2011 Year of Races

I did not start out 2011 with any major running goals. So looking back over the year, I've ended up running much more than I thought I would, and some fun PR's to boot! I didn't document any of these races during the year, so I want to sum them all up here now.

I guess it began last spring when I tried to strong arm Doug into running a marathon with me. I wanted to put in for the St. George Marathon lottery. Doug said he would run that marathon with me if we got in, but he was CERTAIN we wouldn't. And he was right...no such luck for 2011. The good news is, St. George has a "third time's the charm" rule and we are guaranteed a spot in 2013 if we don't get accepted for the 2012 race. So he's going to be putting in 26.2 miles SOMETIME in the next two years. :)

When we didn't get in for the St. George marathon, I figured I would wait another year. But my friend Laurie offered to train and run a marathon with me. She's a much better runner than I am, and I knew I would be challenged to keep up with her. But I'm also not one to be left behind--so I took her up on her offer. And we registered for the http://www.columbiarivermarathon.com/ in October 2011.

Meanwhile, a trip for work took Doug and I to Vermont in May. And part of the trip included running a half-marathon in Middlebury, VT. The Middlebury Maple Run was one of the prettiest courses I've run. It was beautiful Vermont countryside and even included running across a covered bridge. How can you beat a race with a covered bridge?!? It was a challenging course, but I managed to get a half-marathon PR of 1:46:23, an 8:07 pace. Doug joined me in the race, his second half-marathon. And he achieved a PR as well!

August brought our 5th consecutive year of the Hood to Coast relay. This year we shook things up a bit and were the 2nd van. We've been Van 1 the previous 4 years. It was fun to see a different part of the course and do some new runs. I ran leg 9, with a total of nearly 20 miles between the 3 runs. Doug ran leg 11, with almost 18 miles of running. We had a great group in our van, too. The only bummer was the EXTREME overcrowding this year. They added a bunch of extra teams which created a log jam near the finish. In fact, we didn't even make it to the finish line before our final runner (Doug's brother Ryan) got there. We sat in traffic for almost two hours, arriving at the finish line close to 90 minutes AFTER our team finished the race. But Doug and I both ran well, turning in splits for each leg that were the best times we've ever run during Hood to Coast.

That's me in the way distant in white/blue getting ready to hand off. For some reason we don't have any really good H2C photos this year. :(

With Hood to Coast behind us, I got serious about my marathon. Training with Laurie really pushed me. She introduced me to speed workouts, something I'd never done before. We had a training plan to follow, which included either a tempo run (a run in which you do a mile or so warm-up, then run 5-6 miles at a set pace--a rather fast one, followed by a cool down) or mile repeats each week (a workout with 1 mile warm-up, then 3-4 1-mile intervals at a really fast pace with 1/2 mile recovery between each mile). Those were the most challenging training runs I've ever done, but they really made a difference. Laurie and I set a goal to run the marathon in 3:50. For me, that would be almost a 40 minute improvement over my first marathon.

The marathon was in Umatilla, OR, right on the Columbia River. It was a beautiful area and one of the perks of the race was running ACROSS the dam into Washington state for 7 miles of the race.

Ready to run--tutus and all

Oh, did I mention we also ran it in tutus? Laurie won her tutu on a running blog and planned to wear it for our race. So I got me a tutu as well. Half way through the race, Laurie said "I feel like wearing a tutu is cheating....everyone is cheering for us more than anyone else!" We were affectionately called the "two tutu girls" throughout the race and got lots of kudos.

We started out really strong and were well ahead of our goal pace. At 11 miles we were sitting at an 8:20 pace, which was awesome! And then everything changed. at mile 11 we hit the Lewis and Clark trail, right along the Columbia River. It was a very scenic part of the race, but it was also torturous. We had 10 miles of GRAVEL and SAND. Not something we had trained for.

Finishing the first 5 miles of the gravel trail

My favorite photo of the whole race--that DARN gravel and sand!

 Coming out of the gravel trail at mile 23 (there was 5 miles of gravel followed by a mile out and back, then 5 miles back on the gravel trail), our pace had tanked. We went from the super fast 8:20 average pace to an 8:44 pace. And THAT was our OVERALL race pace. Still 3 miles to go and no time for fading. Oh, and there was still THE BIGGEST HILL of the race to tackle. Seriously.

Almost done... 

Finished!!!

I lost Laurie when I stopped for water at about mile 19 and she kept going. She stayed about 30-40 seconds ahead of me, but I never could catch her. We both plugged along though and were overjoyed to finish right on target! Laurie came in just under 3:50 and I finished at 3:50:11, which I vote is right on target for a 3:50 finish. Laurie is a much more dedicated blogger than I am. You can read Laurie's race report here.

You would think after the marathon I would have had enough. But no...

During one of our marathon training races, Laurie and I started discussing ultramarathons. We both agreed that MAYBE SOMEDAY we would do an ultra. We rationalized that people often WALK during ultramarathons. And anything LONGER than a regular marathon is an ultramarathon. So we could start with the entry level 50K race (31.2 miles). What's another 5 miles beyond a marathon, right??? I came across a really nice 50K scheduled for September 2012 that I thought would be good to try out. But Laurie searched harder than me and came up with the Frozen Trail Run Fest in December, just 2 months after our marathon. Again she said "we're already in marathon shape, what's 5 more miles?" Well, we discovered exactly what 5 more miles is--a KILLER. 

Ready or not...

The race was at Mt. Pisgah in Eugene. I'd hiked there with a field trip for Trevian's class once before, but soon learned the field trip stayed mostly on the FLAT part of the mountain. The race course was 4 loops around and OVER the mountain with a total elevation gain of 4000 ft. 4000 FT!!! 

Looks like fun, doesn't it??? As we lined up at the starting line, all 27 runners, the race coordinator explained "you'll do base loop 1, followed by base loop 2, then base loop 1 again, and finish with the summit loop. And you're welcome!" Seriously--27 miles into the race and you have to climb the summit of the mountain, a 1000 ft elevation gain in 1 mile. What were we thinking!?! 31 miles of trail running in the cold, muddy, Eugene winter. What fun.

The race started out great and we finished loop 1 faster than I thought we would. Loop 2 was mentally really tough for me. I think it was because I knew we still had 2 more loops to go, one of which I had already completed. I kept wondering how I was going to finish if I already wanted to be done, only 13 miles in. But we got through it and headed into the 3rd loop. After about 19 miles, Laurie and I started to separate a bit (did I mention Laurie ran this race 16 weeks pregnant?!? yep!) Just as I started loop 4, my cell phone rang. I had my phone with me just to take pics, and just in case I needed to call for a rescue. It was Trevian. She wanted to know if we could go to the bookstore when I got home. Yep. 24 miles into my first ultramarathon I was fielding phone calls about going to the bookstore. But I was glad to just be talking to someone and verifying that I was indeed still alive.

Approaching the summit of Mt. Pisgah

A few miles later, as I approached the summit of Mt. Pisgah, I was debating in my head if indeed this race was THE MOST DIFFICULT thing I've ever done in my life. There are those people who would debate that childbirth is harder. At mile 28 of this race, I'm not sure that I agreed. I was 6 hours into the race (how many people labor for fewer hours than that during childbirth? LOTS!) and every part of my body hurt, right down to my brain cells. It was just as painful mentally as physically. And there was no epidural or painkillers for the race. Plus, it's been 9 years since I gave birth, so that memory is a bit more hazy.

At the summit, emerging from the fog and looking out across the valley

And, just like with childbirth, when I reached the summit and I knew the hard part was over, I started to cry. Yep...just a bit...but I cried. I wasn't sure if it was because I was grateful to still be alive or if it was because the view was so beautiful (the whole race had been foggy and cold), or because it was all I could do. But I cried. And then I took off to find the finish line, which was just a couple miles away.

Laurie's muddy feet--31 miles of muddy trail just like this

Well, Laurie and I didn't have nearly as ambitious goals for the ultra as we did for our marathon, especially given the difficulty of the course and the fact that it was our first ultra. But our hope was to finish in under 6:30. Yep--six and a half hours. I was running for six and a half hours. As I came around the final corner to the finish line I could see the official time clock. I was going to make it. Official time...6:29:18. Woohoo! 

So, 2011 brought me a half-marathon, Hood to Coast relay, my second marathon, and first ultramarathon. More running than I would have ever guessed. But it was a great year with great races. I enjoyed every bit of it (in the end that is, after surviving each race) And guess what--Doug's considering doing an ultra with me this September (and the St. George marathon if we get in)!