If Your Dreams Don't Scare you.......

Finish line at Canyon Meadows marathon

How did 2016 top the previous year? As I continued to grow and be able to reach outside my comfort zone, I decided I was going to train for my first ultra. In November 2015, I had registered for the Folsom Lake 50k which would be that following year in April. To my surprise, I also had my name drawn for the Tahoe Rim Trail 55k which was in July. I started training in January 2016 and had a terrific time exploring all the trails in my hometown that I never knew existed. To say I live in a gorgeous place for trail running is an understatement. Tahoe has no limits when it comes to beauty on the trails. I ran my 4^th marathon in March as a training run for the Folsom 50k. It was a trail marathon with about 3600 feet of elevation gain. My theory was that if I could survive 26.2 miles with that many hills, I would be "okay" for 31 miles that *only* had 3200 feet of elevation gain. LOL. Now this one and done marathoner was running a marathon as a training race? That was crazy to me. But I had such a good time and that particular race is still in my top 5 favorite races. Five weeks later, I ran Folsom and while it did not go as planned, I wouldn’t change that experience for the world. I finished but it was about 30-40 minutes slower than my goal time. I was 3rd to last and finished with 13 minutes left before the 8:30 cutoff. 

A hard fought finish

I learned a hell of a lot about myself. I learned just how mental running is and I found that giving up on myself was no longer an option. To run for 20 miles with some pretty bad GI issues and not give up made me realize how much I had developed my mental strength along with my physical. My body had given up; my mind had not. I also learned how important it is to really have focus when it comes to training and that sometimes, you cannot have it all. After a few weeks of easy running for recovery from the 50k, I decided to give up spot for TRT55k because frankly, my heart just wasn’t in it and that was not a race you can toe the start line of with half assed training. It has around 7000 feet of elevation gain and starts at an altitude of 7500 feet. Not to mention there were over 100 people on the wait list who had more desire to run it than I did – I didn’t want to take away a slot for one of them.

Singletrack at the Folsom 50k

So I enjoyed my summer and then headed into training for my fifth marathon. Yes, #5 – how in the hell did that happen? From wanting to fulfill a bucket list item and run ONE marathon in 2014 to training for my fifth? I blame my coach. It’s all her fault….lol. Because by this time, I had grown to really love running. Just for the sake of running. It was my meditative time, my time with the Universe. My selfish “me” time. The time where I would solve life’s problems. Well, not really but it certainly felt that way on some runs. I learned to run without music – just the sound of my breathing and quiet footfalls. I learned to really listen to my body and honor it. I learned not to push through pain and learned when it was okay to take a few days off.

Still smiling with about a 10k left to go in the marathon 

In December 2016, I ran marathon #5. It was another race that taught me just how strong I had become, mentally. I started the race knowing I could have some cranky hamstrings at some point. I had been having some back pain (unrelated to running and more due to my SI dysfunction that plagues me). I wasn’t sure how the race would play out but as always, I looked forward to that challenge. It’s one of the things I love the most about marathons – the mental aspect. It’s always fun in some weird, sadistic way. This particular marathon was also very symbolic for me. I had signed up to run it in 2012 after catching the excitement of the running bug. I had knee surgery that fall and could not do the marathon. Then I registered in 2013 but ended up injured and could not run it again. I was starting to feel like this race (California International Marathon) was cursed for me. So being able to toe that start line on December 4^th, 2016 was a very emotional day for me. There were quite a few tears as I headed out on that first mile. I ran that race hard and I ran it smart. Just as I suspected, after mile 15 I had some issues with my hamstrings. But I’m so very proud of the fact that I paced as well as I did, even having some issues. It was by far my best paced marathon ever. I crossed the finish line with an 18 min PR, taking my time from 5:26 to 5:08. No, I didn’t get my sub 5hr marathon. That will happen. I have no doubt. But what I learned that day is even when my body is struggling, I can apply what I’ve learned mentally and still come out with amazingly well run race.

My best paced marathon thus far

It's been nice to see this kind of pacing improvement

I had surgery two weeks later and was unable to run (or swim and cycle) until February 1^st, 2017. I had registered for yet another big, scary goal – my first half Ironman, which is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. I trained so well for that race, missing only a few workouts and completed my first 70.3 with a smile on my face and happiness in my heart. My mental strength played a role on that day as well – it was over 90 degrees for race day and anyone who knows me is very aware of how much I detest racing in anything over 60-65 degrees.

But I was able to apply what I had learned in all my previous races and finish feeling strong, beating my A goal by almost 20 minutes. I had a few weeks of recovery then jumped right back into training for marathon #6. I still shake my head when I think about how this overweight, injury prone, scared girl has managed to run six marathons. It doesn’t seem real on some days. Like, someone else ran those and not me. Just a few months after my half Ironman, I ran the Chicago marathon in memory of my father-in-law with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’m still touched by all the folks who donated and supported me through that journey; it meant a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to my mother-in-law. I ran with Pops in my heart and even though it was a slower race than I trained for (the heat did me in on that day, with temps reaching close to 80 degrees), it was still my 2^nd fastest marathon.

After Chicago, I started thinking about what I really wanted from the year 2018 in regards to running goals. Of course, I would love to get a sub 5 hr marathon. However, I realized that I hadn’t really RACED a 5k or 10k in a few years. I’ve run them as training runs but never really trained for speed in those shorter distances. My PR’s are from 2013 and I’m long overdue for some new race times. That being said, my focus will be on shorter race distances through June/July after which, I will be focusing on marathon training for my December marathon. So I don’t have a lot of impressive sounding races on the schedule for 2018 but I’m giddy with excitement when I think about what I AM signed up for – and terrified at the same time. Racing a 5k and 10k are scary goals for me. Wanting to PR every race distance is a scary goal. I may not accomplish that goal, I may fall short on a PR or two. And that’s okay. If I don’t try, I will never know. I also am setting a goal to run 1250 miles. I think that’s reasonable. I have run almost 1400 one year – that year when I ran two marathons and a 50k. I figured since I won’t be running a lot of longer distance races, 1250 should be a challenging yet reachable goal.