Weekend Report: Winning, PR-ing, and Tweed Riding

You all know I love a Sunday Funday, and yesterday was quite a day!

It started with Backyard Burn 10 Mile Trail Race #3 at Wakefield Park, VA. 6x6 came along to cheer and take pictures and make me laugh along the course with her enthusiasm (GO! GO! Good job! You look SO GOOD!!!!).

This was my best trail race to date -- I won and PR'ed, plus, I was really happy with how I ran. That whole start-slow-finish-fast thing is legit...thanks George!

Though in reality, I think I just ran really evenly -- my pace definitely felt harder in the second half, but it was pretty comparable to the first. I finished in 1:10:41, and since the race was actually 10.05 miles, I'm calling that close enough to 7-minute pace even (full results here). As you know, I've been working on my hill-skills, but this course was mercifully flat. Plus the course was two 5-mile-loops, which made the race feel a lot shorter. I ran the last 5 miles all by myself, which was a bit of a bummer but to be expected. Luckily nothing particularly notable happened along the way, except that I managed to drink water without getting all of it up my nose (#win).

And for once I stayed focused the whole race! I didn't daydream or imagine myself elsewhere (oddly enough, during races I often picture myself at other races: ski races, indoor track races, outdoor track races, even other cross country races. This is weird?). I was also happy to not get sucked into that whole miles 6ish to 8ish deep dark pit of wtf-am-I-doing-here? misery.

I went for the three-peat (6x6's words, not mine) and it was pretty freaking awesome. Seriously, winning things does not get old. It's a 5-race series, but unfortunately I'm only making it to 4 because I accidentally booked my Thanksgiving flight home for the day of race #4. Sigh, oh well.

After the race we rushed home to get tweeded up for the DC Tweed Ride. Yes, that is exactly as awesome as it sounds.

Hundreds (?) of DC's young and ridiculous (and old and ridiculous for that matter) took to the streets dressed in their tweedy best for a 10-mile leisurely ride. Tweed and the like is not my usual style, but I like to think I pulled together something respectable!

This is a real legit thing organized by Dandies & Quaintrelles, a DC-based social group that organizes and hosts vintage-inspired, stylish events in partnership with and in support of noble causes. The masses started gathering at noon at Franklin Square, and we took off a bit after 1 pm. The people-watching was excellent -- there were pennyfarthing bikes, leather flying caps, many many iterations of tweed vests and jackets and hats, etc. Accessories to remember for next year: hat, pipe, red lipstick, mustache (probably not those last two together).

We rode from Northwest through Northeast, stopping traffic and getting honked/cheered/yelled at by tweed-blocked drivers, and ended up at the Arboretum. The ride continued on, but my friends and I were hungry and tired (refer back to that whole 10-mile race thing), so we headed to Shaw's Tavern for a late lunch. AND LOOKED AWESOME DOING IT.

(Ok so I know I'm late to the Instagramming party and you can mock me accordingly, but I just got my first smartphone and I'm playing with it. Plus, clearly the Tweed Ride is the ideal context for Instagram.)

Weekend Report: Backyard Burn 10 Mile Trail Race #2

Sunday morning was a total win, both literally (!!!) and figuratively.

It was the second Backyark Burn 10 Mile Trail Race -- the weather was clear and sunny and perfect, the course was, well, challenging (more on that later), and I WON AGAIN!!!

The occurrence if this race in my life was called into question a couple weeks ago, but luckily it all worked out. Because you know what’s absolutely mandatory? Friends at races. And you know what’s incredibly helpful and awesome? Friends who can drive a roommate’s borrowed stick shift car to get you to said races! (Going to a race, running, then driving home all alone sounds like the most un-fun thing ever, right? Plus clearly I am feet and public transit-reliant, DC-resident-style, transportation impaired.)

In contrast to last week’s race at Prince William Forest Park, the Laurel Hill Park course was less over-the-river-and-through-the-woods, and more rolling ups and downs on single-track through open fields. I thought it would be faster, and I felt like I was running faster than last week; however, due to the some switchbacks, many many hairpin turns, and section of a series of bobsled-style banked U-turns, the course was actually a couple minutes slower for everyone.

I finished in approximately 1:15:28 (official results here), and won the women’s overall and my age-group. Plus I got 14th in the men's race, pretty much exactly where I was last time. Even though my time was slower, I definitely felt like I ran harder, and today’s tired legs agree. Things got rough from miles 6.5-8.5 (me, all alone, tired, ready to be done, you know the drill), which culminated in me taking my first ever mid-race drink of water at an aid station. That was a mistake – I ended up with about a tablespoon of water in my mouth and the rest of it up my nose and on my shirt. Thank God I opted for water over Gatorade! And how do people do the running/drinking thing???

Speaking of wanting to be done, I managed to pull out a 6:30 last mile, so at least I finished strong! And I passed Mr. Blue Shirt, who I’d been following from a distance for most of the race (oh yeah, part of the mid-race Mollie-brain entails making up names for everyone around me. And having this song on repeat in my head. Sorry I'm not sorry.).

After the race I jogged (soft J) a couple miles cool-down, ate an apple and some M&Ms, lay in the sun, and collected two more Winner Cups (working towards a full set!). It was excellent.

(I will hopefully be posting more a link to official results and some trail racing pictures later today...)
________________________________________________________________________

But that’s not all I did this weekend! Rewind to Saturday: LOTR-Emily and I toured the White House Gardens on an absolutely perfect autumn-y day. We were literally FEET from the West Wing and Oval Office. Unfortunately no Obama-sightings to report…

In the Obama's backyard.

The Obama's view. Pretty sweet!

The Oval Office.

The White House Kitchen Garden.

Fun Fact: This administration is the first to have a kitchen garden since WWII.

As one of my friends said, the weather was so perfect this weekend I felt like I was in a musical! I am enjoying it while it lasts.

A Humbling Marathon/Next Time Wear a Unitard

This is a guest post from Sister2 about her most recent marathon experience. 

You may know me as Sister2, or if you have been reading Eat Run Read for over 2 years (is there anyone besides my family that does?) you may know me for marathoning in unitards and spandex. Well, marathon number 3 took place last weekend and I am here to tell the story of a race going very much not according to plan.

I ran Boston (as a bandit) in 2009 and had an amazing time. It was my first marathon, I wore a neon unitard, and there wasn’t any real pressure to do anything besides finish the thing. I ran 3:56 and was very happy with my first marathon experience.

The following spring I ran the DC Suntrust Marathon (both Boston and DC were based on visiting Mollie, of course), this time wearing a gold unitard with pink spandex underneath. Although the course wasn’t too amazing (the second half went through a pretty ugly part of DC), I had another great experience and improved my time by over 25 minutes (I ran 3:30 and some odd seconds). These two experiences led me to believe that time improvement was an inevitable result of running races. OH HOW WRONG I WAS.

Skip ahead to early 2012. [Editor's note: Sister2 was busy being a bad-a** mountain biker/world traveler for a while there, and so took some time off marathons.] I was originally going to run a marathon in Buena Vista, Colorado where I worked at a summer camp for 3 years, but work plans made that impossible, so I decided to run the Biz Johnson Trail Marathon in Susanville, northern California, mostly based on convenience, timing, and price. I also read great things about the course, so I signed myself up for the marathon and my boyfriend for the 10k and kept training!

Training went great. I felt strong and relatively fast. I set a goal of running under 3:15 and was excited to race. I went to Tahoe a few days before the race to hang out at altitude and be closer to Susanville.  Although I had some cold symptoms in the week before the race, I was feeling well and ready to go the day before. This time around I opted to wear normal clothing...I just didn't think a trail race was the place for a unitard.

I was on the start line at 9:00 am with the other 200-ish runners (waaaay different than Boston) and was off.  At one point I was even the first woman (which lasted about 30 seconds). Last year’s first place woman ran 3:26 so I thought it was realistic for me to try to win. First and only real problem – I was way too concerned about my time and place and not focused on truly enjoying the race.

Things were going relatively well the first 6 miles – despite the 5,000 foot altitude, I was enjoy it. I’m not sure exactly when things really went south, but I know things weren’t feeling good at mile 9 and after.  Overall the race was pretty bad – varying levels of pain, unhappiness, and giving up – with occasional glimpses of enjoyment. On the positive side, the course was very beautiful, the other runners were always very positive (when you are so few in numbers, you always encourage the others), but I mostly ran alone, wondering while my legs wouldn’t move faster.

Taking two years off from running a marathon made me forget the degree of mental and physical challenges, and also how hard it is to run alone without a crowd cheering me on (Sidenote: I love being cheered for.  During the DC Marathon, when I was really struggling around mile 23, Mollie, who was running the last 9 miles with me, ran ahead to the aid station and told everyone my name and demanded that they cheer for me).  [Editor’s note: Awww that was so much fun!!!] 

When I was pretty sure I was too far off my goal pace, I thought I would still go for a PR. When I realized that wasn’t happening, I hoped for a Boston qualifying time (sub 3:35). When that wasn’t going to happen, I just wanted to finish (please under 4 hours).

It sounds bad, and as any runner knows, a bad race is bad, but I promise I wasn’t such a downer the entire time. There were times of gratitude for the few people cheering us on, for the people at the frequent (thank God) aid stations, for my dad going to each place he could to encourage me, for the other runners, and for my boyfriend running the last half-mile in with me.

I finished the race in 3:53:07, swearing I would never run a marathon again, disappointed, and feeling like I didn’t deserve any special treatment. I knew I couldn’t just end my running “career” feeling that way, so I thought about it a lot, discussed it with some very wise people, and I now feel so grateful for this learning experience.  I may not run another trail marathon (ever…or at least for a while), but I am sure I will want to run another marathon. My training wasn’t a waste – did finish a marathon and I learned something about dedication even when things aren’t going well. Above all, I was humbled exactly when I needed to be, when I was feeling overly self-centered and conceited.

I am looking forward to running another marathon in the next couple years, but next time I will wear a unitard just in case that was my problem with this one!

[Editor's note: Obviously Sister2 was a bit bummed about this, but she did win her (very small) age group, finished 11th out of all the women, placed 36th out of 198 overall runners! Plus oh hello, it was 26.2 miles!!! I am proud. Results here. Also, she leaves today to move to Thailand – you can follow her adventures on her blog.]

Weekend Report: Backyard Burn 10 Mile Trail Race

I ran a race yesterday…AND I WON!!!

This is my first win ever (running). And it was my first trail race. And my first 10-mile race. And actually, twice as long as the longest race I’ve ever run (previously I’ve raced up to 8K, not counting relays of course). Quite the day of firsts, huh?

Post-race, holding two 1st Place cups.

The race was the first of five Fall Backyard Burn Trail Running Series. In the 10 mile race, there were 179 runners total -- 115 men, 64 women -- and I placed 15th out of everyone. It was held on the absolutely beautiful trails of Prince William Forest Park, VA (if I had a car I would totally drive the 45 minutes to run there on a regular basis!).

My friend and I got up at too-early-for-a-Sunday o’clock and drove to the park. It felt like cross country (i.e. early morning cold, dew on the grass, spandex-wearing hatted runners meandering  about, butterflies in my stomach), and kind of was, except much more low-key than any college running experience and also umm hello 10 miles long!

I had a very tentative race plan, since I definitely called my Dad the night before, “Hi, quick question, how do I run a 10 mile race?” The answer was to divide it into 3 sections (like how I run a 5K). So the first four miles should be comfortable, the next three you should pass people, and the last three are go-time. But since I didn’t know anything about the course elevation-wise, and it was my first time at that distance (anything could happen!) it was a very loose plan.

The course was really nice, but also challenging – steep hills, rocks and roots and acorns, and a lot of single-track.

The good news is that I am a great downhill runner and am surprisingly sure on my feet, so the steep technical downhills are totally my jam. However, the bad news is that uphills destroy me, so I gained a lot on the downs and flats, and then lost on the ups.

I hit a lonely no-man’s-land from miles 5.5-7ish, but overall it was really fun! For the first half I was running with a group, and I spent the last half watching the red and orange shirts of two guys in front of me and trying to catch up or at least maintain the same distance. At the 5.5 mile mark I had a moment of Are you freaking kidding me? Am I seriously only half-way??? And then the last three miles were, well, just that time that it needs to be over asap if you know what I mean.

Since it was a trail race, the only people cheering along the way were the course volunteers at the water stations, who were great! Is there anything better than hearing, “Good job! First woman!” mid-race? I think maybe no.

The biggest difference between running a longer race and a shorter one is that towards the end I felt muscle-tired more so than anaerobically tired. But this could also be a trail race v. road race phenomenon…I’m not entirely sure.

The course ended on an uphill (ick), but it felt great to be done! My friend finished before me (note to self: get better at running uphill), and ran back to yell at me for the last little bit. My finish time was 1:12:54, official results are here.

We hung out at the finish, enjoying the post-race pizza and M&Ms and animal crackers and soda (are we 12-year-old boys? Maybe.). I love that after-race feeling of tired accomplishment and relief!

And then I stood on the top of the podium twice (for overall and age-group), which is a little bit awkward but also great! I won two 1st Place glasses so I can feel like a winner when I’m drinking, and then guess what? In the awards ceremony raffle I won an iPod Shuffle!!!! LUCKY DAY!

This race was the first of a series, so I’ll be doing it again next weekend.

Running 7 Miles with My Mama

SpeedyKate and I ran my favorite 7-miler on Monday night, and I'm ashamed to admit that I finished feeling a little sorry for myself. Sorry in that I felt it shouldn't have been as hard as it was, and that I should be faster than that night demonstrated...

But then I started thinking - there was a time when running 7 miles was a major accomplishment.

Flashback to the summer before my freshman year of high school, circa 2001. I'd already been running (slowly and no more than 4 miles) for two years, since 7th grade track. But beginning high school is a scary and daunting and serious event, and I was a bit nervous about starting cross country in the fall.

My high school team wasn't awesome - no one was going to the State meet or anything like that - but we weren't a total disaster either. In July before school started, our coach organized a cross country camp in Tahoe. We all met and spent a week giggling excessively, playing truth or dare, and whipping ourselves into some semblance of running shape.

A few weeks after cross country camp, I returned to Tahoe with my mama to spend one final weekend at the beach and on the trails before summer officially ended.

Of course, we went running. Until that time (and even afterwards), running with my mama was on-and-off terrible. She's a Step-Ahead Susan, and I hated her for it with all the rage of an angsty junior higher. (Go here to read more about my super running family.)

But when she said, “Ok, let’s do the 7-miler,” I agreed without question. Sister1 had already proven her cross country abilities, and now it was my turn. The concept of a long run with my mama (the woman who once ran a 2:46 marathon) was daunting, but I felt up to the challenge. I was almost an adult – about to start high school – and just beginning to identify myself as a runner.

I don't remember any details of the run, but I do remember that I kept up the whole way without whining or begging (or yelling) at her to slow down and wait. Maybe she was having an off day, or maybe I was just feeling good (let’s go with option 2), but 7 miles later we finished the run together.

Afterwards, maybe in the car to head home, she said, "Mollie, I'm impressed - you're in great shape!"

And I felt awesome. 

California Vacation

I’m back! Did you miss me? I just returned to DC from an absolutely lovely week at home in Petaluma and Lake Tahoe. In that far-too-short week I did almost all of my favorite things: eat-run-reading of course, but better than usual because it was all with my family! I ran on trails with Sister2 and Dad, ate Sister1’s cupcakes (yummmmyyy!), read on the beach, lounged in inner tubes with my mama, and watched a Christmas movie (yes, true - judge accordingly)!

As I said in my pre-vacation blog post, I arrived in the Bay Area extremely late Wednesday night (or early Thursday morning, depending on how you think about it – either way it was tired o’clock). Thursday morning we woke up, packed up, and got in the car for the oh-so-familiar 3 hour drive to Tahoe. First we drove through the vineyards. The hills of rows of bright green vines sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight thanks to the streamers vintners attach to the vines to ward off birds. Behind the vines were the yellowy-brown California hills, spotted with the occasional rounded clump of dark green trees. Then we drove through the Sacramento Valley – flat, brown, and booorrrinnnggg. But soon enough the oaks gave way to evergreens, and we were in the mountains.

My family bought a cabin in Tahoe 16 years ago, and to this day it is the most consistent “home” I have. Tahoe means beaching in the summer, ski-bladeing in the fall (omg - scariest thing ever - I’ll tell you about it sometime), and skiing in the winter and spring. All things I LOVE.

In Tahoe, everything slows down. There isn’t much to do, so you’re never in a rush. The only rush is to get to the beach early enough for ample tanning time. And I’m pretty sure we accomplished that – now that I’m back to DC-pretty pencil skirts and blow-outs I’m almost offensively tan…

Our days in Tahoe follow a comfortingly predictable pattern: wake up, eat something small, go for a trail run, get ready (a.k.a. eat, bathing suits on, sunscreen applied) and go to the beach. 

At the beach we read/work on a crossword/play scrabble until overheated, then go lie in a tube in the ice-cold snowmelt lake to cool off. Repeat as desired.

In the evenings, we walk our dog, make dinner, watch a movie, then go to bed.

If all feels so natural, I’m disappointingly surprised at the end of each day that this isn’t my life.

Sister2 is just back from a summer in CO, so she’s all kinds of in shape for high-altitude trail running. (We look pretty good for just finishing a long run, right?) 

We did an 11-miler one day to prepare for an epic breakfast experience at the Old Post Office, our all-time favorite breakfast restaurant. Back in the day, Sister2 was all about the side of potatoes and a chocolate shake, but she’s now matured to enjoy Bananas Foster French Toast and a side of sausage. Mama and I split Blueberry Pancakes and a Spinach, Bacon, and Swiss Omelet, and Dad copied us and ordered the same thing!

And my family knows how to eat. I promise you there was not a scrap of food left on the table by the time we were done!

Well-fueled and tired, we headed to the beach for a long day of reading in the sun. There’s really nothing better. I promise.

(The only thing (or I should say “person”) missing from this vacation was Sister1! She and her boyfriend were visiting his family in Las Vegas, so I only saw them for a short time Tuesday evening.)

After 6 days of Tahoe awesomeness, we headed back to Petaluma. Mama and I went to her yoga studio (yes, I take full  credit for starting my whole family on Bikram yoga!). 

Then we tried a new Petaluma restaurant for lunch – Punjab Burrito. My two favorite cuisines are Mexican and Indian, so the deliciousness of this surprising fusion was no surprise at all! We split pumpkin and crab enchiladas, and a lamb and roasted eggplant rice plate. (Look at Petaluma! Getting so mature and multi-cultural!!!)

Alas, it was time to get on a red-eye back to DC. Back to work. Back to real life. Or, I should say, back to my current real life. I love DC, but every time I go home I realize how much I miss CA…

Track v. Trail: The Pros and Cons

I arrived at the WL High School Track last night to see the gates shut and high school field hockey players warming up (sidenote: what is it about filed hockey players wearing skirts? What is it about any real athlete wearing a skirt? I just can’t get behind that). 

Anyway, my team was supposed to do 6x800m for our workout, but the track closure forced us to face an unexpected change of plans.

Instead of running 2-lappers around the football field (or field hockey field, as the case may be), we headed out to the W&CO bike path for our repeats. Our chosen "start” was two miles from the track – a good solid warm-up. And luckily there are posts marking every half-mile along the path, making our 800s relatively easy to figure out.

It was a nice change of scenery to run on a trail instead of a track. In college, we did all our cross county workouts on trails or around reservoirs or on our race course (I miss you Franklin Park and 30-B!)

There are pros and cons of working out on a trail versus a track…

- (Pro-track) It’s easy to get attached to the exactness of a 400m loop – the track makes it easy to track your splits and measure your distances.

- (Pro-trail) When running on a trail, you are forced to run how you feel, because you don’t know exact distances.

- (Pro-track) The surface is softer and therefore easier on your joints than a cement bike path.

- (Pro-trail) Trails work different muscles because you have to go uphill and downhill. This can affect your times, but is good because most races are not completely flat. It’s good to practice running fast on varying gradients.

- (Pro-track) You have easy access to water/bathrooms after every repeat, and can keep an eye on your stuff.

- (Pro-trail) Trails provide a nice change of scenery – you’re not running in circles, you’re actually going somewhere. 

- (Pro-track) There are no bikers to yell at you. (On your left! Don't run 3 abreast!) Though I can sympathize with their rage.

I’m not saying that one workout locale is better than the other. I’ve had great workouts on a track, and also good ones on a trail. So if you always run on trails, try a track workout. And if you're usually on a track, test out a trail!

Last night’s 800s went well, mostly because I started SLOW and finished…slow. But that was my plan. After a workout-induced pain-storm last Tuesday (shins + hamstring + blisters = limping on both sides!), I took a week off running. Last night was my first day back in running shoes and my expectations were LOW. And I lived up to them. J

The Places I've Run: Denny Creek, CO

For two summers I worked at a camp in the mountains of Colorado. I was a mountaineering counselor for high school and junior high kids - I led backpacking trips, ropes course, rock climbing, mountain biking, and rafting (well, on those last two I was more just along for the ride). It sounds fun...and it was...but it was also absolutely exhausting.

The camp base was at 9,000 feet. Altitude training anyone?

One July night at about 11 pm, I was hanging out with some friends. We realized that the next day was a "Sunday" (aka a sleep-in day, which were rare at camp). This meant that we didn't have our normal 6:20 am staff meeting, so I didn't have to throw myself out for a run at 5 am. Counselors and campers alike didn't have to get up until 8 am on Sundays!

Wow, we should do something awesome! suggested my early-morning running buddy (one of the few people I've met who rivals me in craziness). 

Peak a mountain? No, we did that on our last day off...

Let's run Denny Creek! Sure! (My compulsive volunteerism strikes again.) 

Denny Creek is a famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) camp run. You start at the Mt. Yale trailhead, and run up and over Browns Pass and back to camp. It's about 15 miles long, with some major elevation gain and loss. The most hard-core campers do it as the climax of their summer, and many counselors have done it on their off days.

My alarm went off at 4:20 am on a sleep-in-Sunday, less than 5 short hours after our decision to run Denny Creek.

Oh. My. Goodness. This is it...I've completely lost my mind. 

Am I really about to do this?

Yes. Obviously.

I ate a granola bar on the way to the trailhead (11 miles west of Buena Vista on the Cottonwood Pass Road, aka Chaffee County Road 306), strapped on my headlamp, and started the slow arduous climb up to Browns Pass. We chugged along the dark, not saying much (what is there to say at 5 am anyways?), intent on not tripping over the rocks studding the trail.

The run starts with 5 miles of steep uphill to Browns Pass. The starting elevation is 9,800 feet, and the top of the pass is 12,010 feet. So that's 3,350 feet in 5 miles, i.e. difficult.

Once you get to Browns Pass, the worst is over. In our oxygen-indebted stupor we paused briefly to appreciate the Collegiate Peaks before starting our descent into the Denny Creek basin. We slip-slided down the steep snow-encrusted trail for a few miles before leveling out the enjoy the rest of the run along a meandering stream (probably Denny Creek?).

I paused briefly to sip some ice-cold snowmelt water out of the stream (because yes, I am that badass...or stupid...whatevs).

All things beautiful. I love trail running. Until the last up-and-over into camp. Switchbacks. Kill. Me.

But we made it - arriving back into camp just a few minutes after the 8 am wake-up bell, we were ready to start our normal day. 

Ah the insanity - I love running in Colorado!

The Weekend Report: How You Know It's Winter Break

Ok, ok, so technically, it's not "Winter Break" for me...because I'm not in school anymore...so I have a "real job"...which means that you don't just automatically get seasonal breaks...BUT I felt the need, so I created my own. Thus, Mollie's Winter Break 2010 was born.

Anywho, words cannot describe how absolutely wonderful Christmas was. And though I love words, and I'm willing to try, you all would probably promptly remove me from your RSS/bookmarks bar/thoughts due to the extensiveness of that potential post! So I'll keep those particular words to myself.

Instead, I bring you a list:

How You Know It's Winter Break
(And by "you" I mean me. Obviously.)

1. You are never sure exactly what day it is. E.g. Well hmmm, I know Christmas was on Friday...so today must be Saturday. Wait, it's not? Today's Sunday? Then what happened on Saturday? Did Saturday happen???

2. Fatstorm. To the max. My daily meal plan looks like: leftover desserts for breakfast - Christmas cookies for lunch/snack/coffee break - dinner (I do that for reals) - dessert - post-dessert cookie - pre-bed snack (i.e. dessert). I know, I know, the scary part is that I'm not even kidding!

3. You play boardgames (without any drinking or dirty jokes) because the age range is 5 to 65.

4. Running can take over 3 hours. (Drive to trails, find a bathroom, run, walk, stretch, wait for lost family-members, drive home.) And that's ok.

5. You can go a whole day without putting on real pants.

6. Read 3 books in 4 days? Bring it.

7. Movies in movie theaters. I forget how good those are!

8. No real responsibilities. (Me: Hmmm, I could check my work email...or I could eat this gingerbread man instead...tough decision...)

9. I forget my phone at home, come back 6 hours later, and see that I have no missed calls. My first thought: Wow, is that kind of pathetic? Should I be worried about my Petaluma social life? My second thought: Time for jammies and cookies!

10. Ants attack our kitchen. This happens every year. Why? I don't know. They destroyed my granola...then a half-eaten box of See's Chocolate! You know the movie A Christmas Story? (How can you not? It's on TV like 24/7 through December.) The dad in that movie vs. the Bumpus Hounds = my dad vs. The Ants. Cover your ears kids, this could get inappropriate!


In other news, I have been recently reminded how beautiful my home area is.

On Christmas Eve we did our annual Point Reyes run/hike on the Bear Valley Trail. You go out 4ish miles through the woods, and then suddenly you're out on Arch Rock, looking at the Pacific, SF, and Point Reyes. Absolutely spectacular. I just stood there for a while to admire it.

The day before Christmas Eve, my dad took me to run Mt. Home trail (which, fyi, is not the actual name of the trail, it's just near Mountain Home Inn on the south side of Mt. Tamalpias). I've done that run before, but this was the first time the air was fog-less and I could see the view. Richardson Bay/Mill Valley/Sausalito on one side, the Pacific on the other. Again, wow to the max.

And then today my parents and I went on a beach walk at Salmon Creek Beach at Bodega Bay. It was only partly cloudy, and not too cold/windy. I guess I just really like the ocean. I don't have any desire to go in it (I've done my fair share of surfing, and I can definitively say - Paddling a ton while swallowing salt water? Not for me.) but I do like to have it close-by.

I guess that's all for now. Happy Winter Break!

Running Games

I haven’t run in 12 days. Ouch, that hurts. Unless you count my attempted run this Sunday – which totaled to a 1-miler plus 4 miles of walking and crying along the Georgetown Canal. Oh man, again, that hurts. (If you don't know why, read this post).

But I’ve been trying to keep myself sane – lots of walking and guest appearances in a couple spin classes. Due to the fact that I’m too cheap to buy a gym membership, I use the workout room at work – aka fine for treadmills, but the jenkyest bike ever! Ah well, desperate times call for desperate measures…(Thank you Jaffar for those wise words. Picture me stroking my imaginary beard right now. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, go watch Aladdin and get back to me.)

 Anywho, I can’t help but spend my day fantasizing about the runs I could possibly be doing right now. Let’s play a game, shall we?

If You Could Be Running Right Now, Where Would You Be?

After much deliberation, I have come to a decision. Are you ready for a trip into my imagination? (Don’t be afraid…I’m not as crazy as I sound!)

Picture early morning, lightly foggy, the parking lot at Mt. Tam in Marin County on a weekday (this part is key. Weekends = bikers. I hate bikers!). It’s cool enough not to sweat excessively, but not so cold that I have to wear long-sleeves. I’m thinking December, so the grass will be green-ish (rather than the yellowy-brown that characterizes California in the summer).

For those of you who don’t know Mt. Tam like the back of your hand (aka everyone except for mi padre), there are 3 lakes – two of which are circumvented by trails. So you start from the parking lot between them, run up to the upper lake (about 2 miles around), then figure-8 to the bottom lake (about 4 miles around). Repeat as desired.

The trails are narrow, with a variety of ups and downs, but nothing too extreme. All around it’s quiet. I think I would like to be doing this run with a friend – so quiet except for our chatter. The only people we see are the occasional dog-walkers, or pairs of housewives out for a hike.

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Just a nice long run. Followed by a satisfying breakfast, a big cup of coffee, and potentially a glass of eggnog.

Welcome to my happy place.

On that note I will leave you. I will not be blogging for the rest of this week, considering it’s Thanksgiving. Hope you all have a fantastic holiday. See you Monday!

The Weekend Report: Some Long Runs are Longer than Others

My friend Meredith is training for a trail half-marathon this fall. A local training group meets on Saturdays to do a long run on the course, so Mer thought it would be a good idea to meet them and familiarize herself with the trail before the race. She invited me to come along, and obviously I said yes – I love trail running, and any excuse to get off the sidewalks of DC and the Rock Creek Park bike path is an irresistible opportunity.

We drove 45 minutes into Virginia to meet at the trail head at 8:30am on Saturday. This strikes me as entirely normal - I come from a family that thinks nothing of driving over an hour for a good run (I know, I know, at least we recycle!).

We met the group of about 20 as they were about to leave. The leader explained the course markings, announced 8 and 13 mile distances, and off we went.

Thirteen miles is long for me, but nothing to be too concerned about. However, I was tired on Saturday. Not just running tired, orbig-night-last-night tired, but entire-week-of-sleep-deprivation-plus-hill-repeats tired.

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, this run turned into a bit more of a challenge than I was expecting. The trails were minimal, and covered with a layer of last fall’s leaves plus a latticework of roots. For a lot of it, we were running horizontal to a drainage system – meaning that we went steep-downhill to a creek bed, then steep-uphill to a ridge, then steep-downhill into another creek bed, etc., etc. (you get the idea). It was hard to get into a rhythm because I had to constantly adjust my pace and stride for all the freaking hills!

As I neared the parking lot, I looked at my watch (who am I kidding? I was looking at my watch quite often on this run). It was at 71 minutes. “Wait, what? That can’t have been 13 miles…” Alas no, it was not. I learned the sad truth from one of the organizers. “Those of you who are done, please sign out, those of you going on to do the next five, the trail is right there, out and back,” she said over a cooler of Gatorade.

“Are you freaking kidding me?!?” I shrieked (in my head). I was tired. I’ve never been quite clear on what runners mean when they talk about “bonking” or “hitting the wall” on a run. But I do know that I was bonking into all kinds of walls that day. And only at 8 miles! Perhaps in the future I should do more than a handful of granola for breakfast.

But my pride and self-respect got the better of me. Eight miles does not a long run make – I forced myself to keep going and do the add-on. “Just a mile, and then you can turn around,” I told myself. “Ten is good, just do ten.”

The second half of the trail was much nicer, and I ended up doing 12 (may as well, right?). Overall, mission accomplished. I got back to the parking lot shortly after Mer had finished her intended 8 miles, and we signed out and thanked the organizers.

“So that was a terrible idea!” Mer announced as we got into her car.

“Oh my gosh, I know,” I agreed.

“Freaking hilliest run EVER,” she added.

“It was like the hardest 12 miles I’ve ever run!” I commiserated.

Mer: “My mom is going to hate doing that half-marathon!”

Me: “Dude, I don’t know how you’re going to do it, glad it’s not me.”

Mer: “Yeah, I don’t know about this, maybe it was a poor choice…”

We paused and let that sink in. “So are you going to their next training run?” I asked.

Mer: “Yeah.”

Me: “Alright, I’ll come with you.”

Another week, another long run…

Born To Run by Christopher McDougall

Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall is by far the best running book I have ever read. The core story is the organization of a race pitting the Tarahumara runners of Mexico (a reclusive “tribe,” who are allegedly the greatest distance runners in the world) against the United States’ greatest ultra marathoners. Along the way, McDougall chronicles his own discoveries in distance running as he seeks to find out why the Tarahumara are so good. These people do not get injured, despite the fact that they run in rubber sandals. He also explores the biomechanics of running and furnishes proof for the thesis that people are designed to be distance runners.

I think that runners and non-runners alike would enjoy this book. McDougall writes in a way that is entertaining, while simultaneously being informative and enlightening.

I was so torn as I neared the end of this book – part of me wanted to inhale it as fast as humanly possible, while the other part of me wanted to stretch it out and make the story last longer. 

You know when you get to the last sentence and feel genuinely sad that a book is over? That is how I felt with Born to Run, so:

1.  Get the book (it’s new, so unfortunately only hard copy is available – but I promise it’s worth it!)

2.   Read

3.   Come back to this blog and check out these sites for supplementary reading if you, like me, do not want the story to end!

Interview with McDougall:

http://runcolo.com/blog/born-to-run-interview-with-christopher-mcdougall/

Scientific Blog:

http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-fitness/2009/04/28/born-to-run-christopher-mcdougall-says-humans-evolved-to-run-like-the-tarahumara.html

Academic Article - “Endurance running and the evolution of Homo”:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v432/n7015/full/nature03052.html

Video Interview with McDougall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oS0B7QHPQ0&feature=related

Another Review:

http://birthdayshoes.com/index.php?blog=1&disp=single&title=christopher-mcdougall-born-to-run&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

National Geographic Article on the Tarahumara:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/tarahumara-people/gorney-text

New York Times article on Micah True, Nike, and the Tarahumara:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/23/fashion/thursdaystyles/23Barefoot.html

If you would rather listen than read:

http://www.zombierunner.com/store/categories/books_and_magazines/#2270