the (mis)adventures of an ultrarunner
..ahh, and somehow LOST makes its way to my blogosphere again today.
Yes, in a word, the inaugural Double Top 100 can be summed up for me as “lost”. I was lost physically, mentally, emotionally, and every other-ally I can think of. I want to retrace my steps for you, and take you along on my little mini-journey. It wasn’t too terribly exciting, and I didn’t learn anything spectacular. But I always try to take something from every experience thrown my way. So buckle up for the real recap:
February in Georgia can be nothing short of strange. One day it’s 27 degrees. And when you are running, and you try to spit-it doesn’t go anywhere except down your chin, because your mouth is too frozen to function right. That usually makes for an embarrassing experience….
Oh yeah.. Tying all of this together
Well.. It wasn’t that type of dreadful day. Instead it was almost 80 degrees out, and while I was running I was spitting very happily! But this really has nothing to do with spit. And you’re just waiting for me to get to the DeNiro and Travolta part…
So I’m running along, very painfully might I add, and I see a blonde girl that kinda looks like me coming from the opposite direction. There’s not many blonde ultra chicks that look like me running stone mountain, and I knew it could only be one girl: ERIN GOLDEN! Erin runs ultras and just recently started training at Stone Mountain. So we stop and chat for a minute and Erin says, “Oh yeah, by the way, if you’re headed back that way, get ready to see some cops. Apparently John Travolta And Robert DeNiro are here today filming a movie.”
Whaaaat?
At my mountain???
Are you fur real?!
I decided to go see for myself, and sure enough when I continued onto the trail, there sat several cops and security guards and two massive trailers, and all sorts of shenanigans. I’m assuming John and Robert were just there to watch me run or something because they must have heard about how insanely dedicated I am.., but it’s more likely that they were just making a ridiculously awesome trail running movie. Because the Cherokee trail is awesome… And they must know that….
Of course I had to share my newfound interestingness with others, which turned into quite the twitter conversation:
…..and while I didn’t end up pranking John Travolta with a Danny Zuko voice, I did end up feeling a twinge of happiness that something entirely RANDOM happened at my stomping grounds today. Hah! How bout that. Don’t you just LOVE random?
So…moving on…
The next cool thing that happened is I ran up my mountain of stone and sat up top and did what I always do- call Amber. Amber is my partner in trail crime that I am headed to the Canyon with this spring. So we talk life, tri-polarisms, trails, adventuring.. What have you..
Don’t my feet just look so content???
Well after that good stuff of sitting and looking at the sky and earth below.. Thinking about many deep things like sunshine and butterflies, and why people bring trekking poles up a 1 mile climb…..(lame)…..I decided to run back down the mountain! Turns out someone spotted me.
“ERIN!? You’re still here?” I last saw Erin about 2 hours prior on the trails. She smiled, and said “yeah I saw you coming down” then she just took off running.
Oh you wanna race? It’s on…
Once I realized Erin wanted to let our competitive forces come out to play, I dug deep into my tired muscles (and slick un rock friendly racing shoes) to school this girl down the rock. I love Erin: but I wasn’t gonna let her beat me. Even with that head start!
We were flying.
I mean.. Really y’all. People were like jumping out of the way and hiding their children and stuff..probably intimidated by our insane displays of athleticism..
So I trailed Erin the entire way down, and saved just enough pack in my punch to slide past her before we reached the bottom.;) sorry Erin. You know I love you, but I seriously HATE losing. “And that’s all I gotta say about that.”
Erin and I said our goodbyes and laughed about our competitive tendencies, and I decided to do one more 5 mi trail loop before I headed home… I swear it had nothing to do with movie stars lurking nearby..
And about a mile into that loop, my quads completely failed me, my heart rate sky rocketed, and I felt like I had asthma.. While walking.
Crap: I forgot I took the past 4 days off because I’m trying to get past a bout of over training syndrome! Maybe running 16 miles and racing mountains wasn’t the “you can’t workout you have to rest” type of…workout?
Ugh. I trudged my sorry butt slowly for 4 more miles around the trail, quietly-and sometimes loudly-cursing myself for being such a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins.
And then I smiled. 🙂
The sun was shining, the clouds were all white and puffy, I had a very fun and different kinda day, and it was just what I needed. Who cares that I can’t walk tonight and I may not even make it halfway through next week’s hundred??? Shoot, not me.
Today was fun! 😉
Read about one of my favorite friends, and an incredible ultra athlete, Jen Vogel, on my ultrachicksunite.com blog!
http://www.ultrachicksunite.com/2011/11/jennifer-vogel-lessons-in-grit.html?spref=tw&m=1
I am getting crunk again on my feet! However, I’m adding in a lot of rest- because 2011 brought me over 6000 miles of running!! Ouch! Periodization training is the new over-training.
This will be my log this week updated on the reg with pics! Keep me in check blog stalkers;)
SAT- 4:50a 2mi warmup, 2mi threshold, 2 min rest, repeat, run 1 hr easy, 1 mi threshold, 10min easy, 3 hill sprints. Core. & I ran past the titanic. what? yeah-see below for proof via me saying I’ll never let go jack! I’m too freakin stubborn and disciplined!!!!!
All things considered, I had no right being at the Ancient Oaks 100 Mile Endurance Run . But I went anyway, and I’m so thankful I did….
You want to talk so bad right now, that you think you might choke due to the lack of words being able to escape your throat.
There is just so much to say; but nobody wants to hear it, and nobody really cares anyway.
So you stash it deep down in your gut and let it simmer.. Let it burn.. Let is suck the life out of you.. Until the tension slowly builds. It rises up and heats your entire core until it finally hits your brain and your head is pounding.
You need an escape- need to run!
Then the cravings start attacking for trail time, because you know the pounding in your brain won’t stop until you either speak your mind or get to that freakin’ trail.
And since you can’t speak your mind..
You run.
You strike the ground with everything you’ve got in your body because you’re so sick of holding all of it in. You can cry, you can scream, you can yell, you can run faster, and you can run farther. You can speak your mind to the trees, or shout out to God above. Do whatever you want to do because when you run- you’re you.
After a few hours-
The pounding stops.
The pressure is gone.
Nothing is solved, no.
Yet everything feels good
….if only for a millisecond.
And that’s why you do it again, and again:
Running is your therapy.
*ps – Don’t freak out- I don’t really need therapy, I just write when I’m frustrated because I love how it flows.;)
Ultrarunners love to talk food. And believe us, we all know the best and right way to eat.
(All of us!)
There’s one end of the spectrum, and they are the super healthy eating elite. In this category you’ll find: paleo peeps, uber organic yuppies, naturalists, vegans, non-processed, whole foods addicts, “the earth is greater green” runners.
Across the other side resides a whole different breed of runners: jellybean popping, gu sucking, coke drinking, beer guzzling, pizza scarfing (and OFTEN) fast freakin’ runnermothers.
Of course there are always people on the fence. A lot of us go back and forth between the opposite ends, or a lot of times stay somewhere smack dab in the middle. Race food is different than every day food, after all. Have your cake and eat it, too! Right?
No wonder the food topic fascinates us ultra geeks. So many options for our crazy little strong-willed minds to grasp hold of and run with.
So.. Which way of eating works best?
I know what works best for me..
I’ve quit 3 ultras.
THREE
1.) bethel hill moonlight boogie, my 2nd attempt at running 50 miles. (my first finish was a solo run a couple weeks prior, also in extremely high temps, and on the toughest hilliest roads around. 10 hour self supported finish.) @BHMB, I threw up – nonstop- for 6 miles straight. It was 100 degrees in the middle of summer. I was so dehydrated from puking, and hallucinating badly, that I eventually curled up in a car and fell asleep. I woke up after a couple hours (still feeling like crap) and gutted out another 10 miles before sunrise. I finished 36 miles that day.
2.)FORT CLINCH 100, my 3rd 100 mile attempt. HOTTER THAN HADES in Florida trails with humidity so thick you felt like you were swimming. mid summer. I literally passed out @67 miles and was ambulanced to the ICU/comatose ward and was in a coma for 11 hrs. My Body ate itself- rhabdomyolosis- and started to eat my heart. The cardiac enzymes invaded my blood stream and shut down my kidneys. I woke up the next morning and asked to go back out to finish my run, ha. I wasn’t even allowed to MOVE for 4 weeks- i was supposed to be on bed rest. But 2 weeks later, i got up and started back with a 100 mile week. (read “refined by fire in the fort clinch furnace” for that one.)
3.) Hinson lake 24 hr. I quit at 1:30am after dealing with massive pain in my hip for the entire day. A urinary tract infection forced me to stop every other loop to hit the bathroom, so I had to double up my pace to make up for the stops. I felt great other than both of those incredibly painful things- I eventually stopped running after trying EVERYTHING. Come to find out I WAS RUNNING WITH A FRACTURED HIP. BUT I STILL MANAGED ABOUT 80 miles that day. I would have kept going if my leg would’ve moved.
Those are the only ultra races I have ever quit.
Most all of my ultra training runs were done BY MYSELF. In the middle of the freaking night, on technical trails. I woke up at (or before) 4am almost every single week day to get in my mileage, so it wouldn’t disrupt my family’s flow, or interfere with my ability to be a good mom and wife.
What about you? What ya got? I really want to know.
Because, sure I may have had a few brushes with bad luck. But I guaran-freakin-tee you that I can outlast you on any given day. I actually REALLY enjoy feeling pain. I thirst for it.
NOW TELL ME ONE MORE TIME YOU THINK I NEED TO TOUGHEN UP. I DARE YOU.
-Ashley;)
“Tighten up on your reigns, you’re runnin’ wild..runnin’ wild..it’s true.”
Am I even allowed to write “SEX” on a blog about running? Hmm. Not sure about that one, but I promise you I can tie it all together.
My dear friend and former client, Ashley C, sent a package my way last week. I’m certain it was in hopes of cheering me up during this hip-broken-miserable-without-a-run period of awfulness, and God knows I needed it! Inside of the package was a very thoughtful and sweet card, and behind that, a book titled “FOR WOMEN ONLY”. The title alone had me ready and willing to drop everything, and do some serious reading. I thumbed through the first few pages, and before I knew it I was halfway through the book!
I rub my eyes, and look over at my phone.
4am…Again.
Another running dream startled me awake out of a very deep sleep. I can easily recall every detail, because I’ve had this dream countless times…
ASHRUNS100s 