run before Mt. Disappointment.
And whenever we do the real East Horsethief Exploration Run, sign me up!

Some more pictures from our run on Saturday. . .

Looking over Lake Elsinore

Kirk and I before all the madness began!

My El Moro Marathon

In my humble opinion, some of the most beautiful trails in Orange County are the closest ones to me in El Moro and Laguna Canyons. The park is right off PCH in Laguna and a group of us run there almost every Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
With the July 4th weekend, I decided to take Thursday off as well, making it a 4-day weekend for myself. And what does a girl like me do with a little extra free time?

Run a marathon, of course!

It actually wasn't intentional. I just wanted to run about 25 miles that day. So when I began mapping out my route, I decided on a 10 mile loop, a 8.7 mile loop, and a 7.5 mile loop. When I did the math, it came out to exactly 26.2 miles! So, it became a marathon.
I posted the run on the SCTHz private website, hoping to have different people meet me at different times, so that I would always have at least one other runner with me. I wanted to mimic an actual race, so I brought a cooler with "aid station" food and beverages so that I could refuel between loops.
The run started out at about 5:45 a.m. I enjoyed the company of Greg, Pete K., Mike K., E-Rod, Corrinne, and Molly. We did the 10-mile ranger station loop in the fog. So the run started out with nice, cool weather.
Only Corrinne stayed with me for the second loop. (Everyone else had to go to work.) She's going to run the Tahoe Rim 50K in a couple weeks, so she wanted one last, long run before the race. During that loop, the fog suddenly cleared up and the sun began to warm the air--just as we began the steep climb up Big Bend. I think it hit both of us. We were both really tired. But, as ultrarunners do, we just kept moving, never stopping. Corrinne is going to do great at Tahoe! She is also a recent convert to ultrarunning!
So after Corrinne got her 18.7 miles in, I was left to do the last 7.5 miles on my own. It's been over a year since I last went trail running alone. I usually discourage it, because you never know what could happen out there. But I felt optimistic. I changed my route so that I would stay on the fire roads. There also happened to be lots of people out that day--runners, hikers, and mountain bikers, so I figured I'd be okay. It was actually quite refreshing to have some alone time. The scenery was beautiful. The air was warm. I was able to go at my own relaxing pace.
I finished the run around 12:00. There was 5 hours 15 minutes of running with about an hour of stops and breaks at my "aid station." I'm training for the Mt. Disappointment 50 Miler in August, so I was so glad I did this run. The next day, I felt great! My legs would never have known they had just ran a marathon on some hilly trails. It feels so good to see that all my training seems to be paying off!