Maine2DC Run:

This is an event one of my friends and Crow Teammates is doing. Just thought I would pass on. He needs all the support we can give him.www.maine2dcrun.com

Another Great Adventure (and the JFK50 miler)

My adventure started out on Thursday, Novemver 15th at 7am with my friend Paula. I had to leave the family at home this time. We struck out on the road following Route 1 south. We weren't alone though. I was very excited to be traveling with our mascot, Emmett the cat! You may think that taking a cat on the road is ridiculous, ok it kinda is, but he loves the car. I think he thinks he is a dog! He actually growls! If he could have stuck his head out the window and let his ears flap in the wind he would have.

He spent a lot of time curled up in "his" seat or sitting on my lap.

Emmett

So lately I've been trying to find a way to write about my 50 miler without sounding like a brat. I make most of these posts for my my friends and family who live far away who want to read about my running adventures and to check in once in awhile to see what my family is doing. So when I tried to write about this trip it turns out to it was about the fun I had and the 50 miler was secondary. Don't get me wrong I trained for this event and it was a tough one but the days leading up to the event were great and the adventure continued after the event. I was happy to finish the 50 miles but my trip was all about going somewhere with my friend and getting to see and do things we don't usually get to do. This is one of many adventures I've had with Paula.  This year alone we have been to events in Florida, Kentucky, Quebec  and of course Maine. First, it is the longest amount of time I have been away from my family, they usually go with me. And everything I did I kept thinking about all the fun they would have if they were with me. (Except for being part of a crew that had to wait around all day for me to finish the 50 mile run. My girls would have hated that. Not because they were bored because they would worry about me.) 

Our first destination was a 10 hour drive to friends house in Manheim, PA. We had a great day which included counting the deer on the highway. A wonderful game and completely entertaining. I believe we counted 12 dead on the road, 3 dead in the back of pickup trucks and 4 that walked out in front of us!  We had had a nice hot supper waiting for us at the end of the day. We camped out on a couple of air mattress in their office and it was wonderful. (Of course I am comparing it to our sleeping conditions on our last adventure where we spent 1 night sleeping in the back of the car on an old logging road in northern Maine and another night in a tent.) The next day we spent exploring their town, going to Hersey, PA and the Chocolate factory, paddling in a canoe for 6.5 miles, exploring the Amish countryside, visiting with friends and traveling another 2.5 hours to the packet pick-up for the JFK 50. My journey would have been complete with just that group of experiences. And I stated so at our Chocolate Factory tour. I said "This is the best! My trip is already complete and we have just begun!" 

Once we got settle into our hotel room and Emmett was all comfy on the bed I took a nice hot shower and called it a day. I had the beginnings of what could have been a terrible migraine earlier in the day but thanks to some Tylenol and caffeine I was able to escape most of the pain and was left with just a dull ache. I didn't let it ruin my day and I was hoping a good nights sleep would cure me and it did.

Well, here comes the brat part. I finished my 2nd 50 miler. The JFK 50 50th Anniversary. November 17, 2012. But, I don't have any great wisdom to share. My journey through that distance was MY journey and everyone has their own journey when you are running that far for that long. I can share the statistics: It took me 10 hours 43 minutes. And big deal. I had my goals for this event set and being the competitive person I am, "just finishing" was not one of them. I knew I would finish. That time was not one I expected to get, yes, I wanted to do better. And I can't explain it enough to people that keep saying to me, " I can't believe you ran 50 miles! Aren't you excited that you "just finished"? How can I say, "no I'm not excited that I "just finished" the distance". And why can't you believe I ran that far? I've been training for this for months!  But my chiropractor told me that I have to understand that what I think are normal runs and weekly training session most people don't. Most people don't go out and run 10 miles for fun. So in their mind I am doing something they would never even think of doing. He had to put it in perspective for me. I had a plan and I followed through with it. I wore my minimalist trail shoes through the single track Appalachian Trail section, I wore my VFF on the C&O tow path for over 26 miles and I ran barefoot for the last 8.5 miles on newly paved asphalt. I ate and drank when I needed to. My plan was to walk the hills and jog/run/walk the downs and the flats. Great plan. Glad I did it. What did I learn: Running on a straight tow path for a marathon distance with no hills was REALLY tough for me. It actually was a slow uphill grade the whole way but just seemed flat. The next ultra I train for will include more walking in the training program. Having a crew there just when you need them is awesome! I hope to be able to crew for someone someday and do as great a job as our friends did for us. And sharing the running experience with a friend was something I will never forget. I knew I would finish the run and I did. I always knew that if it came to a battle between my body and my mind my mind would win, I was right. I've taken the last 2 weeks off with ocassional trips to the gym for biking and swimming. Taking a much needed break from running. Planning more ultras in the future. Deciding which 100 miler to do before they all fill up. But need to put those 50K and 50 milers on the calendar as training runs before they all fill up as well. 

The adventure didn't stop with the 50 mile run. We stayed it the hotel one more night and got up, had breakfast and were on the road again. We traveled south to Florida with a stop to visit a friend in South Carolina and a short nap at a rest stop in Florida arriving at our destination about 6 am on Monday morning. My friend is a snow bird and we drove to her winter dwelling. While in Florida I helped her settle in. We went for walks and bike rides. I drank fresh OJ made from the oranges that grew in the backyard. We sat on her deck and celebrated our adventure with wine and cheese. We had our own little Thanksgiving dinner with some friends.  This adventure came to an end when my feet touched the ground in Maine at 7:30pm on Wednesday after I flew home. My friend continues her winter adventure in Florida and I got to be home in time to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Gone almost a week. It was good to be home. I can't wait for the next running adventure/trip but I hope it will include my family next time.

 

Biking past the orange groves

At the end of the JFK 50

A rainy Sunday afternoon here so I'm going to catch up on some blogging before the football game.
I took a 5 month break from the blogging world. Other than Facebook it seemed I had no time or no will to write. I was going through a stressful time in my life and instead of reaching out to my friends I withdrew into my own world. I'm like that. I would survive very well being a hermit.

I don't write about person issues very often but here goes. The first thing I have been dealing with is my "hormonal" issues. I have a chiropractor who I see about 1xmonth. More if I am doing more endurance racing than my body can handle. First some background; I had my tubes tied in 2003. I knew I would not have anymore children and it seemed the right choice for me. I don't know if that is what helped lead my body into early menopause, or like a handful of woman, it was just meant to be. I was only 39 years old when I stopped having a menstrual cycle. I was feeling very tired and worn out. So at a physical I had my blood tested. ( I also have had a history of anemia) The conclusion was that I was post-menopausal! WOW! So where were all the hot flashes and mood swings? Really? I guess my husband got off lucky! Anyway, now I have a 45 year old body whose insides think it is about 5-10 years older. I am taking a handful of herbal supplements to help and a natural hormone replacement. But when I compete or train hard it takes me longer to recover and my body needs more adjustments from my chiropractor and if I am training and not handling my stress levels well my whole body kinda goes to hell and says"hello, what r u doing?" That is what happened after my 50 miler. I thought I recovered nicely until about the end of May when I sort of fell apart physically and emotionally.

Now I'm back on the right track and headed in a better direction. I have took about 3 weeks of rest and many adjustments at the chiropractors office. I feel like I can now manage my stress. I also meditate when I can, but not as often as I want. I need to build in "me" time for just sitting and reflecting, and I actual need to keep a regular routine of physical activity. It doesn't need to be running. It can just be outside playing with the kids, biking, swimming, etc. Here are some nice pictures of me having both relaxing time and fun time.

Went to FunTown and rode the roller coaster!

Fishing at the Pond

Just laying in the hammock at the edge of the pond.

The stressful events of the last few months include but are not limited to: an 18 year old who was going to prom, graduating from high school and is now off to college (and I miss her very much and she is only 2 hours drive away; I have also learned how to Skype). I also was involved in my family's Relay for Life Team, for our 4th year. This year we raised over $1,000 for the American Cancer Society. And this year just prior to relay my aunt passed away. She had a long, hard fought battle with ovarian cancer. Other things that I will write about later are about our "move" from a 3000 sq ft. home to a 215 sq ft camper trailer. While still maintaining some kind of hold on a normal routine with 3 kids.  Kids adjust well to change and as my youngest stated a few days ago, "I liked living in the other house but I love living here,(in the camper), I feel like I'm home". All the tears I cried in private because I thought I was being a bad mom, because what am I doing to my kids? pity party... was all me and my worries. The kids are fine and they are loving our new digs and their new school. As my brother stated, "This will be another adventure for them. They will look back on this and say, remember the time when we lived in the camper?" Now we just have to start making some new memories and mamas gotta keep running and taking care of herself  :)

Barefoot Angie Bee: Toe yoga and stretching exercises for strong feet

Barefoot Angie Bee: Toe yoga and stretching exercises for strong feet

Recordings of my events since April. (according to Athlinks)

Sixth Annual Lone Gull 10K Road Race: MA  9/16   7:09       44:30
Bradbury Bruiser: ME                                        9/9     9:48    1:57:45
Maine Lobster Festival 10K:  ME                      8/5     7:17      45:16
Peaks Island 5 Mile: ME                                    7/28   7:21      36:45
Bradbury Scuffle:  ME                                       7/15   8:43      52:21
Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50, 10K: MA       7/3     7:30      46:38
Bands on the Run - Half Marathon: ME            6/24   7:59    1:44:37
Peter Ott's 10K: ME                                           6/3     7:21       45:44 (COLD and Pouring Rain)
Pineland Farms Trail Canicross 5K: ME            5/27   8:56       27:47 (with my dog Zeke)
Pineland Farms Trail Barefoot 5K: ME              5/27   8:06       25:11
Pineland Farms Trail 50 Mile: ME                     5/27   11:40    9:43:28


I will write a bit about some of them later. A short review:  My first 50 Miler was pretty epic. A long weekend and lots of fun. Bradbury Bruiser and Bradbury Scuffle were trail runs hosted by the Trail Monster running group. Harvard Pilgram 10K, Lobster Fest 10K and the Lone Gull 10K were all New England Barefoot Runner meetups. Peter Ott's, Peaks Island and Bands on the Run were for the Crow Athletic team. The Trail runs I did with either my Merrell Pace gloves or VFF (including the 50 miler) and everything else was barefoot.

The rest of April....

I went to Kentucky to run the Kentucky Derby Marathon with a friend. My sister lives in Kentucky so it was a destination race of sorts. I was able to visit my family for a few days and run the marathon. It's hard to write all the details now. We went across the Ohio River and had lunch in Indiana. We also got to attend a hot air balloon festival. The balloons were HUGE!

I ran 13.1 miles of the marathon barefoot and then ran the last half with my VFF.  I got a marathon PR of 3:36:57! It was a flat course until about mile 11 and then it was a gradual uphill for 2 miles. We got to run through the grounds of Churchill Downs too. (at around mile 7?) There was another uphill 2 mile climb from mile 22-mile 25 or so. I remember that the asphalt was old  and what I call "pokey tar". I used this marathon as a training run. I needed to run a longer distance on my way to finishing my first 50 miler in May. 

Looking at Kentucky from Indiana

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Been away from my blog for awhile. Been going through some personal stuff that needed to be sorted out before I had energy to Blog. Alot has happened in 5  months. Stay tuned....more to follow, but I have to go for a swim and a run first. :)