At the beginning of the year, I set out a few goals for 2018. Here I’ll provide a little update on how I am doing, now that we are one month in. Note that because it wasn’t one of my official 2018 goals, I’ll write about my experience attempting Whole30 in a separate post. So the goals…
I am finally getting back into a groove after my move to Colorado and weeks of home improvement tasks. I even when to Orangetheory this week for the first time in way too long. It was tough — way tougher than when I was going regularly — but it was so, so good to be back. Definitely planning to go more often, especially as we have these rainy and colder days of fall. Maybe I’ll even do Hell Week this year… Anyway, the purpose of this post is to recap some (but not all!) of the fun running and hiking adventures I’ve had over the past several weeks: (1) completing the Boulder Skyline Traverse (previously mentioned here); (2) summitting Mt. Bierstadt (our 2nd 14er); (3) summitting Grays and Torreys Peaks (our 3rd and 4th 14ers); and (4) joining the Boulder Trail Runners for one of their infamous Sunday “Church” runs. Also don’t forget you can stay up to date on these adventures and much more on Instagram. Let’s dig in…
Last weekend, I ran the Ultimate Direction Dirty 30, a 50k race in Colorado. Read about it here. As promised, this post is all about those pesky logistics of ultrarunning: what to carry, what to pack in a drop bag, what to eat at aid stations. These are things I’d never given much thought to during a road marathon, and they seriously stressed me a little bit for the ultra. I think I did a pretty good job packing and eating, so here we go…
This past weekend I completed my first ultramarathon and and am no longer a trail runner wannabe! This was the first time in a very long time that I’ve gone into a race with serious questions about whether I would even finish, but *spoiler alert* I made it! I will separately write a post about what I wore, carried, ate, drank, packed, etc. for this ultramarathon in the mountains, but here are the normal post-race deets…
Race: Ultimate Direction Golden Gate Dirty Thirty
Location: Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Golden, CO. Approximately 45 minutes from Boulder or Denver. The race occurs between 7,500 to 9,500 feet above sea level.
I’ve been super busy over the past few weeks doing meal prep, traveling, working, and training. Here is a little update, including some thoughts on my training and prep going into the Phoenix Marathon (just three more weeks!) and as I wrap up my 12-week cut on the Renaissance Periodization diet. Plus, my pre-race to-do list!
The ultrarunning world has its own lingo, its own customs, its own podcasts, its own “major” races, its own stars, its own running clubs. It also has its own website: ultrasignup.com.
For the past few months, I’ve secretly held an account on Ultrasignup, lurking in the background without actually having run or signed up for an ultra race on the site. In other words, even though I’ve run a good bunch of trails, and even though I’ve fallen and gotten “best blood” on a run or two, and even though I took an official rite-of-passage full immersion dunk in the swimming hole with a crew of badass trail runners this past summer in Southwest Virginia, and even though I ran in Colorado in the dark and in the snow for the last few months of 2016, I am not an ultrarunner. I’m a wannabe, a noob, an interloper, a poser. But that’s going to change…
I am running the Chicago Marathon in just one week! If all goes well, this will be my 19th marathon and my 14th state! Woohoo. I had signed up for this race hoping to make a big jump in my PR and finally snatch a BQ. But taking over four hour to finish the Mesa Falls Marathon was a big reality check for me. Sounds like a BQ might be a few races off…
But what are my race goals? And what have I done to try to hit them?
We don’t have bears in DC. We don’t have mountain lions. And we don’t have “curious coyotes.” But Colorado, my part-time home for the next few months, has all of the above. Oh, and rattlesnakes! Thus, I have sought running friends! Here’s where you can find some too if you live here or come to visit. (Please check these running groups’ FB pages and websites before showing up for a run; I will try to keep this current but make no guarantees about the continued accuracy of these schedules.)
Sorry for the delay! I traveled around after the Mesa Falls Marathon (post on that travel to come!) and wasn’t able to do a write up right away. But here it is!
Race: 20th Annual Mesa Falls Marathon
Location: Finish/packet pickup was in Ashton, Idaho, in eastern Idaho about 2 -2.5 hrs from the Jackson Hole, WY airport. Note for sea-levelers: Ashton is 5,259 feet above sea level (and note, a week of easy running at a similar altitude is not sufficient acclimation).
Time of Year: End of August, on a Saturday.
Weather: Can vary, but for me it was wonderful — started in the high 40s at 6:30 am and ended in the low 70s, I think. Temperature felt good the whole time running but a little cold standing at the start.
Number of Runners: 146
Other Races: Half marathon, 10K, 5K, fun run.
I was going to write a blog post titled “Big Adventures Start Small” about how I’m trying to inject small adventures into my regular life, at least until I decide on and execute a “big” adventure. And I had a small adventure planned for this morning and was excited to recap here. Until I had a total #adventurefail…
athlettuce 