Finding Progress in Uncertainty

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2020, bullet journal, covid-19, free-writing, habit tracker, hiking, progress, racing, running, writing

The training looks a bit different for me these days. In the past, I researched and implemented training plans for whatever upcoming race looked interesting for me. Hal Higdon tended to be my go-to for effective (and free!) plans. As I progressed through the plan, I marked off each exercise, each week, building my weekly mileage until race week.

On Cosby Moonshine Run – Race Report 2017

I’ve taken a bit of a break from racing this year. Since I began running in 2009, I’ve used training for events as a way to motivate myself to keep at it. My race tally stands at 22 half marathons (13.1 miles) and 4 marathons (26.2 miles).

Run Hard Columbia: Race Report & Giveaway

Earlier in the month I ran my 20th half marathon. Seems bizarre to me. On one hand, I feel like running has been a part of life as long as my husband (read: for-ev-er, but in a good way).

On the other hand: holy guacamole! 20 half marathons in the past 6 years? What kind of beast does that? 

Friendship on the Run

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race report

In previous years, I’ve made it my goal to run over a dozen races over the course of the year. One a month isn’t that difficult to manage, given the abundance of races and events in this area.

However, this year, I’ve cut that race number in half. To date, I’ve only participated in 5 races + 2 relay events. Baring anything unforeseen, I plan on saving the registration costs and sitting the next couple months out – at least where racing is concerned.

Ragnar Trail Atlanta – Event Report Part 3

Previously at Ragnar: Part 1, Part 2

After finishing my night time loop, I hoped to get some more sleep. Running in knee socks made cleaning the mud off my legs a breeze. I did, however, have one flaw in my evening plan. I made no plans for a recovery meal after running. At this point it had been 7 hours and 5 miles since my last meal. I settled for an oatmeal creme pie, some peanut butter filled pretzels, and beef jerky before hitting the air mattress for another snooze.

The team spent the morning hanging out at the camp site and I had plenty of time to chill before I tackled the green loop. While it is the most tame of the 3 trails, I wouldn’t call it easy by any means. Perhaps it was my sleep deprivation or poor fueling, but by this run, my legs were toast.

Bob handed off the timing belt one final time at 1PM. The sun had come up and started drying up the soupy mud, but there was still plenty left on the trail. The footing wasn’t as treacherous as the night before, but there were some spots were this girl got dirty.

The heat and humidity of the day also took a toll on my overall pace. While I wasn’t racing these loops, I did wear my Garmin to have a record of my performance. It also helped me to know how much of the trail remained.

I charged my phone so that I could cart it along with me and take pictures but I forgot it. After getting on the trail, I didn’t beat myself up too much. It was certainly the least interesting of the 3 trails.

Towards the end, I passed a dude who was walking. He let me know that he hadn’t run in years, but somehow thought Ragnar was a good idea. By this point in the race, his knees were toast. His pacer brother was ahead on the trail calling back and trying to encourage motivate him.


Brother: Less than a quarter mile to go.

Me: I’m pretty sure he’s lying to you. But the faster you go, the closer you will be to done.

The brother informed me this was dude’s 36th birthday celebration. As we crossed the 0.2 to go mat, I mocked him for being old. Then his brother encouraged him to sprint the last part in.

Me: You aren’t going to let an asthmatic girl beat you, are you??

He answered me without words, as I ate his dust.

Earlier in the morning, I told Gretchen I would love her forever if she met me at the exchange shoot with a frosty adult beverage. As I handed her the timing belt, she handed me a can.

An empty can of beer.
Son of a baconator!

Turns out, Amy had my real beer waiting for me outside the tent.

The aforementioned heat and humidity got the better of Gretchen during her run, and she went straight from her hand off to Todd to the medical trailer. After we saw she was going to be okay, plenty of goofing on her occurred. I vowed not to post those pictures, but I’d love to meet with you for drinks and have a good laugh at her expense.

She had recovered well enough to join us as Todd completed both his and the team’s final leg. Then it was time for team pictures and our latest bling!

 This is an experience I definitely want to repeat in the future. Hopefully without the thunderstorms. And who knows, maybe next time I’ll actually train on some trails!
 

Ragnar Trail Atlanta – Event Report Part 2

Previously at Ragnar: Part 1

While I changed into clean gear and Gretchen ran the green loop, a storm rolled into camp. I’ve been scared of thunder and lightning my whole life. Thankfully its gotten better as I have aged matured, but I still sometimes scream when a bolt of lightning startles me.

Needless to say the forecast of 30 MPH winds freaked me out. Given the number of vehicles/people participating in the event, our cars were parked almost a mile away and wouldn’t provide us any shelter.

The team took down anything we feared might blow away, put some camp chairs in the tents to help weigh them down, and stood watch. Thankfully, there were enough people out holding our canopy to allow me to retreat into my tent. I tried to read or do anything to keep my mind occupied. I ended up sending a text message SOS to my Bible study group asking for prayer. They chatted a bit and provided script to help comfort my fear.  

Meanwhile, Gretchen finished her mile lightning fast. (See what I did there?) Todd barely took the hand off and got onto the course before a 1 hour delay was announced. When the rain slacked a bit, G and I sloshed through the mud to the crowded mess hall for some dinner. 

The storm itself, however, raged on. Ragnar extended the delay to 2 hours. We were later told this was the first time that call has ever been made. What it meant for our team was that runner #8 (Todd) and runner #1 (Nicole) would miss out on the legs they would have ran during that time. 

Once the relay started again, the darkness of night had fallen. To make up for her missed run, Nicole accompanied Pam (runner #2) on her night walk. Amy (runner #3) convinced Todd to do the same.

On the sleep front, once the storm subsided I shut my eyes around 9pm (ish) and actually got some decent sleep. I was up in plenty of time to get changed and head to the tent for my 2nd hand off which came in the 2 o’clock hour. 

I ran the yellow loop this time, but added to the rock and roots on the trail, I also had to be careful running through the mud. At points, the mud collected water and went up to my ankle – with no easy way around. I walked the most treacherous parts of the mud, as well as up the steep hills. 

While this night run was similar to road Ragnar in its serenity, my headlamp did little to aid my vision. Bob had passed off his flashlight, along with the timing chip, and I found myself very grateful. 

The skill level of the trail runners present varied from one extreme to the other, but few seemed to be in the middle like me. I found myself passing quite a few walkers on the trail, but also being passed by seasoned trail runners on the accent.

With a couple of miles to go, I heard a lady clearing her throat behind me. “Let me know when you are ready to pass.” I said. She assured me she truly was just clearing her throat and enjoyed the pace we were running. We stayed together, chatting for the remainder of the run. Once we crossed the 0.2 mat (positioned there to let our teammates know to get read), she picked it up a notch and I did my best to stick with her.

The morning and the evening were the first day. (To be continued.)

Ragnar Trail Atlanta – Event Report Part 1

While this past weekend was my 3rd time participating in the Ragnar Relay series, this will be my first official blog wrap up. I love the experience that is Ragnar, but leave the weekend exhausted. This time, however, I want to put some thoughts into words before I forget.



Team captain Amy, of Girls Just Wanna Go Run with Boys too, arrived on Thursday to scout out our home for the next couple of days and set up camp. This allowed Todd (her husband), Gretchen, and I to arrive late Friday morning. While this meant each of us got to spend the night in the comfort of our own homes, it also meant a 3am alarm for me.

We experienced heavy traffic thanks to a total lane closure on I-75, and the rain began shortly into the drive.  Our team start time was noon, so we had plenty of time to get there and get our stuff unloaded before the first runner was off.


Unlike the 12 person road relays, Ragnar Trail teams are made up of 8 runners, plus a volunteer. Amy, Gretchen, and I were left from the original Van on the Run van 2/GJWGR van 1 crew. (Kelly’s injury sidelined her this round.) Added to our team were Amy’s husband Todd, Kelly’s husband Bob, and 3 people we’d never met before: Whitney, Pam, and Nicole.

GJWGR van 2 had their own 8 person team, but they shared camp space with us. Because they assembled their team first, they were GJWGR with Boys. We added the “too.”

While waiting for my turn to run – I was runner #6 – I took advantage of my free time and caught a bit of a nap. It wasn’t much, but I knew sleep would be little and far between for the next 36 hours.

I ate a normal lunch, knowing I would have several hours before my first leg. Being one of the last runners to start was enjoyable for me.  Of course Gretchen, runner #7, had an entirely different perspective. But more on that later. 

Bob handed off to me and I got my first leg started around 5PM. The air was warm and humid, and by mile 2 I was already wheezing. Our weather in Tennessee hasn’t allowed for heat acclimation yet. By the time I hit the actual trail portion, however, I reminded myself this was a “for fun” event, so I slowed down and enjoyed the trails.

Each runner tackles the same 3 trails, but in different order. Red, or the longest, most technical trail, was my first of the event. The picture above shows the mats for transition. The runner on the green trail always hands off to her teammate running the yellow trail. The yellow always hands off to the red, and the red always hands off to green. By that evening, the mats were so muddy the color was indistinguishable. But more on that later.

While most of the red trail reminded me of those here in the Smokies, it also had a super-cool granite feature. Jay and I had encountered similar in Acadia National Park (in Maine), but I had never ran over it. Turns out it was my favorite part of this favorite leg.

I ended this leg feeling like a bad ass. I’m not sure if it was the endorphins or what, but I cruised into the finish line, handed off to Gretchen, and headed back to our base camp beaming.

My decision to change into fresh clothes before heading to the mess hall tent for dinner turned out to be one I regretted.

But more on that tomorrow. (To Be Continued.)

Shamrock Marathon: Virginia Beach – Race Report

Kelly & I completed most of our training runs for this race together, and the plan was to stick together as long as possible. So much of running a marathon involves steady, slow pacing at the front end and being able to stick it out through the end. Together we each would be stronger than individually.

Me, Kelly, Amy, Gretchen

On the way to the start line, we met up with Brad and James. I’d ran with Brad for last year’s Knoxville Marathon, and we had similar goals for this race. The first couple of miles were chatty and uneventful. We bypassed the first water stop – at mile 0.5 or something crazy like that – but walked through the stop at mile 2.

Mile 1 – 9:54
Mile 2 – 9:53

I had decided the week prior not to carry my hand-held, given the water stops promises at every 2 mile increments. This proved to be a good plan for me. At most of the stops through the whole race, I walked – taking one cup of water and one cup of Gatorade. Hydration was never an issue for me.

I lost track of Kelly during this water stop, and briefly worried I would be alone for the rest of the race. She caught up with me before we got over the first of two “hills” on the course. More accurately, it was a 40 foot incline/decline on the Rudee Bridge.

Mile 3 – 10:04
Mile 4 – 9:44
Mile 5 – 10:01

There are several out/back parts of this course, and I very much enjoyed seeing other runners coming and going. The first was around the 5.75 marker. We cheered for fellow Knoxville area runners as we passed.

Also, up until the 5 mile marker, our Garmins were spot-on with the mile marker flags. At mile 5, the difference jumped to over a tenth of a mile and never corrected.

Mile 6 – 9:49
Mile 7 – 9:48
Mile 8 – 9:42

One of my favorite points of the race was running through Camp Pendleton.  Soldiers lined up to cheer us on at several different points along the route. One set even got a high-five line going. Their energy could be felt on the course.

After a steady stream of “too fast” miles (goal had been to start at a 10 m/m), Kelly and I purposed to slow down a hair. I’ve had good success with negative splitting a marathon, and wanted to conserve enough early to do it again.

Mile 9 – 10:03
Mile 10 – 9:55
Mile 11 – 9:59

Coming back toward the beach, we hit the Rudee Bridge again. I enjoyed the view of the water, the sail boats, but also the change up of my gate that the incline/decline required.

We then hit the ocean for a mile or so. I loved the beach for view, but the wind was stronger and the “boardwalk” was actually concrete. My body very much welcomed turning back onto the road and the asphalt.

Mile 12 – 10:03
Mile 13 – 9:51
Mile 14 – 9:51
Mile 15 – 9:55

Racers who had completed the half marathon (which started an hour and a half earlier than the full marathon start time) had lined up along Atlantic Avenue to cheer us on. Amy cheered for us at the turn, and a cluster of other Knoxville runners cheered and took pictures a few blocks away.

Before a big race, I like to have a 2 poop morning – one first thing, and one right before the race. The early miles had served as a subtle reminder that only one poop had greeted me before the starting line. Unfortunately by mile 16, the urge became mission critical.

Mile 16 – 9:52
Mile 17 – {15:49+9:31pace} 13:43

Kelly said she needed to go as well, and I was thankful where we chose to stop had 2 porta-potties. I hopped in, hovered, and let ‘er rip. Too late did I reach for the toilet paper, only to discover there was none. What’s a runner to do but pull her pants up and go on with the race?

Instead of doing her business, Kelly decided stretching perked higher on her needs list. Because of this, and my needs-of-the-moment, we stopped at the 2nd set of porta-potties we came across. This one complete with toilet paper. I’ve never been so thankful to have a basic need met before. 

For pacing purposes, I hit “lap” on my watch to see just how fast we were running once our stops on this mile were complete. While this stop did a number on my finishing time (and probably kept me from my goal), the average pace pleased me. It hadn’t done as much damaged as I’d feared.

Mile 18 – 9:55
Mile 19 – 9:49

Bleak. That’s the best word I can use to describe the miles approaching and entering the Fort Story area. While the elevation profile showed this to be a flat course, we could see the slow incline ahead. The course turned to the right, only to provide more of the same daunting incline.

Around mile 19, Kelly started to take walk breaks to change up the muscles her body was using. I switched on my music to keep the self-doubts at bay. She would catch up with me, we would exchange quips about the never ending hill, then she would take another walk break.

Mile 20 – 9:43
Mile 21 – 9:53

Unlike earlier in the race, the only military personnel out were the police stationed along the intersections. My friend Amy, who’d done the half, said they were out in full force when she went through.

Water through this portion also seemed scarce, probably because we had emerged from the desolate, tree covered road to be greeted by warmer temperatures and sunshine as we ran closer to the beach. Best I remember, Kelly took a walk break and we split for good.

Mile 22 – 9:53
Mile 23 – 9:43

When I hit at Atlantic Avenue for the final time, I started picking up the pace. At this point, I started consistently passing all of those dead-runners-walking. Mile 23 was the final water stop I walked through, fearing I wouldn’t get started back if I stopped again.

Mile 24 – 9:30

While I had my doubts around mile 20, I started doing the math and knew a PR was all but guaranteed during the final couple of miles. I’d passed the mimosa stop, the wine stop, and a couple of the beer stops. Just before mile 25, however, I decided to enjoy a luke-warm brew.

Mile 25 – 9:37

With every racer I passed, I started to pick up steam. I took no pleasure in their plight – been there done that – but rather celebrated a smart race and strong body which hadn’t let me down.

Mile 26 – 9:21

Crowd support along the last mile or so was stellar. People were looking at bibs in order to cheer for people by name.  I chicked a few dudes along the way, and hammered down the boardwalk pushing with all I had left.

I heard the Knoxville crew cheer for me from the left as I approached the finish line. At this point my brain and heart had taken over and my body was a non-factor.

Final 0.2 (or 0.5) – {8:46 pace}

Until I ran across the timing mat. Then I wanted to collapse. The race crew knows their stuff and had the swag further down the boardwalk, smartly requiring racers to keep moving. After picking up my swag, I sat down to stretch. Within a couple of minutes I saw Kelly, already rocking her finisher medal.

Final time: 4:21:57
Despite all the time lost in the sh!tter, I have a new PR by almost 4 minutes!!! Of course I’ve poured over the splits, second guessing myself. I shoulda done this and I coulda done that.  The bottom line, however, is that I raced a smart race and earned myself a shiny new personal best (aka time to beat for 2016).

Run Hard Columbia Half Marathon – Race Report

As in previous years, this race wasn’t my A-race but did fall into my training plan. My Shamrock Marathon spreadsheet called for 12 easy miles as a long run for the weekend. 13.1 about 30-45 seconds faster than easy seemed to be a good compromise.

My cheering squad deposited me at the start line, then found their way to the a spot in the early miles of the race. I found the porta-potty, then the 4:15 pace group and began to mentally prepare my strategy. I wanted to keep the early miles slow and easy

I’ve never had luck with the pace groups for this race. I attempted a sub 2 hour half in 2013, so I joined up with the 4:00 marathon pace group. Despite being well within goal for the first few miles, they lost me.

While I managed to stay with them for most of last year, the 4:15 took the first lap of the race quicker than the 9:40 average needed to complete the marathon at goal. I suppose the strategy is to bank time in the early miles, given the elevation change on the course. However I have never had luck with positive splits, and had planned to do the first 10 miles at an easy-push effort and go from there.

Mile 1 – 9:42

Mile 2 – 9:49

I stayed with the pace group, checking myself on the down hill during the first mile. During the mile 2 climb into the residential neighborhood, I lost them. The coming miles were rolling, and I could have probably caught them but I didn’t want to trash my legs early on.

Mile 3 – 9:14

Mile 4 – 9:25

Mile 5 – 9:17

Mile 6 – 9:16

I fell into a steady pace and found a group of 3 runners going my same pace. I introduced myself, and we stayed together for the next few miles.

Mile 7 – 9:36

Mile 8 – 9:34

Mile 9 – 9:48

 Mike, Sheri, and Pre were each running the full, and were trying to set a nice, easy pace for the first of their 2-loop course. Talking to them helped distract me from the steady climb up Trentham, which has kicked my booty in years past.

I also chatting with a 70+ dude who had on a “run for Christ” shirt on. His shirt prompted me to reflect on my memory verse, and I told him as much. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can’t. The heart regulates the hands. 2 Corinthians 8:12. He thanked me for the reminder of why he was out there, then told me about his racing plans. This was his 2nd half marathon, and he was hoping for a full marathon by the fall.

As we crested the top and turned onto Gervais, I said my goodbyes and pushed on ahead. They still had 16 miles to go, and weren’t ready to pick it up. I flew on the downhill approach to the steep hill ahead of me, then kept the legs moving as I tackled both parts of the doozy.

Wearing my heart rate monitor helped me with a strategy on pace. I’ve got no shame in walking a hill like that, but on this day it wasn’t needed. I kept my turnover as steady as possible to the top.

Mile 10 – 10:01

The race is, or at least feels, all downhill from there. Looking at my splits over the years and it would appear that Mile 12 has a bit more elevation gain, than 11 and 13, but only slightly affecting my pace. 

Mile 11 – 9:16

Mile 12 – 9:31

The cops at this race were catching a lot of flack from the cars (and from some runners who didn’t want to stay in the cones, as reported by my cheerleaders) so I made a special point to thank them at each intersection. The closer to downtown, the more I passed. In the final mile, however, I was pushing too hard to do any more than grunt and flash a thumbs up.

 

Mile 13 – 9:00

Final 0.18 – 1:36 {9:02}

Chip time: 2:05:04

Age group: 97/312

Overall: 246/545

I finished this race about a minute slower than my time last year, but my last mile had more kick! I think I took it easier on the run for the most part, and am glad for it. I am in taper mode, after all.

 Because I know what  is important in racing, I posed for post race photos, grabbed a bagel and enjoyed the sunshine on the steps of the state house. While the weather felt balmy by Tennessee winter weather (traveled through sleet to get to my destination on Thursday), the 44* was still a bit cool for my cheering crowd.

The longer I sat there in my sweat, the more I agreed with them. The promise of a dry shirt in the car, and a proper breakfast got me up and moving right quick. 

Nothing like the 3 major food groups – sugar, protein, & coffee – to nicely finish up a great race!

My First Ultra Marathon – Sorta, Kinda, Not Really

I participated in the Pistol Ultra race this past weekend, but “only” logged 15 miles. While the common distances at the event are 50K (31 miles), 100K (62 miles), and 100 miles, a couple of buddies and I formed the team Run for Fun and did the 50K relay.

Friday’s pre-race festivities included packet pick-up, pasta dinner, and a brief talk by Jeff Galloway.

An evening (or morning or afternoon) with these ladies guarantees plenty of laughs and general craziness, and this was no exception.

My friend Christal, who had originally signed up for the 50K, only to upgrade to the 100K, had gotten a hotel room minutes from the starting line so we had a bit of a slumber party before hand.

The restaurant right next to the hotel made my traditional pre-race beer easy, before we headed back to the hotel room. Of course we stayed up chatting until well past my bedtime, but without the pressure of a time goal of intimidating mileage, I wasn’t worried.

We got to the starting line early to see Christal and Johnny (Run for Fun‘s runner #1) off. Estimating his pace at approximately a 9 m/m, we had about 90 minutes to kill before I ran. Back at the hotel I’d eaten a biscuit with gravy from the free breakfast, knowing that I had plenty of time to digest.

The Ultra experience is so different from other races I’ve participated in. Given the 30 hour time limit & chip times, people were registering/starting the race after the gun and didn’t seem the least bit nervous about it. Crews had tents, tables, and mini-aid stations set up on the sidewalk near the start/finish.

Each loop (3 loops were required for the 50K distance) contained 2 out and back portions. The first was 9ish miles, and the 2nd approximately 2 miles. The runner will cross the start finish line before actually being finished. Seeing Johnny around mile 9 allowed me to get prepped before he came back up the hill for the exchange.

The out and back nature of the course also meant that very little time on the course was every spent alone. There would most always be someone faster than me headed the opposite direction, or else someone slower than me. The slower pace of the long distance made cheering for other runners far easier, and caused the miles to seem as if they were flying by!

Before I knew it, I topped the hill and headed into the exchange zone. I’m currently training for a spring marathon and my training plan called for 14 miles, and my relay leg only netted me 11. I decided to accompany Amy for a mile or 2 before heading back to the start/finish.

2 miles into the course (mile 13 for me) I stopped at the aid station my buddy Blaik was working, but Amy continued on the course. I ate some pretzels, had a cup of Dr. Pepper before turning around and heading back to the start finish line. The aid stations were top notch when it came to fuel!

While I should have been changing into dry clothes and stretching, I found myself along the side of the route, cheering runners as they approached the start/finish. Very few were actually done, but were glad to accept cheers as they began a new lap of their journey.

Amy finished up strong for the team as we accompanied her across the finish line. Then it was time to report in our time, collect our medals, and start planning to run the full 50K next year.

I’m still not sure what our official time was, but we were 8 out of 24 total teams. Not bad for 3 crazies doing it “for fun!”