Off Season Is Almost Over

March 1 marks the start of Base 1 training (following Joe Friel's book)  for Ironman Wisconsin and 23 weeks until race day.

I’m still chasing Ironman # 3.

So far my off season consisted of a marathon, 2 century rides, a 50K trail run, and 2 half marathons.

This weekend I’m participating as a team member in a 24 hour mountain bike race.

In March I have 3 half marathons, one of which is on trails. 

Then my tri season is about racing in the mid-West.

Ohio in May for Triple T

And

Ironman Wisconsin in September.

With just a break in June, to head further west to San Diego to run the Rock N Roll Marathon.

I’m trying something new this training season – pure focus, pure food, and single-minded determination in racing well. 

Nothing will break my concentration.

I will shop primarily on the perimeter of the grocery store.

I will do my plan. 

Pemberton 50K Trail Run: Race Report

What a great event. About 160 people competed in the trail run including a relay.

Each loop was 15.5 miles with two aid stations. Boy, was I excited to see each aid station. I only stopped running at the aid stations during the first loop and felt great. Nothing hurt. I was never out of breath. And looked around at the amazing landscape.  I completed the first loop in 2:33, which I considered quite good for me.

The weather was perfect; overcast skies threatening rain all day with just a few sprinkles. Here is a picture I took of some finishers and what the sky looked like all day.

The Pemberton Trail is a wide hiking path with gradual ups and downs, and many gorgeous mountains in the distance with Saguaro cactus. The trails is in McDowell Mountain Regional Park; a beautiful recreational park just outside of Phoenix. It was a treat to have real bathroom at the race venue instead of porta potties.

During the race I chatted with a few men and women. I like that the two women I ran behind for a bit were talking about their Ironman races. At the finish line there were many Ironman fisher jackets and hats. I like that Ironman folks are doing other races like trail runs. I like being around endurance athletes who try different things.

During the race I heard coyotes whining and initially thought it was women cheering, but we were pretty far from crowds like that. The sounds made me run a bit faster and stay close to people.

The last loop was the hardest and my right knee started hurting. The same pain from the Xterra Trail run from a few weeks ago. After 15 miles it hurt and after 20 miles it was hard to pick up my left leg, the pain coming from my thigh. What can you do but walk a bit, and keep going – I walked a lot during the last loop. The aid stations seem to have moved further apart. I looked at my watch and was hoping to finish under 6 hours. At the start I figured 5-6 hours, not really sure.

The volunteers were amazing and took good care of the trail runners. At the half way aid station I was treated like a queen, my pack taken from me and filled with water. What do you need? What can I get you? Awesome-ness.

When I finished – everyone made me feel amazing.

The finisher bling – a pint glass. I love it. The winners got a Growler. Fun.

Would I do it again? After the race and until today, the day after, no way. The pain was too much.

But the thing is – I trained badly. I tried to follow the training plan for a 50K trail run, but I missed a few long runs. I was able to run two long runs on Saturday and Sunday; I did this many times since the training plan said to learn how to run on tired legs. But I only ran over 20 miles once. During the race my body started to wear down after 18 miles. I think I can do better. Now, it seems to me that it’s not all about time, but feeling good at a race because my body adapted to the distance.

I’m not sure I’d do a 50 mile run, maybe.

But as of today, I love running trails and discovering new places. I never would have imagined such beautiful mountains and trails so close to a desert city like Phoenix. I love learning about places and seeing their beauty up close and personal.

Here's my fridge:

I want to run more trails in Arizona. In the southwest. In the US. And maybe, maybe someday, in another country. Stepping out of my comfort zone is a continual process I need to keep doing.

My next race is the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo mountain bike race next weekend and I think I’ll give running a break for a week. Then a Half Marathon in Phoenix the first weekend in March.

Here’s a great blog post about the race from a few years ago with more photos, but nothing has changed much:

http://alenegonebad.blogspot.com/2010/02/paradise-at-pemberton-trail-50k.html

Running and Relaxing in Sedona

This past weekend I met my friend Rosie in Sedona to race the half marathon and relax in the red rock desert. Sedona felt magical to me. Magical in a way I’ve never felt in a place. 

A town is made of rock, pavement, people, memories. But in Sedona I felt an energy; an energy I’ve never felt before and not sure I can explain.

The energy didn’t make me want to live there or even come back again (although I may). This weekend I was the most relaxed I’ve ever felt. It may have something to do with the fact that Rosie is the most relaxed person I know. She has taught me how to slow down by example – not by saying “Relax”, which she knows I hate. She is not anxious, hurried or worried about anything. I wish I could be more like that. However, this weekend, I was. 

I signed up for the Sedona Half Marathon on a whim when I got an email about the race. I looked at the website for about ten minutes and then signed up. I had never been to Sedona and wanted to see the red rocks, and try a different running race course. A few months after signing up, Rosie said she wanted to do it too. We looked at some lodging options and she found a rental online.

The rental house she found was amazing.

It was a big apartment in a house in a residential area just outside of town. The name of the rental was Circle of Atonement. The woman who rents the house tells us she teaches the Course in Miracles. I read A return to Love : Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles by Marianne Williamson many years ago. I might need to read it again.

In the backyard was a garden and despite the winter season, the yard was lovely. The first day I sat and looked out to the mountain across the way where red rocks occasionally could be seen between green trees. I sat for a long time with the most stillness I have ever known; just watching, looking, listening. 

The Garden with a View

On Saturday morning I ran the half marathon at my usual 10 minute/mile pace. The course was hilly, many ups and downs, and I walked a bit of it. This race wasn’t going to be a PR, but it was okay. I wish I could push myself to run until I puke, but I don’t have it in me. It was a gorgeous sunny day, not too hot and not cold. I finished the race just over two hours, and watched Rosie finish a few minutes after me. We got our medals and headed back to the rental.

I’ve been carrying a sense of stillness and wonder all day thinking about Sedona. I love it when a place can change you. 

 

Rosie contemplating her life while drinking a mocha. Sedona 2013

Kristen 

What I Know For Sure

In May 2012, Oprah Winfrey wrote an article for her magazine called, “What I Know For Sure.” 

I clipped the article because I liked how she wrote about her fondness for telling other people’s stories and “exacting the truth of their experience into a digestible nugget that could inform, inspire, or benefit someone else.”

I feel the same about my writing. I love seeking out people who are interesting and telling their story to the world. 

In her article she wrote about her time as a reporter, “I was just moving on instinct.”

I think instinct plays a part in going after stories, and writing about other people's lives, and what inspires them.

The theme of Winfrey's article was how we doubt our chosen path. I doubt many of my decisions and actions several times a day. But she says we shouldn’t, and I know I shouldn’t. I know I made a good move and I’m so thankful for friends, family, health, and good experiences. 

For example, this week I got to mountain bike in the desert for the first time  with friends from my road biking team.

This weekend I will run a marathon.

In a few months I will participate in races on a mountain bike, a road bike, running on roads and running on trails.[Not on the same day.]

What I know for sure is that I’m on the right path, having adventures, meeting interesting people, and it only makes sense for me to write about it. 

And the really great news is the project I’ve been working on for the last six years, a collection of stories about living in the mountains, will be published next year. 

Writing helps me make sense of my experiences, makes me remember what I know for sure. Writing makes me tell the truth of my experiences. This is what I intend to do this month as I’m finishing Arizona stories and editing Colorado stories. 

Life is good in Tucson. And while it is my first Christmas without snow, I think I found a paradise, a respite from the cold. I’m not sure for how long, but for now, Tucson is home. 

Six months ago instinct led me south to the desert where I can ride my bike year round. I'm not going to doubt that this is where I'm suppose to be for now.

What I know for sure is that Anything is Possible in this life.I'm going to ride the wave of good times.

Enjoying the Racing Moment

In 16 days I will be racing long. I’m excited and nervous. It’s been too long since I raced long. I have a lot to review and prep for. As someone who has been “winging” her last few races, not thinking about them until the night before, I know I have to get back to “racing long mode”. 

I feel like everything is going so well: I’ve been biking more than ever, I know my stroke is more efficient than ever, and the run, well, the run, I don’t know about the run. 

I am healthy, strong, confident. But so many things can go wrong and I'm preparing for that. 

I think I just need to do the mental training and make lists. I’m good at making lists.

One thing that I really enjoy doing is helping my friend Joanne through her first Ironman. I met Joanne a year ago at a race in Granby. She came up to me to ask about my Ironman Arizona hat because she was thinking of doing the race. We talked, exchanged emails, and are now friends on Facebook.

In the year since she signed up for IMAZ, she has emails me many questions and concerns about her race in November. My job is to talk her off the ledge. 

She is going to do amazing. 

She has raced multiple marathons and is biking more than I ever did for my first Ironman. I'm telling her to live in the training moment. 

That is the biggest lesson I have to keep learning over and over again – live in the training moment.

Why – because as soon as the race is over, she is not going to know what to do with herself. What’s next? She will ask herself. What do I do with all my free time? She will be depressed.

I told her, enjoy that 100 mile training ride. Enjoy that 10 mile run because you aren’t going to be going long like that for awhile, post-race. At least I didn’t.

I’m not sure Joanne knows how to chill out. She is a searcher – always searching for that next thing – never satisfied. I know all about it.

What’s next? Always the question.

I know for me, what’s next after my long course race on November 10 – El Tour de Tucson on November 17, then the Tucson Marathon a few weeks later. Then a break and then - ramping up for Ironman Wisconsin and getting faster. Getting more efficient. Learning everything I can. 

Now if I could just learn how to stop hitting submit. 

Top 10 Ways to Fall in Love With Running, again

1. Sign up for a race with friends that is longer than you think you can do
2. Buy a foam roller and roll before & after every run
3. Schedule a massage every time you run three times a week for a month
4. Read every blog and website you can find about running & trail running
5. Buy a bunch of magazines & books about running & trail running
6. Live in a place where you can run year round
7. Record your time for every race so you can chart your progress using Excel Charts
8. Post every training run and race on Facebook & Twitter
9. Use Map My Run on your smart phone so you can see mileage/pace, etc
10. Make an "after run plan", especially after a long run, or dream about it while you run, for a way to relax & what you will eat/drink after your done. I like to lay on the sofa and watch TV Shows on DVD as a recovery activity and eat sushi or steak.