rough draft of t-shirt graphic for CTR 10k

hey guys! I just thought I would post the rough draft for the CTR 10k shirt.. it's going to be all colored in of course( sky blue, the sun orange, the mtns and background dark green, the bears are going to be black with white muzzles) and have the race name, date and "Freedom to Be" on it. I am very excited about the shirt this year! and it's going to be on the same technical fiber shirt we used last year. The race shirts are going to be royal blue and the volunteer shirts are going to be red.

skulls gap run with the iron mtn trail runners/ CTR 10k is in 2 weeks!!

these are the only pictures I took yesterday!:o( both are from the straight branch parking lot near the creeper and AT before I met up with the rest of the group to go run yesterday morning.

Yesterday's run was different than my past experiences but I felt very necessary in my education in trail running.

The reason I didn't take any pictures while i was running, wasn't because I didn't have my camera with me, I did carry it the WHOLE way. but I was kinda busy the entire time, well, running!:o)

I ran yesterday with beth, rick and tammy gray, and then a group of very nice people from boone: eva, martha, doug, and dennis. This was a collective of people who were very intelligent and FUN, but really got down to business! So the intensity was a little different from trail runs I had done the past couple of weeks. However, I really feel this was needed for me, to challenge me and make me stronger. I think it was a good preparation for the 16 mile trail race I am going to run on sept 5th. While the vibe was WAY more laid back than a race and I know racing is FAR more intense, I think running with a larger group really gets you moving forward. :o) at a much faster pace. It was still a fun run, but a faster one:o)

We did a 6 mile out and back( for 12) from FS90 to rt 600 on the iron mtn trail @ skulls gap, then once we got back to the cars at FS90, we refueled ( I took 2 motrin) and then we ran a 6 mile loop of some back trails that were SOOO pretty. I was very tired by that point, but happy I pressed on to run the loop! I ended up eating one pack of honey stingers, one pack of gu chomps-- a handheld of accelerade, a handheld of water. My hydration pack leaked BADLY all over me, and it looked like I peed my shorts:oP While I drank some from it, I have no idea how much.. I never re-filled it because my shorts were drying and I didn't want to get drenched again!

One thing I love about running with Beth, Rick and Tammy grey is 1. they are SO upbeat and positive. Running with them is a joy. 2. They ALWAYS point out different trails and where they lead to, so that I can get my bearings and figure out where I am. 3. They are very open in sharing all their knowledge about running and trail running and how they do things. I feel I gleaned so much information from them yesterday about trails, their medical kits. Rick was also kind enough to give me some pointers on running downhill and uphill. I am very appreciative to them for being so inclusive and making me feel SO welcome at their runs!!

on a different note, I have to divert my attention to my race that is coming up!! In 2 weeks!! I am very excited! Everything is coming together very nicely! my awards will be finished and at the cave house this week for me to pick up, and the shirts are being printed on august 9th. The week of the race is going to be CRAZY. I have so many things to do!! I have to get the equipment from state of franklin track club, and the fruit, bagels, bottled water for the finish from food city and kroger the day before the race. ( not to mention put together all the race bags for the pre-registered runners) I am just so happy I have a great group of volunteers for race day!! I have 21 so far!! I am convinced that having a competent group of volunteers is essential for a race to be well- organized and successful. I divide all the volunteers into groups and give each group specific jobs so that everything gets accomplished!:o)

Very excited about this year's race!!:o) Alot of work goes into putting on a race ( more than I ever imagined) but the benefits are well worth it!! I enjoy the sense of accomplishment, and the fact the race is in memory of my brother Todd, that fact alone makes me want to have the BEST race EVER. All proceeds from the entry fees goes towards Todd's memorial scholarship fund. Every year a new scholarship is awarded to a southwest va senior majoring in geology, geography, or environmental science.

more pictures from mt rogers

hey! Beth was kind enough to post some of the pictures she took on the run saturday, and I thought you guys might enjoy them.

**I have to explain the one about the picture of me walking and it looks like I'm crying and the pony is following me. I was very sad to leave the ponies yes, it's true. :o) but I wasn't crying butI was upset that the pony was following and following us, and it just made me feel guilty that I petted on it and hugged it and apparently made it like me, and then was having to leave it and tell it to leave me alone... I felt like I was hurting it's feelings and confusing the poor thing.. So I made a big frowny face and beth captured that moment haha.. ( seriously didn't think the pony would ever stop following us at one point )**

high adventure up on mt rogers

Yesterday I had an AMAZING time trail running in the mt. rogers' area with Beth and JJ!! I arrived at the Elk Garden parking lot at 7:30 AM. the whole mountain top of fogged in and it was a balmy 51F. ( on the 18th of july?!) and a steady wind that made it feel even colder! BRR! I rummaged around in my running bag and was lucky enough to find my melanaza long sleeve and a go-lite windshirt.. and last but not least-- at the bottom of my bag was(SCORE!) a pair of gloves from winter running that somehow didn't get stored away with my winter running gear. I didn't put on either sunblock or bug dope because I was so fixated on the weather.. I didn't even THINK about either!! Which is weird because that is usually the first thing I do in my little running prep ceremony before each run. :o)

beth and JJ came about 740 and they seemed equally shocked about the cold front. We discussed the possibility of being fogged in all day. All found it highly likely. But I was hoping (fingers crossed) that the sun would come out and burn off the clouds and us have a pretty day.

Then at 8am Joey and Christine showed up. Christine was going to hike and Joey ran with us! So off we went.. with JJ dawning his kilt it was a little surreal running across the foggy highlands through the woods with lush ferns, many, many creek crossings, and rocky trails (cue bagpipes!)

after running climbing about 2 hours we topped out at this cool orchard.. where I expected to see the wild ponies.

but alas!! no ponies:o( beth and JJ explained to me that we would see them probably in the next 2 miles or so of running not to be disappointed. haha I just had in mind that I would burst out of the woods and they would be in this orchard waiting to greet me:o)

pretty much the entire run-- I ran and babbled to JJ. Bless his heart for tolerating me!! JJ had been my neighbor for almost 4 years when I lived at the lake, but we had never really had a conversation ( or formally met for that matter) so it was SO wonderful to get to meet and run with him! Here is a great picture of him. I think I freaked him out at first because I was so snap-happy with the picture taking:o)

so we continued on.. it's so hard for me to even convey the panoramic splendor of this place. We were so fortunate that the sun came out and the clouds rose and you could see for miles and miles. There were HUGE rocks.. that just made you want to climb and play on them... all over the place.. it was as if God himself just tossed them up and and allowed them to land haphazardly across the landscape. :o)

so we crossed another ridge still looking for my little ponies:o) I have to add that we saw many people camping, backpacking, and hiking. It was really awesome to see so many on the trail. There are so many times running in damascus you don't see very many people.. maybe one or two.. but it seemed like we passed about 40 people during our 15.5 mile run. We came across 4 day hikers from greensboro, NC. They stopped us asking for directions. it was my first time at Mt. rogers.. but lucky for them.. beth , who is the town of abingdon's GIS technician was able to help them out:o) the hikers had this super nice doggy with them.

so about a quarter of a mile after the hikers beth and JJ spotted some ponies!! So we ran over to where they were. So not only did I get to pet a pony, They were grazing in this place with the best view!! This one pony in particular was SO sweet and nice.. she let us pet her and then she started following us!! I felt so terrible telling her to stop.. it was like she stood there at the trail looking at us with this big brown sad eyes that said "take me home with you." very sweet little soul.

From there we ran over some very technical and rocky sections of the AT.. to a more wooded/forest section of the AT that was equally breathtakingly beautiful! and then began our decent down the mountain for about 4 miles back to elk garden.

Several notes of interest. I really feel every time I go out running with beth and her crew, I learn so much. Not only about orientation or learning new areas to run in, but I also gained much needed experience and insight that was sorely lacking from my running : 1. which type of trail shoes to run in for different types of terrain. 2. how much fluid to carry with you on trail runs 3. how much food ( cliff shots/blocks) and how often to eat..

I wore my la sportivias that I wore the last time I ran in Damascus ( those worked well there) but a big NO! for the trail we did yesterday. definitely needed some heavier montrails or my asics's trail running shoes ( they are called "attacks?" I felt like I tenderfooted through alot of the run and was very tweeky with my ankles I needed a much more supportive shoes.. the la sportivas were great for dirt trails and mud.. not so much for rocks.

I ate every hour I ran.. I ended up eating a totall of 2 packs of cliff blocks and one pack of honey stinger blocks. and then I carried about 50 oz of water and a 20 oz handheld of accelerade. I didn't feel like I bonked at all. and drank all the accelerade and about 75% of the water.. so I hit it fairly close to what I needed.

I can't wait for my next adventure! I feel so acutely aware that every time I am able to go to the mountains and run that it is indeed a gift. I am so thankful that I was able to go run and see all the wonderful things I did yesterday! I can't wait to go back!

crazy 8's and preparing for CTR10k!!

 HI! I ran crazy 8's 8k last night and had the best time! The course was so crowded this year with over 1, 900 runners!! Not that I'm complaining! that just made for more exciting and fun run! It was very humid, but not unbearably hot ( maybe in the mid 70's?) Of course due to all the excitement I ran too fast the first and second mile-- I came through the 5k point at 22:37. ( which  I was happy about) but inevitably  I slowed down and ended up crossing the line in 38:27.  I finished #399. :o) 

My race that I RD, the Christopher Todd Richardson memorial 10k is a month away!! yikes!!:o)  I am so excited about this year's race! I have been working steadily on the shirts and awards the past couple of weeks. The over all awards are going to be mixing bowls made by the same potter with the same glaze ( teal green and brown) as last year. That way if you ran this year, and last year your pottery will match!! The mixing bowls are AWESOME I hope everyone likes them!! for the Age group awards I have decided to go with medals... but stop the presses!! it's not what you think!! not medals from a trophy shop!! NO!! I have met this AMAZING artist from Marion, VA named Jeanenne McKeena who works with precious metal clay and her work is AMAZING!!  I will post a picture of a necklace I have that she made me, to give you an idea what the age group medals will look like.. but  I don't want to really describe too much of what they'll be like..  They are VERY cool!!  trust me!! the precious medal clay AMAZES me!! you fire it in a kiln and it carbonizes!! 

Well, I hope everyone comes to the CTR 10k and brings all their friends!! We are going to have an awesome time!!

cheers yall!

I am posting a picture of me after the race.. and of the medals ( but remember out medals isn't a mtn scene it's something different but along the same idea/vibe):o)