Run Rabbit Run Wrap Up

 After my finish-line hug with Rick, I really don't remember how I was ushered to a chair they'd readied for me. What do you want to eat? I really don't want to eat. I'd love a beer. Fortunately for me, the Brewery we ate at for our pre-race dinner was providing beers at the finish. I got the same beer at the finish as at the start of it all. A second beer and I was ready to enjoy the finish festivities. Jedi was stretched out on the other side of the finish. Tammy and Kenny saw him to all the miles that were in him given his rib injury early on. 

Rick asked if I was good to walk or if he should get the vehicle. I totally misunderstood. Of course I was able to walk to the car...but he meant the condo. Yup, I guess I was okay to walk the mile mostly uphill cause we got there! I still didn't feel like eating. The shower was joyous. I couldn't get all the dirt off; it was deeply imbedded, but I got as much off as I could.

I didn't get my usual 100 mile sleep. I don't know why; Rick and I had a great bed. Bucky was up first of the others. We talked about the race some and tried to make coffee. There were issues with our coffee maker. Everyone was up in time to meet our whole TMR gang for breakfast. It was everything a post ultra breakfast should be: over the top breakfasts that could feed an army, breakfast beverages, and stories and love from the trail. We said bye to Tammy, Kenny, Jedi, and Ann, but the rest of us continued the fun at our condo with football, munchies, beers, and take out. It was a great post-race way to end it.

Then it was all about getting home and back to "normal." The post 100 let down is interesting. You've bonded harder with your people than most can imagine. You've completed what you've been working for months and months. You're super happy, but there's this void. And fog. I am so happy to have finished. I am officially the oldest woman to have ever finished Run Rabbit Run. I didn't need the extra time that they give women over 50 and men over 60. No other women over 60 started this year. Of the seven 50 year olds, 3 dropped, and two finished behind me. The two that finished ahead of me were 50 and 53. 53 is the age I was when I finished my first 100. I felt good being done.

Since then, I have had a hip issue. Well, that's not totally correct; I've had a hip issue for years. It hurt enough for me to finally see someone. We'll see if we can get it corrected! 

I love the 100 because of what it does to and for you. So the last thing I want to talk about is what worked and what didn't. First and foremost, what worked for me was my amazing husband and friends. Rick has been okay with our vacations for the last 10 or more years being mainly about my races. And that doesn't even count all the days that were about my training.

Then there's Tanya, Mindy, and Bucky. Tanya and Mindy were back for 3rd times the charm. Neither of them got to do anything on the 2022 RRR try. Mindy was going to do miles 44 -70 and Tanya was going to bring me home. But that year, Bucky and I both went south together very early. By the time we got to Mindy at Dry Lake, we'd both quit. We didn't even try to recover. Regretting that decision, Bucky and I both signed up for 2023. Mindy and Tanya were both in for the same miles. Well, Bucky found out that altitude was really his enemy and dropped earlier than in 2022. Mindy got me to Tanya, who dealt with my folded body until the final aid station before the finish. Sigh,

These three amazing, wonderful, best of friends agreed to come back again. Three years, my race dictated their vacations. How blessed am I? I learned weeks after, that Bucky paid the price for heading up to Werner to see me to the finish. Upon getting me to my buckle, he proceeded to throw up profusely. He gets to be my favorite trail kid for a long time. 

The random things that were my friend during the race....So, Tailwind is the reason I can get through an ultra. Turns out, I can't stomach just any flavor though. I'd say 3/4 or more of the calories I took in during were from Tailwind. The rest were pancakes and hot chocolate. Hot chocolate, if you can get it not to b brown water, is an amazing resource. Coffee saved me for a third time in the three 100s that I've finished. The first, Haliburton, and this one might have been the most dramatic saves. 

The Solomon quiver that Todd lent me was a definite win. The new gloves that I bought in Breckenridge were very handy (snicker, snicker!), as was the fleece headband that Squirrel picked up for me at REI in Silverthorne (I was shocked to find I hadn't packed a headband when I was doing my drop bags). It was so warm, I mostly pulled it down around my neck, but pulled it up at aid stations when the cold air made it presence known. Motion, especially climbing, keeps you warm.

The other things that worked, and I have no idea in what ratio, were yoga, core work, and more hill repeats. Oh, and maybe going slower. I think in 2023 I was ahead of my times at most of the aid stations until 60 something miles. I'm sure all of those things contributed, but I really have no idea in what propotion. 

Today was the first day I said what if I wanted to do another 100. Rick had no comment. I don't know if I really do, but Ghost Train just happened and it might have made me miss the ultra community. I know I get my share at Riverlands where I feel all the feels of our runners...but it's not the same. We'll see. I still like feeling like I'm done.

2024 Run Rabbit Run - Mile 71 to the Finish!

Tanya and I headed out at a fast hike. Soon we were in the place where the two bull moose were in the trail last year. Fortunately then, Tammy V sang them away. More fortunately, this year we had no moose in the trail, just the memory.

OH! Wait!! There are some things that I really wanted to remember from the Bucky miles, not sure how I forgot them. Somewhere in the loop back to Lane of Pain aid station the second time, pretty sure on the last big up, we saw the most magnificent shooting star I've ever seen. Bucky!! Did you see?! Yes!!! The head was nearly the size of the moon and the streak stayed in the sky for what seemed like minutes. Wow!!! I think when we told Kenny, he said he and Jedi noticed a weird blue flickering in the sky in that direction. They had the mountain between them and seeing the actual shooting star. Still cool that they had part of it!

Also, when I fell, I think I mentioned how sore my feet were. Bucky teased that I couldn't be a Patrick - no dropping for blisters. No kidding! I would not be doing that, but I was going to complain a little. It wasn't just the blisters, my toes were killing me. I think between the downs and kicking rocks, they were just getting beat up. I also gripe that my hip was really getting angry. Bucky said, "Harden the fuck up!" He said that's the first time I've said it. We both laughed. I was sporting my Harden the Fuck Up bracelet from last year. I wanted to be able to throw it away this year. Bucky then theorized that it might be due to the fall; that was the side that took the brunt of it. Definitely could be a contributing factor, but this is the hip that has been an issue with me for years, just not to this degree.

Oh, and a few miles before we ran into Dry Lake, my Coros died. I still had the watch, but the gps was done. Last year it had lasted almost 27 hours, this year it didn't quite make 24. I had really enjoyed using the pace feature, that I could finally see due to my new glasses. It's nice to know that your power walk is still banking you lots of minutes per mile. With the extra time allowed for us old folks, I could actually average over 22 min/mile and still make it. Without the added time, I could still do 21 min/mile. So seeing 16 min/mile while power hiking (and lots faster, too!), I could do a 26 min/mile and still be doing fine. When I reached Dry Lake and my watch wasn't doing anything for me, I decided to drop the glasses and switch to sunglasses since I was going to be running into the sun for a long time. For some reason, I couldn't see through the sunglasses. Were they dirty? Was it something else? Whatever, I ditched them. 

Ok, back to miles 71 to finish....

It didn't take us long to get to the technical, hard climb from Dry Lake to Billy's. Last year, though still moving well, this is where I started to lean (fold? bend?). This year, there was no sign of that. In fact, I may have picked up the pace on the climb. I started passing people. I called back to Tanya. You good? Yup. Pretty soon, I realized I'd dropped Tanya. While a little worried, last year we'd talked about it. I am really good at up, Tanya prefers down. I should just keep going and she'd catch me. I went with that this time. 

With the climbing and the sun getting higher, I was getting really hot. I made myself keep keeping at the Tailwind. I felt really good! But hot. As I passed people, I told them I was getting my shorts at Summit. No one cared at all, but I kept telling people. Yes, I do like to talk, plus I really was looking forward to my shorts...and my hat! That would help with the sun. 

Oh!!! I have some bars on the cell. I called Rick to let him know I was good, but I was solo now. I really was good. Normally, I would say Tanya would catch me. She definitely would have last year if I'd gotten ahead on the climb. But I was moving really well. 

Billy's!!! I told the people at the aid station to watch for my pacer. They gave me all kinds of props for being able to drop my pacer lol. I appreciated what they were doing. What did I need? Pancakes? Yes, here, but you might need something; they're really hot. I'll just use my fingers. They acted all worried, but little did they know that Rick calls me "asbestos fingers" lol! They were delicious!!! Even though I'd eaten many pancakes by now, these were the first that were yummy! I'm sure I refilled my Tailwind and got back on my way to Summit and my shorts and hat. I was so happy to learn after the fact that they told Tanya when I'd left and were able to get her back to town. They were so helpful and had hot pancakes!!!

So, here's the thing. I loved that Tanya came back with me for redemption. I'm also a little proud that I was able to drop her, but then she had one of her weird alergy-ish reaction things. I know for a fact that if I had started to struggle, she would have caught me and taken the care of me that she did last year. But!!! I was good. I didn't need anyone from 71 to finish (though I was so very happy to have a little wish fulfilled at the end). 

I'd like to say I remembered more from Billy's to Summit (77ish to 81ish miles) but I didn't. Except I told way more people that I was going to get to put on shorts. Take note Scout, not one runner gave a shit! It was really important to me though.

Summit! Do you have a drop bag? Yes, 300. They brought it to me and I tried to figure out my changing plan. I grabbed a chair and brought it to the front of a Uhaul. I opened one of the doors and then got naked. I changed everything on my person. Ah! No one need to hear about my shorts again. Shoving my old pants and clothes into my drop bag, I made a note it needed to be washed before we left Steamboat. Yuck! When I handed it back to the volunteer, I hoped the Ziplok contained its smell. 

Onto Long Lake! I had very little memory of what this stretch looked like since I could only see my feet as I plodded on bent over last year. I did remember some parts when we'd stop so I could stand up. I must not have done it very often because very little was familiar. I'd like to say the 8.2 miles went quickly, but not really. I continued to pass people though. That felt good. There wasn't much flagging, but there weren't many intersecting trails. Be confident, dammit.

Finally, I saw the aid station. Last year, I cried here. I almost cried going in; I'm going to finish!!! Karl Meltzer recognized me!!! I said, but I'm totally vertical this year. He congratulated me on finishing (I did't tell him that it could always go south...I just appreciated it). He also told me I was definitely going to cry at the finish. I told him I already did. The guy who gave me a massage and the ibuprofen last year also remembered me. Fun times!! For real, I loved this little reunion, knowing that it was going to end so differently. Last year we left Long Lake with lots and lots of time to get to Werner, the last aid station. I couldn't do better than 40 - 50 min miles. Ugh. This year, I'd be fine.

I had no signal. I wanted to make sure that Tanya had gotten back. Sigh. Then I had a little fantasy. Bucky had asked if I thought he could run back a little further from the Gondola where you can meet runners. I said I bet Fred wouldn't care, but I am not going to break any rules. Meet me at the gondola. I appreciate rules. But, then I realized that I'm allowed a pacer the entire course. Right now I don't have one. Wouldn't it be cool if Bucky could get Tanya's pacer bib and find me sooner. 

How did I think this was treacherous terrain last year? I guess if you can't stand up or lift your feet, lots of stuff can seem treacherous. This is the same trail I ran out on yesterday morning. It is runnable. I did lots of pretending to run but switching right back to power hiking for fear of tripping. Still making great time! 

Holy Shit!!! There's Bucky with a pacer bib!!! The universe heard me! Bucky told me that he'd gotten a ride from the gondola to Werner from Joel. OMFG!!!! Joel was the aid station captain (or he and his wife were) at Werner last year who cared for me so well and gave me a drive down the mountain back to town. Bucky said he was so psyched to hear I was on my way. He and his family had been talking about me, wondering if I'd be back. Tears welling.

It seemed to take forever. Fuck, I'm tired of stepping off the trail. The 50 milers were running strong to the finish. Sigh. That's what we do and I'm okay with that. It's just I've been out here forever. Oh, something else I didn't mention and probably don't really need to, but Bucky had commented before that this was the first time I'd had to take a bio brake (no, that's not his words, but I'm being delicate lol) on a run with him. Well, we got way past that. At one point, when there really wasn't much cover or place to step off, Bucky held his jacket to shield me from the coming 50 milers as I, well, pooped. If anyone needs a pacer or crew, Bucky is amazing. Nothing bothers him. I'm proud to be his trail mom and again so thankful he thought to grab the pacer bib and run further with me at the altitudes his body hates.

He wondered whether we'd recognize Steph Nicols (Billy's daughter doing the 50, fresh off a hip stress fracture). I think I would, but I did ask Mindy to look up her bib number, but then didn't remember to get it. Did she recognize us or did Bucky recognize her? I don't remember, but it was a big pick-me-up for us and I hope for her. Sounds like her stomach had been very grouchy, but she was still kicking ass! d

Finally, finally, we heard the sounds of an aid station. I got multiple big hugs from Joel (I now feel really bad that I forgot his wife and daughters name) and family. They made me feel like a rock star. I think I had a coke. That may have been it. Let's get it done.

Well, it's only a little over 6 to the finish, but you can see where you need to get. That's a long way to see. It is down all the way and steeper than my toes, shin, and hip really were at all happy with. It was going to happen, but it wasn't going to be pretty. When Bucky would give me the miles to go, it didn't help that much because I was always sure it had to be less. And then there was Tammy!!! What a great surprise! When I complained of my toes, she told me how sore hers were last year. While she was all about what pace I wanted to go, she still seemed to encourage a faster one.

Oh! Charlie puppy!! What a sweet pup! His people tried to admonish him for keeping us from our finish. We're like it wasn't his fault, except for being so cute! Down, down, down. Really? We still have that much more to do? Finally, Tammy started describing the last miles to the finish. I think I still peed two more times. Eyes ahead people!

Finally, finally we could hear the finish. I was where I knew I could run it in. Bucky asked if he/they ran me through the finish. I said that would only seem right if Tanya and Squirrel were in on it. I'd run through the finish alone. And run I would! I felt like I was flying, except then there was that silly, tiny stream to cross. I navigated the rocks and climbed back up the little bank to run it in....Again I was flying (except I saw Pete's video of my finish...yeah, I was running, but not all that fast)! Hallelujah! A huge hug from Rick and I was done.

One more post to wrap it up and then 2024 RRR is put to bed.

2024 Run Rabbit Run - Miles 44 to 71 (or the Bucky Miles)

 I don't think I took too long at Dry Lake. Long enough to get changed, refill the flasks, eat a couple of little pancakes and hot chocolate. Of course they said it was all down hill to Olympian. Just for the record, I don't think anything is all down hill, especially to someone running all the miles.

I don't much remember the miles from Dry Lake till we hit town. I told Bucky, even though I knew we were following the markings and we were with/around people going the same way, that this didn't seem like what we did last year. Turns out I was right. They were doing maintenance on the bike/walking path that we were now following. It was nice to have less city street miles. I definitely would have known if we went through the tunnel. We ran into Olympian with Rick cheering us on. He wasn't allowed in with us. The facility is filled with runners and pacers, no crew allowed. I went to the bathroom, then found a bench to sit on. Bucky got me one hot chocolate and then another. I was next to where a woman was doing blister/feet repair for runners. Noted. Bucky called over, "Tailwind is watermelon." My response was a forceful no, not sure of the exact phrasing. But I needed Tailwind. Bucky noticed other bags of it on the shelf. He asked for Mandarin. The volunteer said she didn't know if we had it. He pointed it out. She didn't know if she could make it. Bucky found someone to make it happen. Basically just scooped some into flasks for me and added water. Then, thinking ahead, Bucky secured some in a baggie in case we ran into a similar scenario later, but they didn't have Mandarin.

We noticed Rick out the window; he was pointing to his watch in a way that was saying, get the hell out of there! Were we here that long? It seemed much shorter than last year, but I was good to get going. Rick met us outside, "Did you have coffee?" "No, but I had two hot chocolates." I thought that was fine.

Bucky and I, well maybe Bucky, found the way to the climb out of Olympian with ease. Instead of being grumpy like I was for Mindy on this long, steep climb, I started to fall asleep. Bucky kept telling me to get away from the edge. He would say things but there would be gaps in my hearing because I was starting to be asleep on my feet. I don't think I can make it to the aid station, Bucky. We'll get you coffee and a nap when we get there. Then we were worried that they might not have coffee. It's billed as a potentially water only aid station. I don't think I'm going to be able to keep going.

But, we went up, up, and up. I stumbled and Bucky said, "Scout! Stay in the middle!" It would be so sad to not make it now because I couldn't stay awake on the trail. Is that a glow? Do we hear music? Holy Fuck!!! Lane of Pain aid station was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! They were cooking everything and had fresh brewed coffee!!! Bucky plopped me in a chair and brought me coffee with cream. It was heavenly! I don't think I've had coffee that good since. He set an alarm and I was supposed to sleep for 20 minutes. I gave it a try, but the music was a little too loud and the smoke/grease coming off the cooking was somehow not conducive to sleep. He brought me a second cup of coffee, just as good as the first. I was ready to go. I never felt sleepy again!

From the aid station, the course goes down for a while. Bucky forewarned me that we had to go back up that long up a second time. He had checked this section out on Wednesday. I knew we hit the aid station again, but I didn't realize we had that bear of a climb to do so. UGH!!! At least this time I'd be awake. We were power walking/hiking, but fast enough we were passing people. Sure some people ran faster, but not too many. OH! Then we got to a turn and started up. Bucky realized we didn't go all the way back down. Our up would be shorter than the first long climb to the aid station!

SNORT!!!! "Bucky? Are we good?!" "Yes, just keep going." A bull moose, very close to us, let us know he didn't like us there. Fortunately, though close, he was down a steep section maybe 20' and there were lots of trees in between. Bucky said he'd loved to have gotten a pic, but knew that would be foolish. Continue on! Wow!!! Back to Lane of Pain aid station. I want more coffee, but decide a 1/2 cup might be a good decision. 

Oh, I totally didn't remember how long the descent back to Olympian was. While the up was straight up, the down, was long sweeping switchbacks where we could see where we were ultimately going. We never seemed to get closer.

Hmmm, I don't know where exactly, but somewhere between Lane of Pain visits, I took a hard fall (one of three in my race, but definitely the hardest even though I did do a bit of a roll out). My lower shin hit into a rock pretty hard. Bucky complemented me on my roll out, but knew I felt the ground. The impact seemed to grow as I ran.

Finally! We were almost down. The course was better marked than last year. We found our way back to Olympian without. Sorry, Squirrel, your duty was again harder than it should have been last year. Bucky had already planned to give his pacer bib to Rick so he could go into Olympian with me. I found my previous bench and planned to find the blister woman. I asked a dude where she was. He told me it was his shift now. I took off my left shoe and sock and left it to him to decide how to deal with the blisters. There was two different types of tape involved. I might have been skeptical, but figured I could tear it all of if it was worse. While the blister dude was working, Rick came back. They don't have the right Tailwind. Oh, they do, they just don't know it. He was able to get me refilled. I think I still had the scoops that Bucky had put aside just in case. Very good. I put my shoes back on. It felt weird, but not as painful. Ready to head back out!

See you at Dry Lake to Rick. And Bucky and I headed back out. I started to doubt where Bucky was leading me. This is just like how we came in. Yes, that's the course. No, it's like a link sausage; you hit the same aid stations but from a different way. Yes, for some of them, but this section is the same. I made him produce the map. It's a good thing we still had a signal! Ask Brian Emerson; he had to produce evidence that we were going the right way, too. 

We actually arrived at Dry Lake a few minutes after last year. I didn't take as long here. Rick brought me hot chocolate. It was horrible. It looked like brown water. There was no chocolate taste. He brought me another. It was no better. I'm good. Thank you, Bucky!!! Let's go, Tanya. See you all at the finish!

2024 Run Rabbit Run - "GO!"

I threw Tammy's jacket back to her as the countdown began. There weren't as many starting early this year as last, but still a nice group. To my surprise we headed out in the opposite direction as last year. They do say, don't be surprised with a different start; it all depends on the construction the ski resort is doing. It didn't take long to get back to where I expected to be. And the up. This was what a good portion of my hill repeats at Lost Valley was all about. I would get about 3,500' in less than 5 miles. Even though I did down during my ups at LV, for the up, I gain 1,000'/miles. The 20 reps I did amounted to 4,200' of gain. I knew I was ready for this. Even with the altitude, my heart rate stayed under 160 bpm and mostly was in the 130s. Still, 3,500' of gain with no break in climbing is no joke.

Getting to the aid station was a relief. That would be the end of the real climbing for a while. I topped of my Tailwind and filled the two flasks that I'd stored in the back of my pack. It's a long way to the next aid station. The sun would be strong. It was worth carrying extra just in case. There was no food I wanted there so I got moving. I did grab a cookies-n-cream Honey Stinger waffle, but spit it out as soon as I tried it. It was cloyingly sweet. Yuck!! I'm fairly certain a squirrel or chipmunk would love it. This is where I did most of my real running. It was single track with some rocks but not crazy bad (ask me if I had that same assessment on the way back...). I was moving well.

Eleven miles into the race, the 100 milers make a hard left to go down Fish Creek Falls. At the end of the down, 17 miles in, will be the 2nd aid station, Fish Creek Falls. The first year is was really scary for me. We had rain. It is the most technical down and the rocks were slick. Last year, with Patrick, I wasn't scared at all. I wasn't this year either. I was just focused. The trail is popular with hikers. Remember to thank them for stepping off. It's not always easy to find a good place. This is tedious. It's down, but not at all runnable. Just stay focused. 

Last year, Patrick got happy me for 50 miles. I said we had type one fun the entire way. Then poor Squirrel got grumpy me. I wasn't happy, threw up in the Lane of Pain loop and complained of a achy back until the sun started to rise, when my spirits did, too. I was glad for Squirrel that she was doing early miles this year. She should get happy me. Sigh...

I arrived at the aid station to a eager, helpful crew. My flasks were filled. Food was offered. Did avocado sandwiches with bacon sound like a good idea? Why yes they did! After the second quarter, I reconsidered that decision. I don't like them! Squirrel and I left for the next 28 miles. I think I quickly became grumpy me again. Poor Squirrel!

The two hour head start for us old folks resulted in the faster Tortoises hitting Fish Creek Falls just as I was heading up. We had strings of 10 or more runners expecting us to step off. Again, it wasn't always easy to find a great place to do that, plus, that many runners coming through definitely slows you down. Sigh. Still, I like going up better so there was at least that. Squirrel reminded me to drink. I am, but it's not feeling good. My stomach was definitely feeling, um, off.

I'm not sure I appreciated the view of the falls like I did last year. Between my stomach and the string of runners, my head wasn't in an appreciative mood. I was very happy to get off the two way traffic trail and headed to Long Lake. Squirrel looked forward to seeing Karl Meltzer. Oh, wait! We did fist bump Jedi in the two way traffic somewhere. It was good for that, at least!

At Long Lake, I was really feeling green. Squirrel noticed Saltines. How about Saltines and ginger ale? I'll try it. It is what you eat when you're a kid and have tummy troubles. I also found Saltines good at Olympian last year. Meh. We didn't stay long. Topped off our flasks and headed out. '

Summit Lake is the next aid station, a little over 8 miles out. Squirrel asked me about running. Not now. Stomach is not having it. I had some dry heaves. It's hard to keep doing fluids when you're stomach feels like this. I know Squirrel was reminding me of things and checking in, but I don't remember much. I was feeling like I didn't want to be doing this. I didn't say it, but boy did I feel it. Finally, I threw up. Squirrel was sure it  my puke and rally moment. I kept waiting to feel better. Not so much. Keep drinking. Ugh.

At Summit, now 50k in, I tried more Saltines and ginger ale. Yeah, still not the answer. Puke! what the hell kind of Tail Wind did they give me?! Gonna hurl again soon. Billy's (the next aid station) is just over 4 miles away. I need something else in my flasks! Uh oh! Get off to the side. After a few false starts, I power puked a few good times. Poor puke-a-phobe Squirrel handled it fine. She did have to deal with a few runners implying she should be right by my side or something. Nope, we both know to give the proper space. It's good to have someone who knows you so well.

 Billy's Rabbit Hole. I found a chair. I'm going to sit. My neighbor was Steve, also an early start. He commented how far behind he was. He finished last year and was way behind schedule. I told him I was way ahead. I never throw up until 60+ miles, but here we were at 36 miles and I'd had two bouts of hurling already. He laughed a little. 

Squirrel was filling my flasks and heard somehow that it was caffeinated. How do you just give out caffeinated Tailwind as the only choice? She got them to make me some separate Mandarin Orange. Ah, familiar territory. We headed out for Dry Lake, about 9.5 miles. As we went, I realized maybe I had puked and rallied! Am I okay? Maybe!! There were places where I felt safe running, but where ever the terrain looked like I could easily trip, I'd power walk. I could hear when Squirrel told runners to let her know when they wanted to pass.This was almost all down hill; no wonder people were passing. 

Time to break out the head lamps. The sun setting was pretty beautiful. I think Squirrel took some pics. I didn't take any during the race. Nope. Getting it done. It was getting cool. Remind me to change into pants at Dry Lake. 

Some where along here, in the dark, a runner asked if we saw the bear, about a mile back. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't in the trail, I wouldn't have seen it. Squirrel said no and wondered how we missed it. I think a mile back it might not have been there when we were. There are lots and lots of wild life out there. 

We were almost to Dry Lake. I told Squirrel how pissed Bucky and I were two years ago when someone said we were almost there. And a little climb later, we were all, "What the hell???" Never tell a 100 miler you're almost there unless you can see the finish!

Ok, this is a good transition place. I say goodbye to Squirrel and pick up Bucky at Dry Lake. I needed to change first. There was Tammy holding a blanket or towel for me to hide my sorry ass as I got into long pants. It was really good to ditch those shorts cause I totally cop to peeing them with the force of puking. Things aren't so pretty in an ultra.

The pretty thing, beautiful really, is the love and care given by your crew/friends and then all the volunteers who care about you for the duration. I did feel cared for. I think this was the first place I ate pancakes. They weren't good, but they weren't bad and went down well. I also had hot chocolate here. Ready, set, go....

Steamboat Springs - 2024 RRR continued

Mindy and Pete arrived in Silverthorne the day after we arrived in Breck. They enjoyed hikes, fishing, and visiting Mindy's high school friend they stayed with. On the day before the race (Thursday, the 12th), we met them in Frisco for a big breakfast before heading to Streamboat.

Jedi and Ann had been in Steamboat since the 9th, having driven out. Tanya and Bucky got there on Wednesday. They'd stay with Kenny and Tammy, who'd driven there from Utah after Tammy's Wasatch run, until we got in when they'd switch over to our condo. It was a TMR party! We were all going to meet at Mountain Tap Brewery for an early supper. Rick and I hit Olympian to do drop bags and packet pickup. It was the least crowded we've ever seen it! I did the Bunny ears photo op this time. I figured I didn't do it previously and didn't finish. Why not change that one little thing, too? Lol.

Soon, our huge contingency of Trail Monsters were together at the Brewery. Beers and pizzas filled the table as did laughter and love. Ann, George, Tammy, Kenny, Tanya, Bucky, Squirrel and Marms, Rick and I made one special group. As we finished, I reminded everyone I needed to get a burger to go for my pre-race breakfast. I went to the Irish pub a block up the street. Was I surprised when my bill was $30.xx! Holy shit, that better be a good burger, but if it did its job, it would be worth every penny. Our group went its separate ways back to our condos. Tanya and Bucky were now moved in with us.

Jedi and I were both taking the early start (women over 50 and men over 60 could opt for it). This year, they were actually giving us two extra hours, an additional hour from previous times. My strong desire was to finish in the 36 hours given to the rest of the field, but I'd definitely take it in case I needed it. Plus I hate the start of races with everyone all together; the small group of older runners was the perfect size in my mind. Little did I know that the extra hour would make for an annoying conga line of fast runners coming at me when heading up the technical climb of Fish Creek Falls. Sigh.

I went to sleep fairly easily, but would wake up at 1am, unable to go back to sleep. The start wasn't until 7. My alarm was set for 5:30am. Sure, I tried to fall back to sleep, but when it was around 4am, I tried to figure out how I could be up and not wake everyone else. They were going to be operating on very little sleep in the coming hours and I would need them. 

I was so relieved when others started to stir. Evidently, Bucky slept terribly the entire time in CO so I probably could have had some company for some of those hours. To the burger! Meh, it wasn't that great reheated, but at least it was huge. After 3/4, I couldn't stuff anymore in. It did seem almost double the normal burger out. 

I had brought so many and so many different weather running clothes. If we had the rain and hail of the first year, I would want multiple changes of clothes, especially warm ones. The weather was pretty sure of itself; it would be dry. It turned out to be warmer in the day light than last year, but colder at night. I think I had my drop bags just right. It helps that Rick could get to Dry Lake and Olympian, probably where the biggest decisions need to be made. I was going to start just like last year: shorts, tee (this time my Team Scout Patagonia shirt from Lost Valley <3), sleeves, and my mushroom sprint hat. I was using poles again, but planned to put them away this year except on big climbs or downs where footing wanted me to use poles. Thanks, Todd, for the quiver. I really think it was part of the solution to my lean/bend.

Anyway, let's get this race going!!! Rick drove Tanya, Bucky, and me to the start. He drove back to the condo and then walked done to see me off. Ann and George joined soon. Normally they would have beaten me to the start, but they took the bus from their condo. Then Kenny, Tammy, Pete, and Mindy showed up. Tammy gave me her jacket to where until start. 

It's a good time to stop. Next post is "Go!"

2024 Run Rabbit Run 100 - Training

I'm not even sure where to start this account of Run Rabbit Run 2024. Maybe, like before, I'll give some lead up to the race. You can read about RRR2023 to see why I needed to return.

From 2023, I learned that I would have to work on my core in addition to my usual training. KB made a video for me of some good ab work. I did that about 4 times per week. Than I added something I never thought I would: yoga. I knew Bucky had done classes so got his recommendation for a place. I thought I would do a class a week until my running training plan kicked in on April 1st (I totally loved that I officially started training on April Fool's Day and the race start was Friday the 13th. Seemed right.). Then I said I'd keep doing yoga until my miles got longer. Well, turns out I really liked the classes and felt they were doing a lot for me, including my core, flexibility, and balance. I opted to keep going and to take out a day of running from my weekly schedule. Mostly I did my long runs on Sundays. By combining it with OSGR, I had company for a large amount of the miles. Squirrel would try to join for the last miles most weeks. Monday would be my back to back longish run. I usually did those miles at Pinelands to be able to run (most of the other places we run are so technical, I end up walking more stretches). Tues was a day off from running so a core day. Wednesdays I would head to Lost Valley for hill repeats. Thurday was yoga class and a core workout. Fridays it was back to Lost Valley for more repeats. Saturday was another day off from running so another core workout. I would pick one other day during the week that made the most sense to fit in my core work. And all the days I did my core, I included yoga than I had learned.

Even running just four days per week, my total mileage was staying very close to last year's. I hit nearly 70,000' of elevation gain at Lost Valley alone. One of the factors that made this training cycle harder was our brutal weather. The heat and humidity were relentless. Even with starting earlier than I would like, my hill repeats would be in the 90° temps with dew points in the 70s. I told myself that it mimicked elevation's lack of oxygen. Most of the long runs were in the same weather. Having Billy and Squirrel along helped on those last two longest runs. Misery does love company!

I took it as a really good sign that I was looking forward to taper. I think I'd done enough. With an uptick in COVID, I did stop my yoga classes a couple of weeks before I really wanted. I tried to do them myself, but that's no where near what you get out of a real class. Oh well. Like I said, I think I'd done enough.

H^3, FDFs, LV HRs and PS

Today might have been the type of day I'd rearrange my training plan for, maybe do an easy run instead of the repeats, adding a few extra to Friday's. It was predicted to be in the 90s by 10am with feels like temps in the 100s. Sigh. But Piper is having surgery to remove another sebaceous cyst tomorrow. Friday, the day I also do hill repeats will likely see me acting as a human cone for Piper. She just can't handle them, even the soft, pillow ones. I figured I get out early (for me) and tough it out as long as I could.

I think when I pulled into Lost Valley the temperature was in the high 80s. It was the definition of hazy, hot, and humid. My Coros shows I started at 9:01am. Seriously, for me, that's pretty good. As usual, I planned to do the dirt road as a warmup, but when I pulled the poles out of the quiver at the first incline, I couldn't get one of them to extend all the way. The lock wouldn't lock. I worked at it a bit, while feeding the dear flies. I didn't see any of the usual guys at or around the lodge so I headed back to the garage area and snagged someone before they headed in. He was able to make it look easy to extend the pole all the way. Thank you!!! Back to the warm up.

Warm up was a joke. I was already dripping sweat everywhere. Still, gotta focus. I just did one of the dirt road warmup laps before I started up my slope. The deer flies focused on my forearms and hands since they were busy with the poles; it was hard to do anything about them. Damned deer flies were soon promoted to fucking deer flies. Grrr!!! I managed to kill a few, but they all were full of my blood. Fuckers!!! And now one hand is swollen and everything is itchy.

I have a rule that I don't drive to run for anything less than 5 miles so I made myself hang in there for the minimum. It was well into the 90s when I stopped. I grabbed my bag and a cold bubble water from my cooler then headed straight to the air conditioned lodge. I sat for a long time, trying to stop sweating before changing. I went out to wring out my shirt a couple of times. It really didn't help; my sweat puddled below the bench. Finally, it slowed enough, I changed, grabbed a little Coke from my cooler to drive home with. I am beyond grateful we bought my new car already. I don't think I could have gotten into the subaru without AC. Golden Boy's air conditioning is heavenly.