Sisters to Sisters

This is the first Sisters to Sisters post.  I'm days away.  All rooms and travel plans that are going to be made, have been made.  My Map is complete ish.  I haven't figured out my exact route from Madras to Sisters exactly.  I may scout that out the day before and make a game time decision.

Last year I ran from the Burnside Bridge in Portland to Sorosis Park in The Dalles.  The full account is here. At this time, I'm thinking I'll attempt Sisters back to Portland next Summer, but who knows.

Sorosis is Latin ish for Sisters, hence the name, admittedly taking some poetic license, Sisters to Sisters!

As it stands right now the 4 days looks like this:

Day 1, Sorosis Park to the Hwy 197 a little past the White River crossing south of Dufur. 35 miles
Day 2, White River to Antelope Hwy crossing, south of Maupin.  35 miles
Day 3, Antelope Hwy crossing to somewhere south of Madras.  30 ish miles
Day 4, Somewhere south of Madras to Sisters. for a total of 131 miles in 4 days.

And the Map looks like this.

I know it's gonna be hot, and the two big hills are big and long.  Last years Portland to the Dalles was CRAZY hot, in the 100's each day.  I can't imagine it will be much hotter.  I may need to get some really early starts, especially since last year I was averaging 19 miles a day and this year will be 33 miles a day, that's over 2 hours more running each day.  Food, drinks, water, extra clothing I think I've got down.  Last year was a test of planning and logistics as much as running.  This year, the running should be the hardest part, which is much better.  Worrying can't help running!

A lot of this is out in the middle of nowhere so this sounds funny to say but, if you're in or around the area and want to run part with me, let me know!

Coach John Wooden

Just before falling asleep last night, I learned that Coach Wooden had died.  I woke up thinking about nights at Wooden Camp, films in a small theater and then Coach would talk about life.  I'm sure it was intentional that these were the last events of the day.  You worked hard, really hard, all day and then when your body is exhausted your mind and soul are truly ready to receive.  You are then left, to fall asleep, with those lessons bouncing around in your head.

I've never liked phrases like, "give 110%", "busting my ass" or "gave it everything I had".  They're just rarely true.  Even in our greatest accomplishments, there are flaws.  Even our greatest efforts have weakness embedded in them.  I've always been drawn to phrases like one attributed to Steve Prefontaine, "fatigue makes cowards of us all".  I'm sure these feelings started with Coach Wooden's definition of success, “Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”  I love sports, love watching an 8 year old celebrate a made basket, and love watching adults act like 8 year olds when they win.  But I think true feelings of success are quiet moments, all alone, with yourself.

Coach Wooden had almost as much influence on my life as my father, and now they are both gone, leaving me only with their words.  From my father, "It's not what you do today, it's what you do every day that counts". And from so many wonderful Coach Wooden quotes, my simple favorite, "Be quick, but don't hurry".

Forest Park 50k

I ran my first Trail Ultra on Sunday at the PCTR Forest Park Trail 50k, in Portland Oregon.  This was even closer to virgin territory than the word “first” might suggest as it was only my second trail race ever and only my second Ultra race ever.  That being said, I felt like I was in very good shape going in and thought my biggest challenge would be holding myself back as I really wanted to continue my Eugene Marathon (slower and more consistent pacing) approach.  I grossly underestimated many things.  The mud, the hills, the mud, the terrain, the mud and the mud.  It became obvious pretty quick, that I was in for a fight.

And, the winner, by unanimous decision......Forest Park.
It didn't knock me out!!!   It did however, knock me down a few times though.

The whole experience was pretty humbling.  I learned that I'm kind of priss. 
I'm pretty tough about enduring pain etc.  But the whole getting muddy and dirty and just tromping through not caring isn't exactly my cup of tea, yet!  Early in the race,
if the trail was decent it seemed I was faster than those around me, even
though I was running pretty easy.  Where it was really muddy and
nasty, they'd catch up to me.  "They" were probably running
close to the same pace regardless of the terrain, I was a tiptoeing
little princess for quite a while.  Then I turned my ankle around
mile ten, primarily because I was trying to prance from mud blob to
mud blob and not get my feet wet, and I mistook a rock for a mud
blob.  I started deciding at that point to pull out at the 20k
aid station.  I had all the "this isn't even running, this is
retarded, I'm just going to hurt myself, I have to get my first DNF eventually it might as well be here etc" talk going on in my
head.  All the way up to the aid station I was gonna quit.  Then, Jeanne asked me what I needed, I took a quarter of a P n J sandwich and a new bottle and took off.

I can't count how many little turns of the ankle I experienced.  I do know the left one rolled all the way over 3 times and the right one once.  I fell three times, the only positive being, I never was going that fast so they were more of a stumble than a fall.  Never in my wildest nightmare could you have convinced me that a 50k could take me 6 and a half hours.  I remember not too far past 20k, recalculating my original goal time and thinking 6 hours was possible.  At 30k, I jokingly said, "maybe I'll break 6:30".  Whew, 6:28, barely!

I survived, that's really what I take away.  I really admire the people that are good at this kind of running.  I know it's part training, part technique and part guts.  At one point I thought of a line from the movie Rumble Fish, "Blind terror, in the face of a fight, can easily pass for courage".

May 2010 ended up at 240 miles, and somewhere through the middle of the month I went past 12,000 miles total.  Now the big miles begin.  As I type this on June 2nd, I have 87 days 'til the Lean Horse Hundred.  Still, a few adventures to go between now and then. 

Summer Schedule

I love this time of year, mileage increases, races that seem like they mean something on the calendar, track meets at Hayward field and warm weather!!!!

I just went past 12,000 miles last Thursday. Ironically, that milestone came on an 18 mile run that I cut short at 11. I wasn't feeling well all last week, but I think that's behind me now. So now, I can set my sights on some big events! I added a list of upcoming events on the right side of the blog page, I think my running calendar for the Summer ish is complete.

May 30th is the Forest Park 50k in Portland, OR. I don't have a lot of trail running experience and this will easily be the furthest I've run on trails.

It seems strange not to have any events in the month of June. I originally left it wide open hoping to get into Western States. I will, hopefully, be getting some huge miles in this month though. I'll also be attending all 4 days of the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward!

July will be busy! July 7 through 10, I'll be continuing last years Run the Gorge adventure, with this years Sisters to Sisters. Last years journey ended at Sorosis park in The Dalles. Sorosis is loosely "sister" in Latin, don't trifle me with details that start with the word "actually" on this, so this Summer I'm running from Sorosis Park to Sisters, Oregon. Sisters to Sisters will be somewhere between 128 and 133 miles, I still have the details of the last day to work through, in 4 days. Eastern Oregon in July, yes it will be HOT!

July 24th I'll run the PCT 50 miler, on trails, at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,000 feet.

All of this should lead me to.......the Lean Horse 100 miler in South Dakota, August 28th.

Absolutely NOTHING on my schedule after that. Except maybe........

Things observed by slowing down.

I ran Eugene Marathon on Sunday. While I have had several races that didn't turn out to be much of a race, this was the first time I've ever put on a number with no intention of running my fastest. I've heard 'other people' say, "relax, enjoy the process, enjoy the scenery" etc. So.....I decided to give it a whirl.

I spent the majority of the race a little under 4:00 marathon pace and there is a LOT of frantic neurosis around that pace, somewhere between the Toys R Us on Christmas week and Costco....well, any day. I thought I looked at my watch a lot. I've never heard more references to garmin pace, and I'm not talking about their average garmin pace, I'm talking about their current garmin pace!!!

I was really touched watching some older guys, 60's maybe even 70's, that were obviously damn good runners in their day, busting their ass to get under 4:00, I imagined they had
come to peace with the fact they once could break 3:00 and were now wondering how many more times they'll be able to break 4:00.....it was really touching and humbling to watch.

People get angry with themselves when they don't perform as well as they want to, I've done it, and I swear like a longshoreman but nothing I've ever said compares to what I heard at mile 21. I've screamed and swore at my legs before, demanding to know why they won't work, I've called myself a f*cking p*ssy. But Sunday, I'm runnin' along, minding every bodies business and I hear, from slightly behind me and to the right, a woman's voice say, "goddammit you f*cking c*nt, get going". My head snapped around and the only person anywhere nearby was 40 year old ish woman hitting the wall. Whew, maybe she had tourrets, maybe she's just waaaay more badass than I'll ever be. But I wasn't going to be within mental shrapnel range when she exploded.

The highlight of the day was finishing on Hayward Field. Coming right through the main gate and onto the track, coming out of Bowerman Curve and down the Main Stretch, just like I've heard announced hundreds of times. Looking up and to the left to see myself on the Jumbotron and catch my time. It wasn't anywhere close to my fastest time, but it was unbelievably cool to see it on the Hayward board.

San Francisco and Summer Plans

I spent last weekend in probably my favorite city in the US. I used to say New Orleans was my favorite, but I haven't been there since Katrina, and assume it is a whole new city now. That makes San Francisco my active favorite. It was a work trip, but a work trip visiting dear and very cool friends, which makes it feel like a pleasure trip. I always thought the question, "for business or pleasure" was funny. Actually, "pleasure" is a cool word, I'd much rather say "my pleasure" instead of "you're welcome". Oh and, this trip, I had a pretty cool run in mind!

Last year, on my friend Trish's recommendation, I stayed at the Hotel Boheme in North Beach. It's now my favorite San Francisco home. The hotel is wrapped in beat culture, pictures of North Beach in the 50's with Kerouac, Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti. They have after dinner sherry available in the lobby. Lobby is a stretch of definition, but it is a beautiful hallway. A small word of warning, while wonderfully quaint, Hotel Boheme is boutique ish....very small rooms, even smaller bathrooms and even smaller TV's. It is right on a
very noisy part of Columbus Ave. So, the upside is awesome
outdoor cafes that are open late nearby, or right underneath
you if you have a room with a street view.

Sunday morning's run, I left the hotel at 7:15 and grabbed a coffee, 2 shot 12 ounce americano with a tiny bit of cream, from Cafe Roma. Finished my coffee before I hit Fisherman's Wharf and I was off. I was headed for Tiburon in Marin County, then going to take the ferry back to the City.

There were so many runners, walkers and cyclists going through Crissy Fields and over the Golden Gate Bridge. That always makes me run faster than I intended and I got to Sausalito much quicker than I had planned. I left a safe amount of time to get there without having to worry about missing the ferry but I didn't want to get there too early. So, I took a leisurely stroll through Sausalito. I thought about stopping for a snack, but a little voice in my head said to get going.

I'm glad I listened to the voice. I had directions in my head, and they weren't very complicated. The only tricky part was having street names remembered, but actually running on multi purpose paths along side those roads. I came across a path sign pointing me toward Tiburon. I figured I should be close to where I was supposed to turn so I trusted it. I suppose it was taking me toward Tiburon but it was clearly not the way I should have been going. By the time I figured out where I'd gone, where I was and where I needed to go, I'd added about a three mile detour.

That made the last five miles a little suspenseful, but I made it to Tiburon in time to have eggs, bacon, provolone and tomatoes on a buttery croissant, while waiting for the ferry. The ride over the bay was beautiful. Clear and warm.

I had turned my 18 mile run into a 21 mile run,
but loved every mile of it, even the ones where I wasn't sure where I was going. The view coming back to the city was amazing. As a photographer, I hate to blame equipment, but this was one of the few times the camera in my iPhone was inadequate.

I think my next trip to San Francisco will include a ferry ride to Sausalito, then a long run through the Marin Headlands, then a ferry ride back.

I've got some big summer plans. A continuation of last summers run from Portland to The Dalles. This July I'll run from The Dalles to Sisters, Oregon in four days. Then in August, I'll run my first 100 mile race at the Lean Horse 100 in South Dakota. I'm sure the distance training I'll need to prepare for that will lead to a few more adventures.

It's like cooking a steak.

It's been an educational few weeks, running wise, at least. I had a goal to lower my 10k PR of 44:20 during the first three months of 2010. I am aware of the fact that at 46 years old, PR's at any distance are going to be more and more difficult to come by as the years pass. I only scheduled 10k's for January, February and March. I had a few decent races, and passed up a race, and now, here I was, nearing the end of March and no PR.

My training the last few weeks has been really good. I felt good on both speed workouts and long runs. I ran in some really crappy weather, without complaining too much. Every
thing seemed set up for a good race on Saturday In Alton Baker Park in Eugene, one of my favorite places to run.

We got up early on Saturday, drove down to Eugene and as I was registering for the race, my phone rang with a call from my son, Nathaniel. I didn't answer, but he left a voice mail, he never leaves a voice mail. It was 40 minutes from race start and I had instructions to do a 4 mile warm up. I spent the next 20 minutes finding out that Nathaniel had just hit a patch of black ice, lost control of his car and ended up in somebody's garage, through the wall. He said he was unhurt,
and we talked through calling insurance, police, tow truck etc. I got off the phone, explained to Jeanne what had happened, then sat down in the car, paralyzed with indecision. Should I drive back, and hour and a half, right away? I called him back, he had made all necessary phone calls, assured me he was ok physically, and that the neighbors to the house he hit were being very helpful, I heard them in the background ask if he wanted some hot chocolate, and decided I was still going to race. The race official announced 10 minutes til start time as I was putting my racing flats on. I quick run to the bathroom with number and pins in hand, then ran to the start line, arriving just as they announced 2 minutes to go. My only option to was to line up on the first line, I finished pinning my number on with 30 seconds to go. Despite telling myself not to get caught up in the speed of the start, I still went out way too fast. A mile in and I'd done just about everything wrong that could be done. Emotional, no warm up and out too fast.

Then I did something that only good training allowed me to do. I calmed down, slowed down a little, let my training do the work for a few miles and regrouped for a strong finish and a new 10k PR of 43:48.

Nathaniel is fine, thankfully, his son Elliott was not in the car with him. His car, and the garage he drove through are not so fine. I hate feeling grateful for insurance.....but.

I have been saving a bottle of The Abyss to celebrate a distance PR and Nathaniel came over to enjoy it with me. And so, my cooking a steak analogy. I take a lot of pride in my cooking abilities, heaven knows I'm a better cook than runner. When someone praises a steak that I've cooked, I'm quick to give all the credit to the cow. "You can certainly screw up a good cut of meat, but it's hard to save a bad cut of meat". And I think it's also true, that you can be well trained and still mess up a race, but it's hard to be poorly trained and race well.