Bighorn 2, Dusty Ole Gramma 0

Interesting race. Love and hate. Hot and cold. Mud and dust. Feast and famine....ok, now I am being silly.

There is no good reason for my DNF. I was ahead of schedule and then I was behind schedule. Basically, I was inflexible. I didn't want to eat. I didn't want to step in the mud. I didn't want to run in a second day of heat.

Yep, Friday was very warm. I was conservative until it cooled off. Then I became more conservative. Did I mention mud? Hit the turn around and decided to re-tape my feet. Got cold sitting there trying to make my fingers work. Got warmed up. Left the warmth to go back on the course. Got cold. Went back to the aid station. The end.

There were several highlights. Running with Al from Baltimore. He called me Grandma.

Almost stepping on a bunch of mice!! They kept running across the trail in the dark. Yes, I am sure they were there. Ranie said she saw a bunch of dead ones when she ran back down the trail.

The flowers were magnificent!! The Little Bighorn River was amazing! The canyons were stunning. Running with Ranie is always fun.

Talked with Serena Eley, a young physicist from Los Alamos labs, before the race.  She said she was a sprinter and hadn't really done any ultras. She finished 3rd woman!!!!

The biggest downer? Not getting to run with Cheryl Duran. I really, really wanted to show her the flowers and canyons and rivers.

I pledged never again. I am sticking with that decision. Never again will I attempt Bighorn 100. It is bigger than I am.

I pledged to never attempt another 100 miler. I pledged to withdraw from Never Summer 100K. I pledged to switch from the 50 mile to the 50K at Devil Mountain. In less than 24 hours, I was online looking at Javelina Jundred. I was looking at the course for Never Summer. I was perusing new shoes (magic shoes, AKA Altras, with more cushioning?), checking out different nutrition plans (Tailwind), etc, etc.

Why? WHY??? Why can't I be content with a 50 miler once a year? Why do I keep pushing? Honestly, what the hell is wrong with me? I don't want to be average, or normal, or just a 50 miler. I want to be extraordinary!

My magic shoes are dead!!i

Oh no, there are holes in the uppers and the bottoms are becoming slick. My magic shoes only  lasted about 4 months.

The Altra Superior 2.0 is my new fave. This poor pair has seen a lot of trails since January 22.

Let's see, they have done three 50 k's, a 45 miler, a 50 miler, and heaven only knows how many training miles. They gone in the snow, the dust, the mud, the sand and especially the rocks. They have earned their retirement.

I have another pair!!! Just like these only gray. I took them out for a 30 miler on Sunday. They felt like magic but they betrayed me! I stubbed my toe and lurched forward, hurting my butt muscles. Then I did it again and this time it hurt worse. And again. And for-heaven's-sake-what-is-wrong-with-me AGAIN. The final time I really hurt my butt muscles. Really. Like ouch!!! Like, oh crap I have to walk home. Seven miles of pain every time I moved my leg forward. Crapola!!

OK, these magic shoes need to be broken in a bit, I guess. They feel great right out of the box, but they must be just a little different. 

I love my magic shoes! They will be ready for Bighorn!!!

Powder River.

Let 'er buck!!

Retired?

I'm  retired!! After way too many years, I can put my books and red pens away. I am done! Went to my last graduation. Twenty years of teaching undergrads and grads plus numerous years of being a researcher. Wow. Done.

So, what do I do now? I can run, but only so much. I can be with the grand kids, but they live so far away. I can write that book....uh, no I can't.

I figure it will take a while to settle in. I want to set up the garage so I can do some woodworking. I want to learn to weave. I want to explore New Mexico. I want to GET THIS HORRIBLE CARPETING OUT OF THE HOUSE and put in flooring.

But first, I want to get ready for Bighorn. Yep, it is only 31 days away. I can't imagine running 100 miles. I can't imagine covering the ups and downs of that course. And yet, I have paid my money, made my reservations, lined up my pacers and crew and announced to the world (only a few people were paying attention) that I am going to try it again.

Training is almost finished. I went out on Sunday to do my last long run. Tripped, lurched forward and pulled a muscle. I guess now I work on recovering.

And go see my grand kids!!! Woot!! Wanted to do a race with them bit it isn't going to work. Linus, Elise, Avery and Isaias.....I will see you this weekend!

Cactus to Cloud 50K

Woot!!! This one was something special. We started just outside of Alamogordo and finished in Cloudcroft. It was a hard 50K!!

I rode the bus to the start sitting next to someone from the Dallas area. His legs were super long. OK, just a little thing I remember.

Anyhow, the race started uphill almost immediately. We climbed up through this canyon. Dog Canyon. The Mescalero Apache used this canyon, or so I was told. They would ascend the canyon and fight off the cavalry. What a great area for defending yourself.

Will Ortiz and I at the start.

  So this trail went in and around the canyon. Then we would come out into an open meadow. It was incredibly cool. I felt as if I were part of the history. Silly, yes, because I have no roots here. None. No right to call this my land, but I felt very much at home.

After about 10 miles, we reached the highest point on the trail. I thought I could run a bit, but the trail was littered with baby heads. You know, those rocks about the size of a grapefruit or cantaloupe. The ones that roll when you step on them. The ones that will help you break your ankle. I kept my pace reasonable. When the trail was good, I opened it up. When the trail was super rocky (or steep), I just remained patient. I passed a bunch of folks during the last 12 miles.

I really liked this race. Guess I was in the right frame of mind.

So close to the finish line

To the end....of a race? No, to the end of my working life. I am retiring in one week. I have one more class to teach.Two sets of papers to grade, one exam to make up and grade, one more graduation to attend.

So close. Bittersweet? Yes, always. Who am I? I have spent every year since 1960 in an academic setting. Wow. Unbelievable. I wanted to teach one class a semester as an adjunct but that isn't going to happen, at least not as things stand now. Guess I am going cold turkey.

I have compared this past year to a long race. Very weird that it will end and no new one will begin.

I will have time to run. I will have time to race. I'll even have time to sleep. 

I complained a lot about the Behind the Rocks Race. I bitched about the missing aid station. Since then, I have run two more races. Local races. Just-for-fun races. I ran Valles Caldera half marathon only because my good friend Melinda wanted to do it. She has done half marathons before but always with a pacer/coach. She wanted to prove to herself that she could do it on her own. My deal was to go with her but not be with her during the race. We started out and I never looked back to see how she was doing. Somewhere along the way, most of us half marathoners took a wrong turn. We then ended up at a T....do we go right or left? Some went right and then turned back. Some went left. As it turns out, neither was correct because we shouldn't have come to this T. 

I went right and kept going even when it was obvious that I was going the wrong way. I eventually ended up at the finish line, running approximately 15 miles. Melinda, meanwhile, went left. This took her to the finish line by cutting off two miles. Her well planned, and well executed, race was screwed up due to a couple of misplaced flags. She did the training and ran a smart race. I was laughing most of the time. Yeah, the course was messed up. Yeah, I ran a couple of extra miles. Yeah, so what? Unlike Behind the Rocks, I was just having a good time. Who cares? I got to see an elk!! 

Sometimes you get pissed when the RD screws up; sometimes you just enjoy the ride.

I am a big pissed off that the academic "RD" has screwed up and I won't get to teach next semester. Think I will just put a big ole smile on my face and enjoy my freedom.

Breaking your rules

I realized I totally broke the rule, "Don't complain and don't explain." I explained and complained about my race at Behind the Rocks. Bad, bad. Maybe I should add a qualifier, "except when the RD does something stupid."

OK, that is over. Today I am totally psyched to run Cedro Peak on Saturday.
http://stepoutdoorscolorado.com/cedro-peak-ultra/race-info/

I know the course, the RD, Kim King, is meticulous (some might call her anal/compulsive), the weather will be good and I am totally ready.

I am getting soooo close to retirement that I can almost taste it. Only one more month. Mary Ann and I have way too many plans for traveling this summer/fall. Bighorns, Laramie, Cloudroft, Bryce, Gould (CO), Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, and Hershey, PA.

Hershey, PA to see the grand kids. I miss them. Think I will try to get us all signed up for a 5k on Memorial Day. Can take them to buy running shorts and they will get a new T-shirt. Oh boy, oh They only think their Gramma Gail is old and dusty.

Behind the Rocks 50 miler: Moab

I was really psyched for the Behind the Rocks 50 miler. I was also really psyched about going to Moab. I hadn't been for a very long time and I was eager to revisit Arches and Canyonlands. I was not disappointed. That area is truly magnificent.

The race was put on by Mad Moose Events. I like the name. I think this is a money making venture. I have avoided such races. I prefer the ones put on by a running club or for a charity but I made an exception for this race. It was the right place, at the right time, and the right distance. I needed to test myself on a 50 miler.

The start was down right chilly. Thought I was freeze for the first 20 minutes but I also reminded myself that, in just a few hours, I would be begging for a cool breeze. We ran along a ATV trail for about 13 miles. Not my idea of fun, but the day break was pretty great. I was having a pretty good time, kicking up the dust. I expected sand but it was really powdered dirt. About three inches deep. Soft landings!

As expected, it heated up. We had some really cool bike trails to run on, some incredible scenery, and some crazy downhill scrambling. By noon, it was almost 80 degrees. I was very glad I bought some new 50 SPF sunscreen. Also glad I applied it liberally. There were no clouds and no shade. Just sun.

Mary Ann and my good friend Dee were planning to meet me at an aid station. To make a long story short, it was very slow going from the 4th aid station at mile 26 to the 5th aid station which was supposed to be at mile 33. When I finally saw the parking lot where I expected the aid station to be, I swilled the last of my water. But when I arrived, there was no aid station. I continued to run, to another parking lot. No aid station. A mountain biker gave me a bottle of water. I continued and finally found the next aid station at mile 35. The race director had just decided to skip one aid station. Are you freaking kidding me? In the heat of the day, with no shade, he just skips an aid station??!! I was pretty mad about that, but went on my way.

I was not the only one in trouble. I saw two men lying by the trail, in a tiny little patch of shade. One stayed there but one joined me. A man and woman came along and joined us. And another man. That made 5 of us. We vowed to stick together, not knowing if there were be reliable aid. By this time, puking was the name of the game. We went at the pace of the slowest runner, which was incredibly slow. But there was no way we were going to leave someone out there on their own.

We did make it, 45 minutes after the cut off. It was cold and dark, but we stayed together. Sheri, Damjan, Ernie, Mark and I were DFL but we did not DNF....or did we?

I emailed the race director and tried to be jovial but still let him know I was not happy about the missing aid station. His response?

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience on Saturday. You are correct there was a water only aid station that wasn't there ..... I'm also sorry for allowing the final 6 runners to continue 45 minutes after the cut off.  It forced my volunteers to be on course for an hour longer than planned .....In the future I won't allow that.

I will not run another Mad Moose Event.