Ultra #2 in the books-- Terrapin Mtn 50k

How do I condense into a couple paragraphs and snapshots what I experienced this past weekend? I'll try to make this as brief as I can ( or else it will turn into a novella). first I want to say that my good friends beth and JJ both have excellent race reports up on http://imtr.blogspot.com

I drove to abingdon town hall with snowflakes flying in the air and it was COLD! I was beginning to feel like there was no escaping the snow. My mind was pretty much going 100mph thinking about what I needed to do the next day at Terrapin Mtn 50k. STEP UP. This was my second 50k race. My first Frozen Sasquatch was an epic adventure for sure. However, it was very cold, miserable and SLOW and I death marched quite a bit of it to finish at 7:36. I knew I could run MUCH faster. I was just really anxious because I didn't really taper for this race and was leg tired. Hadn't been sleeping very well either. Tired. I probably shouldn't of put any pressure on myself performance wise, but since I was running with the IMTR's, it was really important to me to run strong and represent!:O) and I also reasoned that since Frozen Sasquatch I really had been working my butt off to improve and become a better trail runner. Surely all that hard work has to come into play somewhere.

I meet up with Rick and Tammy Gray. Beth throws her gear in the back on my FJ and we are OFF! Caravanning down i-81 enroute to bedford, Va.

We arrive at the hotel and Doug Blackford has arrived the very moment we have! I was pretty hyper and in a great mood, so I was running around the parking lot snapping pictures of everyone. The sun was setting and I was able to take some pretty cool shots of everyone, and I great shot of Terrapin Mtn ( with so much fog around it you can't really see it)

After we unloaded the car, we all headed out in the family van to go eat some dinner. :o)

We got back to the hotel about 8:30 and Beth and I started the fun task of laying all all our gear and clothes for the race the next morning and getting everything ready for breakfast ( we had to get up at 4:30am) I was a little stressful trying to figure out the right combination of clothes, I knew it would be cold at the start but then warm up to 50F by the time I crossed the finish line. I decided on : mtn hardware tank

mtn hardware skort

moeben sleeves

marmot glove liners

wigwam wool knee socks

inov-8 gaiters

montrail mtn masochists

nathan racing vest

ultimate direction hand held

I went to bed hoping I had make the right choices for my gear. I felt pretty good about it.

Lights out! beth and I talked for about 30 min before we both got quite and drifted off to sleep. I actually slept pretty well-- we didn't turn the heat on, and i swear I think that is why I slept better! my phone's alarm went off at 4:20am... and we both sprang into action! haha.. not really but we both got up and got ready made coffee, choked down breakfast. and loaded up the car so we could leave for the start line at 5:30.

We got to big island, va! I was nervous. BEYOND NERVOUS. Afraid of failure. Afraid of walking too much and being a weak person physically and mentally. I wanted SO badly to be able to dig deep and be strong. I really felt like I was going to vomit. beth decided to capture this moment on film. I have to admit, I hide being scared and nervous rather well....

got our race packets! I got to meet the RD, Clark Zealand for the first time. CLARK! :O) Super nice guy!! Excellent RD!

Then it was pretty much a meet and greet until the racers meeting. I hung out with Mike Bailey and some of the VHTRC people for a little while. ( NICE!) Then I saw Abby Meadows from across the shelter and ran over to her to hang out with her for awhile. I am FB friends with abby and I have been following her blog. but it was SO cool to finally meet her in person. Once we started talking, we discovered that we grew up in the same area in southwest, va. ( which I think is the COOLEST thing ever!!) She is just such an outgoing and happy person, and amazing athlete! I can't wait to get to run and hang out with her again soon! (YAY ABBY!!!)

Clark had the pre-race briefing and then it was time to line up!! I hugged tammy, beth, rick, kathleen, JJ, doug, ALL and told them to have a good race. Then there was this split second moment where I just decided that I was going to have a good day, and run the way I felt and no try to conserve so much. I just needed to WORK HARD!

GONG!!! Clark really knows how to start a race! very cool!! ;o)

There wasn't a cloud in the sky the morning was cool, frosty and crisp; and as I began to run, I started to feel REALLY good. I just decided to try to mirror Rick Gray and run behind him as much as I could. I didn't know if I could hang with him the whole race, but I knew he would take me out at a conservative but good clip.

When we turned off the pavement to make the climb up towards camping gap. I stayed with Rick. I got to make some new friends. I ran behind Sophie Spiedel for a couple of miles and we chatted about 50 milers, ( rick told her I had signed up for Cheat mtn) and what were some other great races to run. ( it was very cool to run with you Sophie! hope to see you again soon!)

Then kathleen caught up to Rick and I and we all three worked really hard on the climb up to the first AS. I didn't stop.. we just rolled on through

We started the downhill section and I was still really happy because I felt strong, had tons of energy. I just kept saying to myself "be patient." because I knew I would hit some points during the race where I wouldn't feel this great. This section had alot of downhill with a couple miles of flat. I averaged about 7:23 a mile here on this section. ( go me! ) ( the rest of my race was a blazing 12 min pace) got to the second AS and it was time to climb again.

I started listening to my ipod at this point( YES, Hot Buttered Rum!! they are a bluegrass band from Cali- and I know that sounds weird but they are SOOO AWESOME) .. I ran alot with both rick, kathleen and amy on the single track and then when it spit us back out on the road to climb BACK up to camping Gap from whence we ran down. It was about 15 miles. I suddenly found myself kinda alone.. rick and kathleen were in eye sight but up ahead: BOOM!!! I just got tackled in an ultra!! is that legal?! haha.. it was beth! she CAUGHT ME!!! I was really happy to see my best buddy. To tell you the truth I may have lost focus there for a little while haha or for the remainder of the race.. but I had fun hanging out with Ted and Beth.. and CLimbing, Climbing, CLimbing!!

We finally made it to the AS at mile 16 and I found my AT buff I had dropped earlier ( that beth had found) soo happy to be reunited! beth and I took off down the jeep road and we got to see the top 5 men cruising on their way to climb to terrapin rock. We yelled and cheered! ( I think they appreciated it:o) did the same when we saw Justine about a mile later. We started climbing UP some more. Beth and I worked really hard on trying to run anything runable and passing everyone we saw.. we caught back up with ED and TED... we punched in the first hole punch.. finally found some down hill. Beth took off, and I ran with Ed and TED... went through the next AS with them and climbed to Terrapin rock ( for that hole punch) thanks Ed!! ( he punched my bib for me) and it was cool just to get to run with them for this section..

Next was Fat man's misery. I fell as soon as I got in between the rocks. there was several inches of thick black mud, and I just lost my footing. I ended up sliding the WHOLE way on my butt and skinning up but elbows and my arms trying to self arrest.. ( why I was trying to stop from sliding I have no idea)

got to the end and got hole punch #3.

Then we descended on single track ( somewhat rocky at times) and steep and I got passed by Alisa Springman( badwater finisher!!) :o)

( I REALLY need to work on technical downhill)

found myself alone ( don't you love the way ultras are like that?) and so I listened to my ipod and just tried to focus on making up ground and catching my group and the people in front of me. I saw rick,beth, kathleen and amy all coming up the trail-- I showed them my arms ( which where all gnarly and bloody) and asked how far ahead they were. I figured about 10 min.

I got to the AS and turned around and focused on finishing. I felt I was so close!! and I was SO surprised how good and strong I felt. Then I reminded myself how ALL my training really had built me up for that moment. So I wouldn't feel so extremely fatigued and tired.

I finally got to the gravel road and then pavement ( 1 mile left) I just tried to dig deep and finish strong. I knew several VERY STRONG ladies were behind me and I knew I didn't need to fade or waiver. I ran about 8:30 pace.. and before i knew it, I was crossing the line and into the arms of ALL My friends who were standing there at the line waiting for me.

I finished @ 6:13... 9th overall female and 55th overall.

BIG PR!!!

so upon reflection, I'm very happy with ultra#2.. I am very motivated that I can see so many areas with my racing I can improve upon. :o) and really just had a very happy, wonderful experience at Terrapin Mtn. I feel everyone who ran or volunteered at this race FELT all the positive energy that abounded that day! :o)

prep for terrapin mtn 50k and bear tree gap run

Well, in two days, I will be embarking upon my second ultra run: Terrapin Mtn 50k. I'm a little nervous. okay, alot nervous. I really have worked really hard the past several months since frozen sasquatch, and I really would like to see my efforts come to fruition in the form of a PR:o) I really suspect that even though there is 2000ft more clmbing in this race, I think it will be much faster than my first one. even black mtn. To say that I am excited to run on actual trail instead of snow and ice is an enormous understatement to say the least.

I have spent the past several days trying to go over my gear and figure out exactly what I'm going to need. I'm opting for using a handheld for hydration and wearing my nathan vest instead of my nathan hydration pack. Wearing montrail mtn masochists. I have toyed with the idea of wearing either my inov-8 talons or NB WT-100's but I feel since this is a long race ( for me) I need to stick with the support of the masochists.. I'll save the others for my shorter trail races.

as far as race apparel: ( always a major concern of mine) I have a range of things all based upon the weather. I still have some cold weather items in my bag for just in case. and or if its a cold morning on saturday, and I'm bringing some salt stick tabs for just in case it's warm! :o) I get to wear a pair of my new Rudy Project sunglasses:o) super excited about that-- it's really the little things that make me happy:o)

I can't wait to meet all my friends tomorrow for us to journey to bedford, VA!! It's always an adventure and always fun! Race reports are probably my favorite posts to write ( provided I didn't just get my hopes and dreams CRUSHED on the course)

Last weekend, The IMTR's met and ran 11 miles on the AT/ IMT/BEAR TREE GAP/ SHAW'S Gap trails.. and yes there was a section were we had to run on Rt 58 for about 400 yds. :o) For the inquiring minds who will wonder about the 3 pictures jj took of me running on pavement.
I have had my pictures up on FB since last saturday but for those of you who haven't seen them.. I made a slideshow!! with a live version of "day trader" by hot buttered rum ( another one of my FAVORITE bands:o) yay! it uploaded WAY easier. I never got the one I made for the tacky leprechaun to work.

Enjoy!! I love the way the slideshow ends with joey sticking out his tongue!

fighting a losing battle....

I just wanted to throw this out there:

HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR TRAIL RUNNING GEAR?!

when I ran track/ xc in high school ( and one year of college) I had ONE adidas duffle bag I packed it every evening for practice and meets the next day. Same deal with road races and marathons as an adult.. ONE BAG.. I had trainers and flats... extra pair of socks, a change of clothes for when I finish running, hat, gloves maybe a pair of tights and a bottle of water-- This worked really well for me!

UNTIL NOW....

I am really overwhelmed by gear-- I LOVE gear ( don't get me wrong. I love all the gadgets and gizmos associated with this crazy sport I am falling absolutely in love with-) but seriously when it comes to trail running or trail racing ( ultra racing.) I find it IMPOSSIBLE to put all my running gear in a single bag. So I end up with a couple of duffle bags full of EVERYTHING ( for all the "what ifs") I am so terrified of not having something I need or forgetting something and it messing up my race. afraid of being too hot/too cold/ chaffed, bugbitten, sunburnt and catching poison ivy.. afraid of not having enough gels, salt tabs or motrin to carry with me or the little tiny plastic bags I place them in so they won't get wet from me sweating on them.

I usually have a couple different pairs of shoes in my bag because I always decide what I need the morning before the race, short smart wools and knee socks ( in case it's cold) a small first aid kit, maps, sunglasses, nuun, gels, hand helds, nathan vest, nathan pack( I always am on the fence about those too-- HANDHELD vs. NATHAN PACK-- it's a maddening question-- I am learning more and more though-- TRAIN with the Nathan pack.. RACE with the Hand held... ) salt tabs, blister shield, tights, a couple singlets, a pair of shorts, gloves, glove liners, yak trax, hats, go lite jacket etc.. etc..

I find it impossible to keep it organized.. so I just end up digging and digging until I find what I need, and it kinda drives me crazy! literally, annoys me to NO END. :oP

and then I have a separate bag just for "recovery purposes" I always have baby wipes ( they are great for getting mud off your legs! a change of clothes, a plastic bag for my shoes and socks I ran in and one for my running clothes, jacket, and a protein shake to drink because if I have it in the other bags I won't see it and therefore won't drink it post run. and a pair of chacos or crocs and towel so if there is a river or lake I can go sit in it post run and ice bath my legs some.

Surely, there is a far superior way to do this than what I'm doing. I am open to any and all suggestions. PLEASE HELP!!!

I registered for Cheat Mtn 50 miler this week ( YAY!!!!) and I feel as I embark upon longer races, for efficiency sake I have GOT to learn how to manage my gear and get more organized.

and even if only Rick, Frank, and Sean D post.. I think that would be swell because I know you guys are ALL VERY experienced runners and welcome any advice anyone can lay on me! :o)

THANKS!!!

Tacky leprechaun 9mi/24 miler on the AT/IMT

I awoke saturday morning to it pouring the rain, about 40F and windy. yikes! I was afraid that due to the nasty weather, many of my friends wouldn't come to the IMTR's st. patrick's themed run dubbed " the tacky leprechaun" ( everyone is supposed to be in tacky running attire).

Bound and determined I was running 24 miles today regardless of the weather ( because I REALLY needed the time on my feet for training for terrapin mtn 50k in 2 weeks) I proceeded to make my final gear selections and load up my car! I just hoped that my other friends were doing the same-- I knew worse case scenario that beth, jj and rick would be there no matter what! :o) and we'd have fun.

I had picked out a cheetah print running skirt and gaiters for my tacky attire had it been warm enough I have a cheetah print sports bra, it would of looked SOO hilarious all together.. in hindsight, I should of done something like worn the sports bra over my patagonia vest.( I love all the 9 trails stuff patagonia has out)

I wore my montrail mtn masochist with smart wool socks and zensah sleeves.

womens nathan pack ( but I love my ultimate direction wink because there is more pockets and the neoprene hose cover is GREAT in cold weather) but I switch back and forth between the two. I will probably use nathan pack for Terrapin mtn 50k, so I thought it would be a good idea to bond with it on this run and get used to the feel.

for food I had a variation of gu, hammer gel, gu chomps, honey stinger chews, and to tell you the truth I ate more of JJ's food ( he made his own cliff bars and had chocolate covered espresso beans! thanks JJ for letting me grub off of your food supply! very tasty!!) I took S! caps and had some motrin with me for just in case.

I got to the caboose, and people were assembling! yay! and there seemed to be a weather window.. the rain ceased and the wind lessened but it was kinda chilly on and off all day.. I really never could regulate temperature. I was always wearing gloves.. not wearing gloves etc.

michael, jared, charity came to run the 9 mile option. Rachel had come to run 9 miles but we talked her into coming to the "dark side" and running the 24. So Rachel, Rick, JJ, beth and myself ran the 24 miles. I guess I should explain that beth and myself don't normally pose the way we are in the group picture.. we were kinda imitating a girl we knew of that always poses in pictures that way.. we decided to give it a whirl-- to see how it would work for us.... I say we'll stick with the more tomboy-- informal poses from now on.

I had the joy ( ?) of running buzzards den and wrights hollow. ( wrights hollow kicked my butt btw.) that is the section were we are walking in a creek UPHILL. Where the snow has melted the past couple days that water was SO cold. and SO many blow downs.. I really should of counted them, but I feel there were easily more than 20 for the whole run.

once we got back to iron mtn trail ( 8 miles from the cars) we stopped and took a group photo, I ate some espresso beans and took an S! cap. I was a little down because all that climbing had me tired and feeling like a whipped puppy... I hurt-- WAAHH! I was frustrated-- I think even angst ridden even though I hadn't expressed this to the group. I have been frustrated pretty much since frozen saaquatch 50k. I had felt like I had been SO pokey and slow for so long. I KNEW I could run much faster on this stuff.. I didn't need pavement or a flat surface. It was baffling to me -- how to transition road running to trail?? I had worried and wondered about this for months---- I just have to let go and RUN.

so when we took off to start the 8 miles back I just yelled out "WOOOO!! let's go home!" and then I just thought: " screw it, I'm just going to run hard and see how far I can get before I tap out." So I just took off-- and I couldn't believe after 60 secs.. how GREAT I felt. I felt like MYSELF again!! I felt like I had dropped about 50 lbs of dead weight off my shoulders. Why had I held myself back : fearing that I needed to conserve SO much energy when I trail ran?WHY?! I think it's a lack of confidence-- paralyzing fears that I'll DNF or won't have enough in the tank to finish. My feet felt great, my energy felt great. It was just good to just feel free again instead of feeling so constrained. Any inclines I encountered.. I ran them.. I reasoned.. I NEED a good training run..

I need to feel like I'm running hard and taxing myself. I need my heart to pound and to breathe hard. and I loved every second of it. I felt so acutely aware of being SO ALIVE.. Seriously, that has to be one of the BEST feelings in the world an individual can experience for themselves.. to be so connected with their mere existence and to be running the mtns-- it's so primal, I don't think I can even accurately convey it in words. That feeling just never left me the whole entire time. I paused long enough to take a picture at my favorite overlook( lol and for proof that I didn't cut the run short by taking an alternate route down mock holler-- that I was honest and ran the WHOLE thing-- not that my friends would think that:o) I ALWAYS take a picture here at this spot. It's one of my favorites. I love it in the summer when the mtns are green) and then was running down the trail again. I ran the whole way until I got to the car. Then I was on complete runners high! I was SOOOO elated at being able to run for so far on single track and not walk any. I was bouncing off the walls even once I got home! so it was a break through and confidence builder I needed for terrapin 50k.. I really needed to get a good training run under my belt. JJ had the run at 24 miles and 6400 ft of vert.. so that's a pretty good little run ( at least for me-- that is alot of climbing)

I can't say enough good things about smart wool socks/ mtn masochists combo.. I probably went through 15 stream/creek crossings and then walked about 1/4 mile in a creek.. my feet were sopping WET several times. and everything drained and dried well.. post run.. no blisters.. and toenails were great.. AND my feet never hurt.. which is a problem I always had on long runs when I wore cascadias. Rocks would kill my feet.. so even the next day my feet would be achey. so not the case with the montrails. ( so I guess THAT is why everyone pretty much wears those-- nice to figure that out after almost a year-- I was so resistant because I felt they were heavy and would slow me down so much-- on technical and rocky trail you NEED that protection)

I had so much fun yesterday! that was a hard run!!! I enjoyed running with my friends! new and old! and felt like I accomplished some much needed training as well. :o) I know that I can't hammer out a 50k. but I really think I am edging closer to finding that balance of intensity and conservation. I think I can go much harder, longer than what I have been allowing myself to-- I just need to push boundaries to find "the red line" -- it's going to just take more miles on the trail and training and ultra race experience for me to tune this in I feel.

I made a movie.. but after 2 hours of trying to get it to upload and process on blogger and FAILING.. I just decided to post pictures. I will try again when I have more time and see if I can get it working. :o)

video 2009

yeah.. I had too much time on my hands yesterday evening. My in laws had gotten my boys to come spend time at their house. I was so bored ( last week when they got them, I cleaned out my closet) SO I put together this little slide show of some of my pictures from 2009. There are alot of ones of my flowers ( I love to take pictures of flowers) and then the others are pictures of my trail running adventures and races.. Many of them are posted here in previous blogs.

I was playing around with this feature on Imovie on my macbook, because I thought if I can take enough pictures during the St. Patrick's day run with the IMTR's I was going to make a slide show/ with some traditional irish music. :o)

I set the music as one of my FAVORITE bluegrass bands "RAILROAD EARTH". I do understand this may create a knee jerk reaction with some of my readers because I'm aware not everyone really likes or has an appreciation of bluegrass music. My suggestion is this: if the music starts.. and you don't like what you are hearing: there is a volume control on your computer and on the slide show.. just mute it and watch the pictures:o) thanks:o)

I have been" trail running" officially since memorial day weekend 2009. I had ran leadville trail marathon a couple times before that, but I had always considered myself a road runner.. I would run on the creeper trail and that was about as technical as it got. ( not at all!) 2009 ABSOLUTELY was life changing for me in such a positive way. Running trails nourished my soul in so many ways: enjoyment/appreciation of the outdoors and mtns I have never had before, I was adopted into a WONDERFUL little tribe of trail runners whom my friendship with means so much to me, and just a positive outlet to place my energy. I NEEDED something for MYSELF so much. I like to think that running trails makes me a more patient and better mother. I know I'm a much, much happier and fulfilled person. Crazy, huh?? all from carrying a little handheld bottle and zig zagging down a dirt path in the woods.. :o) there is SO much more to it than that. I am only just beginning to discover. AND as the song in my little slide show says: " I STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO."

:o)

cheers yall!

steeles creek park run/ and Sunday long run with the IMTR's

well, recovery is going fairly well for me! I'm feeling good. Getting some spunk and bounciness back in my legs. I had the opportunity to trail run twice this week! yay! I had so much fun at both runs.

Friday I ran about 6miles in Steeles Creek Park in Bristol, TN. with Tom Murrell. I had never ran at Steeles Creek before and so this was just such a treat. It was a cool, crisp morning. Sun shining, no clouds in the sky! and The single track at this park is AWESOME. I was pleasantly surprised to find STEEP climbs.. and then several miles of rolling downhill on VERY runnable single track trails. You can really get going places on this stuff. Not too many rocks or roots just fluffy, dry leaves ( HELLO? where have you guys been since december?! I had missed the noise and sweet smell of dry leaves on the trail) it was great to run with Coach Murrell as well. Tom is the guy who keeps me honest on my recovery time when I run mile repeats:o) and keeps me from getting hyper and running where I'm not in control:o) I truly appreciate all his training advice. Tom if you are reading this: I DO listen and follow it! :o) Plus, he is just a cool guy to be around:o)

Then on sunday I met the IMTR's at Sundog Outfitter's in Damascus, Va. ( beth, jj, rick and tammy gray and myself) The plan was to drive to FS90 and run about 9 miles on some trails there. ( which is apart of the "tacky leprechaun" 24 miler the Iron Mtn Trail runners are hosting this coming weekend http://imtr.blogspot.com)

JJ had camped up on Mt rogers the night before and informed us that 1. a four wheel drive was necessary for us to get to FS90 and that 2. be prepared for deep snow.

GREAT I think beth and I had both imagined that it was going to be a nice warm spring-like run.. it didn't damped our spirits we laughed and joked around in the parking lot. Decided we'd take the FJ for it's maiden voyage in the deep snow, slush and mud.

We made it to about 1.5 away from the trail head and neither jj or I could get it up the mtn any further. it was SO slushy and slick and the snow was deep. So we all got out of the car and hiked/ran to the trail head.. YES there were MANY jokes about us running in the snow.. it seems that has been the name of the game since EVERY trail run together ( and race for that matter) since december. had a GREAT sunday afternoon running in the snow and spending time with my friends! The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to just be outside in the sunshine! I absolutely can't wait until this weekend it's going to be SO much fun!

Even the ride down the mtn back to Sundogs, the FJ was filled with chatter and laughter as we zoomed past icy mountainsides also covered with rhododendrens and mountain laurel. The sun setting in the distance. Nice close to a wonderful day.

I'm starting to get mentally prepared for Clark Zealand's race i'm running March 27th: Terrapin Mtn 50k. I know this is a hard course with tons of climbing. i think the "tacky Leprechaun" will be a wonderful training run for me( tons of climbing for that as well)

black mtn trail marathon race report

Oh my Goodness! Where to begin? I had the most amazing weekend! I can't wait to tell you guys about it!

I met up with beth Friday afternoon at Mtn Sports in Bristol, VA. We went in a grabbed some last minute supplies.. beth some gloves and a fuzzy NF hat and some gu :o) I got a new mtn hardware skirt to wear over my tights and a cool pink patagonia top in Women's large with the high cut sleeves that are so feminine looking .. The shirt is not for me. It's for a special top secret project I am working on-- only one other person has the security clearance high enough and is my partner in crime on this little prank.

I then followed beth to rick and Tammy Gray's house in Johnson City, TN. Dropped beth's mini off at their house. and Loaded up the cars( my FJ and the family van) and where ready to roll. We snapped a couple pictures before we left.

Then we drove over the mtn to Asheville and we had dinner at an Olive garden and met up with Tammy's brother Chris Redman and Will Jorgenson who were also running the challenge and apart of our group. Post dinner, we drove to black mountain and checked in the hotel. Beth and I roomed together and we were JUST saying how we couldn't wait to chill for a little bit before the racers meeting and packet pick up and just get off our feet.. then *knock knock knock* everyone was wanting to drive up to the water tower to check out the course modifications. and that way I could see the start and finish of the race that goes through montreat and black mtn and since I'm the ONLY person in my group who was a first timer.. we jumped in the van as it was pulling out and drove around and checked it all out. It was a very informative recon mission. I know that having a visual of where to go the 4 miles to the trail head and then the 4 miles back into town to the lake REALLY helped my confidence. I hate not knowing where I am going. I always run better if I am familiar with my surroundings.

SO then was the racers meeting. and that was such a TRIP. I am still such a newbie at this -- there are never racers meetings for road racers.. road marathons just have expos.. but this was a different sort of scene all together. I just stared wide-eyed at it all taking it all in. It more seemed like a family reunion or special sort of club where everyone knew everyone else.. everyone was hugging.. I was in this saloon filled with young, middle age and old people... all in a room dressed to the nines in more patagonia and mtn hardware goose down jackets than I have ever seen in my life on a collective of people. Dudes walking around with WS 100 belt buckles.( okay, that's not intimidating) There was a projection screen showing images from mt mitchell and the toll road taken that morning. My good friends Doug and Martha from Todd, NC came in I hadn't seen them since the SUPER TOUGH Mt. Rogers Ice Fest a couple weeks ago.. so that was good ( yay jenny knows someone out of this sea of unfamiliar faces) . I also want to add that Doug is running Mt. Blanc Ultra this summer in France.. HOW COOL IS THAT???During the meeting the RD just went over some of the course modifications for both the marathon and the challenge. The marathon was shortened to 23 miles, and the challenge they said was 35 miles -- REMEMBER THAT PART.. that will be important later on.

Then there was a Q&A session.. then the meeting was over. I was able to see my good buddy shannon price who was running the challenge. I had ran on the AT a couple months ago for a training run, and hadn't seen him in awhile so that was good ( yay~ jenny knows someone else at this race!) But I have to add, while at the racers meeting I met about 5 or 6 VERY nice people and it was great to recognize them during the race and cheer for them!

The sky was SO clear that night, no clouds and the moon was full. it was so pretty. I just remember looking at the moon and silloutte of mt mitchell against the sky and thinking to myself: "PLEASE stay clear weather.. so I can have sun-- feel some warmth(it seems even in 20F in the sun is so much warmer than 20f in cloudy weather)!!" The forecast was windy 20mph-25 mph and snow showers starting at 1pm.

So FINALLY we get back to the room and beth and I get to get all our running gear out and prep for getting up at 4am the next morning ( it was 9pm at this point) We finally made all our final gear choices and packed our hydration packs and laid it all out. Then we watched the olympics until about 11 pm ( we couldn't sleep!) and then went on to sleep on and off until 4am.. then we got up and drank coffee and ate breakfast got all our layers on.

Then rick and I drove our cars and recovery bags to the finish line at 530am, and will drove us back to the hotel (which was about a half mile from the start line) That worked out SO well because upon finishing your car and stuff is right there waiting on you.

We all goofed off and joked around in Rick and Tammy's room took pictures ( when any surface I'll post them ) and just killed time until it was 6:30 and time to walk over to the start. The sun was coming up and the sky was Crystal CLEAR.. YES!!! ( it was windy-- boo! but who cares? I knew for days it was going to be windy-- that wasn't exactly a shock)

I hugged all my friends at the start and waited for things to begin! We were off!! The first 4 miles were on pavement to the watertank at montreat. I pretty much just settled into my marathon road pace and ran about 8:20 pace. Rick and Will caught up with me and told me I was going too fast ( jokingly) but I felt good.. I knew there would alot of TOUGH inclines ( this race reminds me so much of leadville trail in the fact it's like ascend, ascend, ascend.. then you turn around and run down, down, down back to town. ( think I like courses like that better than loop courses) ) so I knew that I'd better run the way I felt while I had the opportunity. So we get to Montreat and begin climbing this INSANELY steep hill .. Tammy best explained it to me saying " it's so steep you feel like you could drag your knuckles on the road while going up it."

so I finally get on the trail, and immediately find a wide spot off the trail to put my katoolahs on my montrails ( I wore masochists) because pretty much straight away there were very icy sections ( like walking on a glacier REALLY thick ice) with some rocky sections of road.. the katoolahs were AWESOME. they gripped the ice SO well and I never felt unstable. I liked them SO much better than yaktrax. I didn't think they impeded my running at all.. which of course, I wasn't moving that fast( 14 min? 15 min??pace going up..) yeah, I know.. not too swell.. I just try to work hard and not look at my pace per mile too much.. I really need to get a HR monitor probably and go by that to see how hard I am working.. I really just tried to "work hard" the whole time and maintain some intensity.. not fall and bust my face etc.. yeah, there is so much to this technical trail stuff I have yet to figure out. but I had SO much fun, even on the climb. The entire race I was in awe of the spectacular views of the mtns of western NC.. SOO pretty.. and I just felt so insanely fortunate to just BE THERE running up and down that mtn in the snow and ice. So I continued the 8 mile climb to the parkway. I ran past a "bear camp" ( black bear hunters have all these camps set up there on along the toll road. ) The thick ice was subsiding and it was deeper snow.. the firemen on four wheelers had ran up and down the trail so we had the tracks to run in.. it was just difficult because the tracks was narrow.. so it was essential run with one foot in front of the other( like walking a tight rope) or run in ankle deep snow in the middle. I switched back and forth.. I would run in the tracks for a little and get tired of it.. then run in the middle for awhile. I just kept telling myself to work hard to get to the turn around, and desending would be SO much fun. I ate some gu chomps and drank out of my hydration pack( yep decided to carry a pack because I didn't know how long I'd be out and I was SO scared of no aid for 2 separate 8 mile sections-- yes, it was HEAVY-- yes, I wish I had opted for just a racing vest and handheld in hindsight. I was beginning to see the marathon winners coming down the trail. So I knew was getting close. My friend beth and some cool chicks she was running with ( all challengers ) caught me-- so that was great to see her and give her a hug.. she was looking good and running strong. I finally got to the parkway at about 2:30. The cut off for the challenge was 3:00 so that made me happy that had I moved up to the challenge, I would of easily made the cut off. it was VERY cold and windy at the parkway. It felt single digits easily. I drank gatorade and coke and ate chips-- and a frozen snickers bar.. I didn't hang around.. I did look longingly up the road to the challengers continuing on to the summit and thought wistfully that I wished I could go too-- my heart dropped a little i could see beth's striped smart wool knee socks dancing up the parkway in several hundred yards away-- wish I was there with her.:o( Next year most definitely. but I was determined to not deminish my experience I was having. I was having fun too. On my way back about 60 secs away from the aid station I saw Chris! YAY! He made the cut off!! with like 25 min to spare! Then about 1.2 miles later I saw martha. I told her the turn around wasn't that far, hugged her and went on. Seeing my friends each time just gave me such a boost. Then about 10 min after that I saw Tammy and she had lost one of her yaktraks and was having a tough time in the snow and ice with only one. bless her heart. I gave her a hug told her how far she was from the turn around and then took off.

Descending was just like I thought it would be.. FUN, FUN, FUN!!! I felt so much faster and I was moving about 10 min pace even with the rocks and ice.. and even better, upon descending I could feel it getting warmer--AAAH! finally about half way through my desent I stopped and took off my top patagonia fleece and tied it around my waist. I took off my blaze orange windstopper hat put it in my pack, pulled my buff that I had around my neck up on my head just for my ears took my hand warmers out of my mittens then I went ahead and took off the katoolahs.. the snow was getting melty from the sun and I was able to navigate around any lasting ice patches-- PERFECT. ( yeah-- I'm wasting time and it's a race.. but at least I'm comfortable now no one passed me, but at the same token.. it enabled people to close gaps). The guy who won the challenge suddenly blew by me in a blurr of yellow. ( he was sponsored by la sportiva) GROOVY. These guys have ran like way more than me.. and have caught up to me! well, at least no other marathoners have caught me!

I zoomed on down the mtn and to the aid station at sourwood gap.. drank more pop( it's so hilarious I love coke cola at these races-- I NEVER drink pop any other time EVER) ate some chips and talked to the aid station people for awhile thanked them for being there.. I'm a dork like that.. if I see a volunteer-- I thank them.. police/firemen.. I thank them.. another female runner I yell and cheer.. another boy runner they at least get a "good job"-- maybe I should be focused more on running fast myself.. or focusing on myself.. but I always know how it helps me if someone cheers for me( especially if I am hurting) and I really want the volunteers/police/fire dept to know how much they are appreciated.. if you don't tell them, how else will they know???

I run down the trail to the watertank, and hit the pavement. I now get to run DOWN the extremely steep hill we climbed up this morning. Easy, right?? ready to sprout wings and fly!!

WRONG... it's more "ow. ouch. ow. ouch!!" my knees and quads are SCREAMING at me. My toes are banging against the toe box of my masochists.. and I think to myself.. "please Lord, don't let me black anymore nails." ( I have lost 4 toenails since november) I try to relax and just let the hill take me... it's not working.. the grade of the hill makes my stride choppy. GRR..

finally I'm off that sucker and on some level pavement.. AAH! then I drop down onto some of the nicest rolling single track.. with no snow or ice on it.. THIS IS AWESOME. so I have fun with that.. I am feeling like i'm SO CLOSE!! the single track spits me out on the pavement after about a mile and I know I have about 2 miles left to the finish line I am running about 9 min pace.. and my legs are hurting a little. #2 male challenger passes me. #3 and #4 ( 4 being this cool british guy with a braided goatee who sat with me at the racers meeting the night before.. he was telling me all these crazy stories about massenutten 100 and how it wrecked him-- yeah, may wait before ever running a 100 miler like that) I can see the turn to go to the lake! YES!! then a female voice says "GOOD JOB!! you are doing awesome!" and I turn and Krissy Moehl is gliding by me with the greatest of ease. I yell back at her something encouraging like "WOOOO!! GOOO Krissy!" and we chat for a second and then she rolls on.. and so do I.. we drop down to where the lake is, and run around it..

Krissy won the female challenge in 5:12 and I finished my marathon in 5:13.

I went and got my finishers jacket. Walked back to the car and drank a protein shake and called brock and my mom to let them know I finished my race and was safe and sound. I sent out some emails on my blackberry real quick. Then I changed my clothes and cleaned up a little and grabbed my camera so I could take pictures of all my friends. I had so much fun just waiting for them to come in, and talking to the other runners. it was chilly and windy.. but I had some heavier clothes with me to change into so I was comfortable. and I LOVE my north face finishers fleece! SWEET!! I wear that one with pride for sure!!!

My GPS had my "marathon" being 23.3 miles. another runner had 24.3 mi and 5,300ft vert. Theres some debate about how far the Mt Mitchell Challenge ended up being as well. Like the la sportiva guy who won ( who was SOOO extremely nice) told me he thought it was 35 or 36 miles but he didn't even wear a watch or gps.. Shannon Prices' Garmin said it was 33.2. so who knows?? who cares at this point.. I think the RD did the best he could to be have to HAVE the races and have them in a way where everyone would be safe and emergency crews could get to injured runner etc. but it does makes me wish I had just ran the challenge since it was like running a 50k. and even with the icy conditions and wind and cold-- you have to admit all the times are REALLY fast this year. Next year, I will most definitely run the Challenge. I think I will be ready -- because the course and the conditions for this race is really no joke.. you have to be pretty tough I feel to run it and make it. I have to say running in the snow, cold and ice on the AT with beth and JJ all those times REALLY helped prepare me for this race. I know all the conditioning and training I had been doing the last four months had me in good shape for a hard race of this nature. and I had SO much fun running.. I really loved every second of it. It makes me very excited to run Leadville trail marathon this summer because I really can't wait for that one!!

I felt strong the whole run pretty much.. just feeling a little rough for wear at the end. where running 9 min pace REALLY was a challenge.. when that is like a very slow clip for me on recovery runs. My toes I am happy to report are GREAT.. no bruises, blisters or blackened toe nails. The montrail mtn masochists really took care of me.

the results for the challenge and the marathon are up on the website. www.blackmountainmarathon.com

*** yes, I am listed as a male for the marathon!! I can't believe they did that! my bib even had an F on it.. and hello.. jennifer isn't EXACTLY a boys name.** oh well it's not like I raced well enough for that to matter:oP

here is a link to asheville citizen times' pictures. They had someone on the summit of mt mitchell to take pictures of the challengers. They are GREAT and they really capture the arctic conditions quite nicely up there. While most of the pictures are of them running on the blueridge parkway.. I assure you there was some trail running involved arrive there.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=B0&Dato=20100227&Kategori=SPORTS&Lopenr=302270047&Ref=PH&referrer=PHOTOFEATURE

black mtn trail marathon-- feb 27th

Hi everyone! I am gearing up to go run Black Mountain Trail Marathon near Asheville, NC on february 27th. The conditions for this race are not going to be for the faint of heart. North Carolina has received FAR above average snowfall this winter. The snow and ice are exceptionally deep in several places along the course. I have been trying to just mentally prepare myself for this so come race day, I will be relaxed, happy and just ready to have fun overcoming the obstecles and challenges before me!!

Went through some of my gear today, trying to figure out the best things to take for my trip and the race itself. My good friend beth minnick( she is running the mt mitchell challenge-- it's run the same day as the marathon and is 40 miles in length and she gets to summit mt. mitchell LUCKY!!! I tried to get in that race but it was full, so opted for the full marathon-- and now, I'm THANKFUL I have only 26.2 mi to cover in that kind of conditions!) and I had a conversation today about the use of snowshoes on the course, yaktracks and screw shoes..

1. snowshoes: WOW!! how cool would that be?? however, there is just certain sections where those would REALLY be needed. I have NEVER snowshoed ( even though I would love to try it--just not on RACE DAY! could you imagine?? the first time in snow shoes, and you want to race?! I would SO fall on my face and not pull that one off!)

2. yaktraks: I have a pair-- but not really my cup of tea. I dont see where they REALLY make a difference?? I will bring my pair just in case BUT

3. screws in the bottom of your trail shoes: DING DING DING!! we have a winner!! I think this is the option I am going to go with. the snow is deep enough where it won't affect my running. and when I come to the deep stuff... I'll just post hole and walk through it until I can run again.

just to give you guys an idea about the marathon here is a video that was shot a couple weeks ago at mt. mitchell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu3IICmV0mU

AND here is a link to the race website! check it out!! VERY COOL!

http://www.blackmountainmarathon.com/

Okay! I am super excited about this!! is something deeply wrong with me??

The marathon that never was...

well folks, if you haven't heard about it, Myrtle Beach Marathon was canceled at 10pm the night before the race due to a freak snow storm that hit the south Friday. :o( I really feel that this was just a case of panic and mass hysteria on the part of the city-- I awoke to yes, SNOW on the trees and grass, but the roads and sidewalks had ZERO snow on them!! I really feel they should of just had either a later start, or just left it up to the 7,000 registered runners on whether or not they wished to participate.

However, it was what it was... SO at 8am, my friend Charity McDaneil ( who hails from Tazewell, VA) John Clarke ( Philly, PA) and Scott Guber( Nyc) (all of us were registered for the full marathon) embarked upon an epic 19 mile "fun run" through north myrtle beach.

Charity and I ran onto the beach and took pictures of the snow and then we made snow angels post run!! ( FUN) Neither of us carried any water, so by the end of the 19 miles I was SOO thirsty and having calf cramps( I will never run that far without water again if I can help it!)

Then after the run we cleaned up and went to lunch at burro loco! Met up with some State of Franklin Track Club friends who were also in town for the marathon. :o) So while I didn't get to run my race ( Boo!) I did end up having a nice day.

I plan on running Black mtn trail marathon in 2 weeks on feb 27th. So I am just focusing on that! :o)

here are some pictures from today!! :o) Hope you enjoy me in my crazy, tacky get-up!!! I look like a pirate I think with the hoop earrings!! ARRRR!!!

Shout out to all my friends who ran Holiday Lake 50k today!! WOO!! Love yall!!!!