Recovery?

Always the doubts; I am too old, too slow, too tired, or too lazy. But now I have a new one (of course): I am too clumsy. Dang, I went out and fell again. No real injuries but I hurt all over. Even my ear was bleeding. I guess this comes from not running. Just forgot to pick up my feet. I tripped several times, but only went down once.

Scout has been going with me. I figure it is cool, I am very slow, and not covering much distance. She is going great!! Yes, she runs funny, but she and Sadie have been having a lot of fun out there. That's cool.

I am trying to set up a training schedule. I want a 50 miler around the middle of April. Can't find one. Will keep looking.

Meanwhile, perhaps I need to buy some more stuff?

From 0 to 100 in 215 Days??

in I have been very careful during the recovery from a broken ankle. Very, very careful. I keep telling myself that it is like gluing the handle back onto a coffee mug: you must let it sit undisturbed until it is dry, or in this case, healed.
I wore a cumbersome boot for almost 6 weeks. During that time, I walked, a little at a time, using hiking poles. Very, very carefully.
I biked a little with a bike shoe on my right foot and a regular shoe on the left so that I wouldn't twist it. I rode very, very carefully.
This week I got the all clear to begin physical therapy. Started therapy at Peak Motion.

 

Told him I wanted to do the Mt. Taylor Quad in February. I want another Doubler Scarf. He assumed I meant that I wanted to do the running part as part of the relay. Ha! Nope, I want to do the QUAD!

Also told him I wanted to do the Bighorn 100 in June. He looked dubious but I am used to those looks.

But first, I have to run a 5k on Thanksgiving Day with the four grands. They know they don't get to eat turkey unless they run. Should be great.

Dusty ole gramma bites the dust

Yep,  my  summer is now officially over. There weren't as many successes this year as last, but hey, it was good.

The 50 mile Devil Mountain run just about did me in. Very slow. Funny, some man which Cheryl dubbed "the gnome" ran up to me and said that no woman over 60 had ever completed. Guess I had to then. And I did.

Tired of training; tired of racing; tired of being tired. Made a firm pledge that once Canyon de Chelly was over, I would take a real break. Ran Mt. Taylor with Ranie. We had fun together. I forgot that I was supposed to be racing, at least some of the time. I did run fairly hard, for me. Enjoyed the experience. Then two weeks left to recover before Canyon de Chelly. Really looking forward to it. A different experience.

One bad step, though, cancelled my plans for Canyon de Chelly. Running down the foothills from "the tree." Stepped on a boulder, rolled the ankle and sat down on the offending boulder. The ankle immediately swelled. I figured if I sat there very long, it would get stiff and hurt even more, so I jumped up and headed on down the trail. Took close to an hour to make it home. By then, the leg was ginormous. Turns out I broke the fibula down by the ankle. It is now time to rest, recover, heal and get energized for next year. I am going to rest, whether I want to or not!!

Resurrection Pass + Devil Mountain = 100 miles?

I decided to run two 50 milers with two weeks rest. First was Resurrection Pass just outside of Anchorage https://www.facebook.com/ResurrectionPassUltraRaces. This is a particularly adventuresome race, with only one aid station. Four of us started off. After 42 miles, I had to tell them I was fried. Jen stayed back with me and we hobbled on in. Finished in 12:22.



OK, my ego was definitely bruised. This was the first ultra any of these women had completed. I thought I was going to be leaving them behind.They set a 14:30 pace and just kept at it. Not my style of running. I kept stopping to look at the scenery (OMG....beautiful!!) and then had to sprint to catch up.

After this 50 miler, I had two weeks to recover and run the Devil Mountain 50 miler http://www.joingecko.org/info.asp?uid=310. I figured this would capitalize on my strengths: tough course with lots of elevation change and few people. I thought I would nail it in about 13:30. I was soooo wrong. I started out OK, running with Cheryl Duran for the first 20 miles or so. Then she peeled off for the 50K (I was several minutes behind her by this point) and I headed off for the long out and back section. I had already done the "big climb." How hard could the rest of it be? Just a couple of small hills on this portion of the course.


I tucked in behind a man about my age. He talked and talked and talked. Told me all about the course and where he got lost a couple years ago. It was good to take note of the potential places to lose track of the trail on the way back. I finally left him and made it to the next-to-last aid station 30 minutes before the cut off.

By the last age station, the temp was dropping. A volunteer made sure I had a light. He also said I needed to take a jacket. I assured him I would be plenty warm. He said I had to take a jacket. I told him I had a long sleeve shirt but no jacket. He was insistent. I told him I was tough....that I used to live in Wyoming. He let me go!

I finished in the dark with only two people behind me. Almost 15:30. Good grief. I was the last woman to finish. When I checked the results, I learned that 9 women were in their 20's or 30's and one was 49.

Bottom line: I continue to wonder if I am making a fool of myself. I am a constant worrier about how others view me. Am I that crazy old woman who should give it up and learn to knit or am I an inspiration? I go back and forth in my thinking. Sometimes I embarrass myself; other times I feel pride.

332 more days til Big Horn 2015

I clicked on the Big Horn Wild and Scenic Trail Run site today. This is what was on the home page:

I guess it is time to start training.

Seriously, I have to go back and complete this race. It is driving me nuts. I hate failing. I know, I know, I didn't fail. I just had too many problems but I showed remarkable courage. Blah!!! I know that I didn't meet the goal I set for myself. How do I know? Because when I click on the 2014 Results link, my name is not there!! Oh well, wait til next year.

Meanwhile, my dog Scout is having some problems. She can't run. It's as if her legs will not switch from a walk to a run. She wants to, but she just can't do it. She was running 10, 15, even 20 miles with me. I noticed her gait was strange. I also noticed that she was lagging behind. I finally figured out that she was unable to stay with me because of her gait.

We've taken her to the vet. From there, we were referred to a veterinary neurologist. He, unfortunately, doesn't have an answer. There are lots of tests that he can run, from nerve transduction testing to a MRI. These costs big bucks. I could probably justify the expense if I thought we would get a definitive answer. He doesn't really have a hypothesis regarding the problem. His original thought was myasthenia gravis, but her test result was negative.

So we're back to square 1. My question: do we continue the testing? As it is, she can manage a 4 mile easy run, if it isn't too hot. This is not why I got her; I wanted a companion for my long runs. I can be content with a 4 mile dog. But what if there is something wrong, which if found, can be corrected? More importantly, what if there is something which if not found and corrected, will kill her?

Poor little Scout. Cheryl says she is an alien dog, sent here to love and be loved. Someday the mother ship will call her back and learn much from her regarding love, life, happiness, and mountains.

Don't explain and don't complain

Big Horn did not go as planned. Sigh. Big sigh.

Started out ok, then faltered, then got sick, then quit. At 33.5 miles!!!! What? Are you serious? OK, not whining. A friend of mine, from back in Ohio, had a motto: Don't explain and don't complain. You take what you got and you don't make excuses.

We had a good time meeting up with friends, looking at the wild flowers, and being back in Wyoming.

Now what? I'm all trained up for a 100 miler. I only ran 33.5 miles. My drop bags are still packed. Wait til next year? Give up? Find an alternate race?

I have been looking for another 100 for the month of July. Are you serious???? I keep going back to the Grand Mesa Ultras link: 60K, 50 miles or 100 miles. I have read some reports from previous years. Sounds like a) it gets hot, b) the trail is hard to follow, c) there is one crazy steep up and down, and d) there aren't many people running it. Oh yeah, mosquitoes! On the plus side, there are many places where crew can meet you and it is an interesting area.

Or, maybe I should concentrate on the races I am already signed up for.

Why do I do this?

Waiting for Big Horn Wild and Scenic 100 miler

After the Jemez 50K, I headed out to see the grand kids. One of their semi-regular activities is a run through the neighborhood to the nearest playground. Some of the kids prefer to bike, but Avery is a runner. It was great fun, running with the kids and Jonas!!

My planning for the trip was based on a) following a hard 50K with some down time, b) getting back to elevation well before the Big Horn race, and c) allowing time for me to catch a cold and recover prior to the race. Not that I'm a pessimist, but I often catch a cold while traveling and especially when I see the kids. However, this time I remained totally healthy. YES!!

Some things, though, cannot be planned for. My father has been on the decline for months. I went to see him in April, afraid that it would be my last visit with him. Last week, I got the news that he was not doing well. Friday, he died. Now Dad was not just an ordinary man; he was an inspiration. He worked, hard, all his life. He loved unconditionally. He was my cheer leader for 60 years. He taught me to love the woods.

I remember when I was preparing for the Leadville 100 back in 2004. It would be my first 100 mile attempt. I told him about it and he was pretty amazed. He told the folks at the Assisted Living facility that I was prepping for a 100 miler and they assumed that he was confused. Surely his daughter was only training for a marathon. When I completed it, he bragged on my accomplishment, "My daughter ran a 100 mile race in Colorado." Again, they figured he was confused. Then a writer for the Laramie Boomerang ran an article on the race and my finish. One of the employees brought the clipping to the Assisted Living and posted it. My Dad's memory was vindicated and his pride was evident.

The funeral will be Tuesday. I will be back to Albuquerque on Wednesday. I will do my  best to remember the good times and the lessons he taught me. I wanted to finish this run in time for him to brag once again. I really wanted him to live forever.