Big Sur International Marathon-Ready or Not...

This time tomorrow I will hopefully be done with Big Sur. Hopefully? Yes, hopefully. Since Tuesday I have been fighting a serious cold. My head is about to explode and my throat is on FIRE. I have invested in every kind of cold remedy possible and have yet to feel reprieve. But I am determined to finish tomorrow. I did not come ALL the way across the country to DNF or DNS for that matter.

I've got my Race Pile laid out and ready for our 2:30 AM wake up call. Who get's up at 2:30 AM? That is not even morning, that's middle of the night. We have to make it to the shuttle by 3:30, take the hour journey to Big Sur, then start the race at 6:45.

My Pile....

I'm ready, at least as ready as I'm gonna be. I'm excited and looking forward to the scenic route. I've got my spibelt and camera charged! And of course we already started our pre-race fueling! Now this is the lunch of Marathon Champions!

Fudge Sundae's from Ghirardelli's Chocolate

Heading to Big Sur!

Today was a long and weird, weird day....Thankfully it is almost over and tomorrow I will be up bright and early to catch my flight to Cali!

I am putting the last of my stuff in my suitcase...but first I had to clear out all of the "stuff" LB thought was necessary for a marathon weekend...Light Sabers anyone?



Well, this post is short and sweet (completely NOT what my marathon will be) but it's time to hit the hay and try to kick this stupid cough, sore throat, cold thing I have going on too.

I'll check in again soon from sunny Cali!

Time to Pack...

I have my list and now it's time to actually start putting things on my list in my suitcase...

Not all inclusive...don't worry, there is MORE.

Thursday can't come soon enough...I am so ready to get this short week over with and get on with vacation. Of course today I started feeling really cold and achy and then by the end of the day I had a killer headache and a scratchy voice/throat. Wouldn't you know this happens 6 days before my marathon? I'm determined to fight it though with sleep (...is it time for bed yet?), vitamin C, and water.

I'm also excited to be registered for the upcoming Dirty Hog race on May 5th! It's going to be 5 miles (at least) of dirtiness and mud and muck and crazy obstacles! Does it get much better than that? I'm not sure...I've never done anything like this. And the best part is The Dirty Hog was designed by the US Special Forces to promote toughness, teamwork and reward. Because of their commitment to us both on the course and to those heroes serving abroad, The Dirty Hog is a proud supporter of OPERATION HOMEFRONT which provides emergency, financial, and morale assistance to families while troops are participating in a tour of duty. Pretty cool, eh? I hope I don't break my leg...I may need some of that Operation Homefront assistance.

Oh yeah....

Have you ever done a race like this before? I have no idea what to expect but I am sure it will be an experience.

And I totally forgot, I'm in the running for Circle of Mom's Top 25 Outdoorsy Moms! Wow! But I'm sitting at #28 so if you have a free minute head over and cast your vote! Click HERE! THANKS

Well, off to either pack or go to bed...

I am not tapering...

It's true. Big Sur marathon is 10 days, 8 hours, 46 minutes, and 59 seconds (at the time I am writing this anyway) away and I am NOT tapering.

There are two legitimate reasons:

1. How can you taper when you never really ramped up your training?

2. Big Sur is a training run for my upcoming June 3rd 50k. So I am actually beginning to UP my training.

YIKES.

Don't worry. I am completely prepared to suffer through Big Sur. The 50k however is a whole new ball game. With temps reaching 90+ degrees and humidity up to the mid 80% range I am prepared to meet my doom. So I figured it best to up my training, from minimal to at least a little bit more...Plus I have some new shoes to break in.

LOVE Onlineshoes.com and boxes on my porch! Win, Win!

Look nice and shiny!

This shot is really just to show off my hot tan line....

I'd like to have them broke in for the marathon and we all know what they say, 30 miles to break in new shoes. I think I can accomplish that in the next 10 days...I already got three on them this evening.

Any advice for the 50K? Suggested gear? Methods for carrying water and fuel? We are trying to figure it all out...J-Ninja posted this to my FB page saying it was for the beach....but I think she REALLY wants it for the 50k.... I think she's on to something.

My 20 Miler...

What have I been up to? Lots...of miles!

I know I have been absent. Thanks to all of you who have checked in via Facebook and email. It really means a lot to me.

So, weekend before last I set out with J-Ninja for 20 miles. It didn't happen. It was hard (Duh...right?). My knee hurt. My hip hurt. I was having pain flashbacks to my Million Inch run and the training I did for OKC Full in 2010, with LOTS of hip pain. J-Ninja was recovering from her 26.2 just the weekend before (she's crazy a ninja like that). So we were smart and called it quits around mile 16. I went home and felt sorry for myself recovered...kind of.

We headed out again this past weekend (me, J-Ninja and my new "Sister Wife" SCORE!!!) determined to hit 20. It was our last chance since Big Sur is in TWO weeks. All three of us are doing Big Sur. Sister Wife did her 20 the weekend before, the weekend I failed to go the distance. So she was along for 16 miles.  But J-Ninja and I didn't have a choice. So with the wind in our face and the road before us we ran. It was a good run. We got hot and refilled our water a couple of times. The sun was beating down on us and I could feel my skin getting hot. I put on my Mission Sunscreen around 7 AM but guess what? It didn't last long enough and I ended up getting fried on my shoulders and calves....check it out!



So I will be carrying sunscreen in my (yet-to-be-purchased) spi belt during Big Sur.

Around mile 14 I nearly jumped out of my skin when I came face to face with a snake! Ok. So my face was not on the ground and he was not dangling in the air, bur still, he was too close for comfort and I nearly leapt into J-Ninja's arms. She said I screamed like a girl. This may or may not be true. I cannot recall...Anyway, at around mile 16 my knee started hurting again, not quite as bad as the weekend before but still a significant, dull, achey pain. We had no choice but to finish so we continued on. It was getting hotter and I was getting grumpier but finally the Garmin chirped 20 Miles. We did it!! I feel much better having this run done and now we can move on to more pressing matters....what to wear for Big Sur!!

I spent the rest of the day pouting on the couch with cranberries taped to my knee...I didn't have peas or a ziploc bag for ice...



Meet 5 Miles Mom! She came to visit last week and we had a great time!! She got to watch LB play soccer too!



A couple of weeks before 5 Miles Mom came out My Offical Race Crew came out!! She got to celebrate my birth and ease me into my 33rd year of life...WOW!

  

Pictured Left to Right: Sister Wife, J-Ninja, Me,
Official Race Crew and North Cackalacky Transplant

     

I also got the most AMAZING present from Tall Mom....I don't know how she does it but she gives the best gifts, as in meaningful and thoughtful. I think gift giving is a skill and an art and I lack it...It's time I get back in tune with my friends...I have been out of it for a while but it is time to reconnect. Anyway, she gave me this amazing canvas print of my FAVORITE picture ever...Me and my dad and LB after my first marathon. I think it goes perfectly with my medals. I need to get it framed soon.



LB and I had the privilege of dog-sitting for a while as well... Of course there is Lazy Dog in the middle then the two other fur babies, one of whom is a therapy dog. How cool is that? She was also a Killer Snuggler!

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So there you have most of my March and up to mid April....Lets see what the rest of April brings, besides 26.2 miles of UP hill magic in Big Sur!

Yes, I'm Alive....

I didn't really intend for my "break" to last a month...and honestly I'm not really sure my "break" is quite over....

I miss blogging and sharing my experiences with you all. As miserable and boring as they are. But the truth is right now don't feel like I can really share what I want, or what I need to share. You see, I have a story to tell. Not today but one day I'll tell you my story. And I know my story is not unfamiliar or even unique. And I'm betting a number of you would say you've been there, done that and would have some wise words and I know all of you would have encouragement. And I'm open to hearing it. For now, though, I have to keep my story as my own.

All I can say is life has thrown me lemons, and I'd like to make some lemonade but instead I have a lot of rotting lemons lying around...and they stink.

My running is strugging. I'm not injured or sick, thank goodness. I just lost the motivation, the time and the ability to conveniently go for a run....It's much of the same, no time, no place to run, but I'm determined to work out a routine that will be manageable. I'm not giving up on Big Sur, which is a short 27 days away. (Insert mini GINORMOUS freak out here.) I may have to crawl but but I am going and I will toe the line. I wish it could be as epic and life-changing as OKC full was for me, but I haven't put in the miles or the training. I know this. I have been chasing the HIGH I felt from OKC full in 2010 for the past two years. I have yet to find it. Maybe I am looking in the wrong place. That race was not normal. There was something magical about that race. And honestly, that is part of my story. I know why it was so magical, I know why it changed my life. And since then I have been searching, hoping to feel that again, to feel strong, empowered, accomplished, capable, and proud. Soon, though...I'm not giving up on that feeling.

So, here I am. 27 days away from my next 26.2 miles. How do you salvage a marathon training that has gone by the way-side in 27 days? There is no taper when there has been no training. I was reminded by Mel-Tall Mom that it IS possible to finish a marathon with minmal training. Not ideal, but possible. She graciously came to run Vegas 26.2 with me in 2010 with bare minimum training. She was a saint! She stuck by my side and we pushed and pulled each other along. After the fact was not pretty, but she did it. And she reminded me of that. So, with her strength and dedication in mind, I'll get through Big Sur. I'm just bummed that I am no as prepared as I should be. It is so much easier to enjoy the experience when you're confident in your training.

I'm not guaranteeing frequent, daily blog updates but I'll try....and I'll try to get my Tobacco Road 13.1 recap up soon....

Checking in...then checking out....

I'm taking a break from blogging, facebooking, tweeting, pinning...you name it. I need a break. But I'll be back. In the mean time I'll be thinking of you all and will have lots to talk about when I turn my computer back on.

Pepper Spray While on the Run....

...It's not just for protection against bad people...

How many times have I complained about neighborhood dogs? A few...and it's two dogs in particular. One little Shiht tzu that I could drop kick from here to yesterday, annoying but no big deal. The other a ferocious, long haired black dog with sharp teeth and beady eyes. He ruined my run this AM and sent me home in tears. This was especially angering because it was my FIRST weekday, workday morning run. You see, I got transferred to a new position at work this week and it puts me in my town three days a week. This means three days a week I don't have to drive an hour plus one way to work and thus allowing me time to run in the morning, three days a week.

So I set out this AM for a nice three mile neighborhood run. Around 1/2 mile in this stupid dog charged me from his front porch. I stopped. Engaged in a stare off. Yelled at him to go home. Yelled really loud in hopes that his family would come out. They didn't. So I slowly backed away, tiny step by by tiny step. He kept growly and approaching me. I kept yelling and inching away. He got board of barking and growling at me and wandered back to his driveway. Long story short I had to get home and the only way was to go back by this stupid house with this stupid dog. So I went another mile into the neighborhood. I found a huge stick, it was actually more like a log, about 3.5 feet long and really, really thick. As I approached the house again the dog this time came out and met me a good two house before his house. I stopped. His kid-owner was at the bus stop a few houses down the other way. He saw me with the huge stick and began yelling at his dog. This allowed me to slowly walk, not turning my back on him, and made it to a point in front of his house. He charged me and sent me back pedaling into the yard across the street from his house. I was yelling and jabbing him with the log.

I felt bad but I yelled at the kid to go inside and get his mom. He couldn't get control of the dog and his presence was making the dog more aggressive. He disappeared into the house for about 3 minutes as I kept jabbing this stupid dog in the chest with my log while he tried to bite me. The kid came out and called for his dog. This again allowed me to back away a bit more. As the kid approached to try to grab the dog he charged at me a bit more aggressively. I know the stick plus the kid made him more protective but there is no way I was putting that stick down. Finally the kids bigger brother came out and grabbed the dog.

I thanked the kids and told them I would be back to talk to their mother, who never did come outside.

I ran the rest of the way home in tears. That was scary. And this stupid dog is the same one who escaped out of a hole under his fence last summer, every morning for about three days in a row and chased me down. One morning he bit the heel of my shoe and into my ankle!

The only convenient place I have to run is my neighborhood. This is MY neighborhood too. I hate having to be afraid in my own neighborhood. Trust me I was kicking myself for not having my pepper spray. I would have unloaded it straight into his stupid face (and I love dogs people...just not aggressive dogs who are no properly owned).

I only had time for 2 miles thanks to the 13 minutes I spent protecting myself from this stupid dog. He ruined my run and that seriously ticks me off.

I got home and of course told The Hubs all about it. It didn't take him 3 minutes to get in his car and go to the neighbor's house. I had to plead with him to not take his .45 and to not shoot it right there in the street. Like I said, I love dogs and don't want to see one get killed. He had no luck with the owner and ended up unloading my pepper spray straight in the dogs face. So now I need new pepper spray.

It just makes me so mad that I can't run outside my neighborhood because jerks think it's the stinking autobahn and try to run me over and I can't run in my own neighborhood because jerks think they can let their aggressive dogs run out and attack innocent pedestrians. Preposterous. I am seriously heated about this. I made a call to animal control and filed a police report. Hopefully this wont happen again. Because I have races to train for....don't they know this?

So what do I do tomorrow? I am out of pepper spray, I don't want to run with my pistol because I don't want to shoot a dog in the middle of the neighborhood, plus I ordered a sports bra with a holster and it hasn't arrived yet.  I don't really want to carry a stick because frankly it didn't do any good at all, unless I beat it to death with it....and air soft gun just wont cut it, a knife requires close encounters and I don't want to get that close...so maybe I am left with poison-laced steak?