It's a good thing that I have a short memory. This morning marks about a week since I ran the Mt. Hood 50 miler and I'm already eyeing my next race. I hardly remember the pain. I guess that's why women can have more than one child. If you remembered the pain in vivid detail you probably wouldn't want to go through that again. And keeping with that theme for a second, one of the last conversations I had before leaving for Oregon was with my friend Val, who told me to just remember during low points of the race that I birthed 3 children and the pain from running was nothing compared to that. For me, the memories of last Saturday that stand out the most in my mind are where I ran wild and free with a smile on my face and stopping at all of the aid stations to chat with the volunteers.
Yesterday morning, I jumped right back into running. The NJ humidity is rough, but I think with all of the training, I have started to accept it. It was over 90% humidity and as soon as I started to run, I was running warm. Mentally, it's great to just be able to get through a run and know that I ran in these conditions. It was pick up day at sleep away camp, so I had to start early, but really not that early compared to the 4:15 wake up calls for all of the long runs that I woke up to during this last training block. I was out the door by 6 for a warm up walk and then I headed over to the "Foot" at Greenway. It was encouraging to be able to be start at 11:24/mi and then work my way down to 10:32/mi with an average HR of 147 bpm with some hills. At some point, I need to take another test to set my zones, but I think that 147 is still within my zone 2. With the heat and humidity, I don't know that I will be running at MAF much. I still want to keep good form and good cadence, so I basically ran what felt comfy. Greenway was really showing off. The milkweed is starting to go to seed and the wildflowers are beautiful. It was super peaceful out there. Just saw one other person walking up as I was running out.
Wildflowers galore
Milkweed heaven for the monarchs
Had the trails to myself
Funny that I always see deer early in the morning, but I have never seen a deer so tame as I did yesterday morning. I'm running down Westerly and there he or she is- chomping on someone's lawn. I'm running towards this deer and it just looks at me, doesn't budge. Then as I get closer, he or she actually starts wagging his or her tail at me like a dog. I had to smile. I ran by and he or she went right back to munching on the grass.
I think I found my next race. Dean Karnazes is back, but this time teaming up with Spartan Trail and Pacific Coast Trail Runs for the Golden Gate Trail Classic. This race looks very similar to the North Face Endurance Challenge out in San Francisco that was also hosted by Dean. I had always been attracted to that race but was intimidated by the amount of climbing and descending. To be able to run across the Golden Gate bridge and in the Marin Headlands looks amazing. I had originally been eyeing another 50 miler in Arizona, the McDowell Mountain Frenzy, but I was doing a little research on qualifying for the UTMB OCC lottery and discovered that I already have enough points to enter the lottery, so that I don't need to run another 50 miler this year. If I end up doing the Golden Gate Trail Classic, I'll sign up for the 50K. With almost 6,000 ft of elevation gain, it'll be a challenge for me. I really want to improve my uphill running/hiking, so this race would really motivate me to train. What also attracts me to the race is that they are partnering with No Meat Athlete to be an entirely plant-based event. What this means is that all of the aid station food will be plant-based. I have followed No Meat Athlete for awhile now. It's cool that he has started Plant Bites, a company that has developed real food energy bites with superfoods and sea salt for athletes. Since this is also an ultra running world championship, there's a good chance I'll be able to see some elites at the start line.
I'm pleased with the way my body has bounced back after the race. I followed the rule of thumb, of taking 1 rest day from running for every 10 miles ran. I did end up going for a moderate, hilly hike while out in Oregon, but I couldn't be out there and not explore a little bit. It was crazy to see that there's still snow out on Mt. Hood and that people are still snowboarding and skiing well into July. Summer camp looks very different than summer camp in NJ. Buses were dropping off and picking up kids with snowboards. I ended up just going for a short 5 mile hike along another part of the PCT. It was cool seeing backpackers. The views were stunning. It was great to see Mt. Hood up close and Mt. Jefferson in the distance. The openness of the trail was very cool. I could look up ahead and see hikers off in the distance going up switchbacks. So different from hiking back home, where you just can't see anyone through the dense forest. The view at Zig Zag Canyon was really cool. I was able to move really well on the trail. I even wondered if I should consider taking hiking poles for my next trail race. It was so much easier to move up the hills with the poles. I just wonder if they would be in the way or get annoying to hold while running the downhills and the flats.
Dirty snow on the trail
Layers upon layers of mountains
Of course, no one visits the Mt. Hood region without visiting Trillium Lake, so I did that too. I rented a paddle board and had fun paddling around to the far end of the lake not realizing how difficult it would be to get back to shore with the wind. It took me awhile, but I eventually made it back.
Trillium along the path around the lake
The iconic view of Mt. Hood across the lake
Tomorrow, it's back to reality. My partner in crime at work is out on vacation next week, so it'll be my turn to cover off for her. I actually might try going for a swim at the pool today. One of my goals for the summer was to be able to find a way to swim freestyle in a relaxed manner. I spent some time yesterday watching videos on how to stay relaxed. Today's job will probably be more just floating across the pool and dialing in the reflex to blow out while my face is in the pool and trying to stay relaxed so that I don't automatically sink. It'll be fun to try something new. As with running, there is a lot of technique in swimming. I like that it'll force me to get really granular and piece together all different parts of form and breathing.
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