I spent lots of time debating if I was going to renew the blog and then the genius of auto pay made the decision for me.
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted and if we’re being honest, I barely posted last year. I have great thoughts about blog posts all the time on the run, but then can never actually manage to sit down and type them out. I also write books on the run but again don’t type them out.
My attention span no longer agrees with typing these days, dreary. Which is a bummer because sometimes I actually feel like I have things to say, but I can’t seem to actually follow through.
Not to say that’s a bad thing as do people really read blogs anymore? I do but I I’ve turned into a lurker who reads but does comment.
I’ve been feeling adrift in both life and running for a while now. I also miss writing so let’s see what I can do to anchor myself. I no longer resemble the person in the “My Story” page and I am wondering when and how that happened. I don’t think it’s realistic to think I’ll get back to that point either in running or personality but maybes there’s a middle ground worth looking for?
Also, when I was trying to log back into the blog I accidentally broke it so if it looks a little funny right now oops.
Since I last posted, I attempted my first ultra marathon, got lost at a trail race, finished dead last in a trail race and somehow finished a race at Broken Arrow Skyrace and didn’t finish last. Stories I’d like to write down even if it’s just for me.
On December 3, I completed my third marathon- CIM. Not that I have a medal or anything to show for it. Well, four blisters. Ok, maybe I am a little bitter.
Race day did not go according to plan but then I didn’t really have a plan either. Recap down below.
Rant incoming-
This race just made me mad. Race check in was confusing. The line started in the middle of the room but then went off to the side in a weird way. A volunteer snapped at me because I was confused. The volunteers checking me in though were awesomely polite. Then the shirt table was in an odd spot with no real line structure. I was cut in front of twice. I wonder what it was like when it was busier- worse?
The line struggles continued on race morning. There was bus drama and hundreds of runners were still stranded which ended up pushing the start time back. The announcer was boasting the most bathrooms ever for prerace but the organization was nonsensical. Granted, it may not have been as bad farther away from the start but the bathrooms where I was were organized in a U shape. No one knew which line was which or which bathroom they were for, it took forever. I was literally in the portapottie when they started singing the National Anthem. Oops.
The trouble continued once I finished. The nearest water was 2 blocks from the finish line which on a warm day seemed very far. There weren’t snacks left for the runners and the hot food booths had closed down. There were no medals and none of the volunteers knew why. They thought maybe they had run out and the race director would email us. Another race person snapped at a group of us for lingering too long. It hadn’t even been 5 minutes. My brother also said that the water containers had been empty when he had finished and he had run a 2:51:16.
The buses were also gone and the gear check had closed. This race does not like slower runners. The buses and gear check both close at 1:30, for a race that starts at 7 or 7:10 ish like my race day, that math just doesn’t compute. Especially since slower runners don’t usually cross the start until 15-20 minutes after the gun goes off.
The medal confusion continued. The race director later doubled down that medals were only for those who finished under 6 hours. Except I know multiple runners who finished under 6 and did not get a medal. Even my brother had medal confusion 3 hours earlier- he said that when he finished he was told to choose between a backpack and the race medal. I don’t understand how a race that sells out months before race day does not order enough medals.
Also, if it really is time based like the RD stated then where is the consistency? Previous years, slower runners had received medals. If slower times don’t count per the RD, then why are they listed in the “official” results like “official” finishers? I know some people say it’s because they need to reopen the roads but they didn’t. Roads were fully closed and we all got to finish. I never once saw a sweeper or was told I couldn’t finish.
I’ve run races with 4 times as many runners and things were better organized. I’ve also run races with hard cutoffs like Big Sur. There were buses ready at mile 21 ish to pull runners off the course if they couldn’t make the cutoff.
So, CIM- what the hell??
Race Recap-
The course itself is fine, other than people are crazy- it does not feel net downhill. I actually prefer the first half to last half. I liked the rolling hills although I was cursing them at the same time. Plus some of the streets we were running down were picture perfect fall scenes. Pretty much all of the race pictures I took were from the first 13 miles.
The volunteers were amazing and all of the aid stations were well stocked. The cheer stations were on point and still going strong as I ran or hobbled past.
I had a great first 13 miles and was feeling pretty good. I was on track for a 5:45 finish. However there was some, um, “clenching” going on for miles 8-13. Just after mile 12, I ran for an available portapottie. It didn’t help, I only made it another mile before the wheels came off and never came back. It was starting to warm up and I was feeling hot. I overheated, I cursed and I cried. But I kept going. I power walked those next 13 miles and crossed the finish line with a time of 6:11.
My brother actually ran back to meet up with me around mile 23 and brought me a cold Gatorade. Serious, life saver.
So no, it was not my day in a variety of ways but I still finished another 26.2 miles. Will I go back to CIM? Not likely.
At this point I am so behind on post I planned that it just stresses me out every time I think about it. So I try to ignore it and move on, but then I think. of something I want to say, plan it out in my head but then get stuck when it comes actually putting fingers to keyboard keys. So instead of stressing about the missed posts, I am writing a short recap of 2023 so far.
January– Chill and cold, I kept the running at steady for me but nothing to really note. I ran one race- Fort Ord Trail Run. I ran the 10k while my brother did the 50k. I remember the morning being so dark and cold that I froze but massively overheating during my race. The course was pretty and green but there was very little shade. I also somehow lost my favorite headband during the race. Boo.
February– I had a work trip for the first time since COVID. It was fun but also stressful. I had one of my massive dizzy spell days and couldn’t even work. Then I ran the Ventura Half Marathon 2 days later. Oops. It was one of my slowest races, coming in around 3:09ish. 1.5 miles in my stomach rebelled in a very bad way and the best I could do for 13 miles was power walk. There was no running unless I wanted to live in the port-a-potties, ha! My brother lapped me while running the marathon. Also I was bummed that course had no beach views. We started in Ojai and ran to Ventura.
March– Vacation! It was off to Arizona for some time in Sedona and the Grand Canyon. There was snow on the ground and I packed for the cold. Instead it was sunny and 70ish and I melted and ending up getting sick from the sun, Which all came to a head in a blow up in the Grand Canyon. Oops. Oh and then the canyon tried to kill me when my shoe caught a piece of rebar and I went down way too close to edge of the South Kaibab trail. Thanks to the kind strangers who helped me up. I did write about my Sedona days- The Subway and the Mesa Brin. Also, ran the Oakland Half Marathon in March, post here.
April– A month of no races, boo. Steady miles for me but no races. Cant remember anything else, ha.
May– Oh May. I did some great trails- went back to the Pinnacles for another round. Headed back to Henry Cowell for some time in the Redwoods. This hike also featured my 2 largest water crossings yet. I also sliced up my legs on some branches which combine with falling into a creek the following weekend brought on the leg drama I wrote about here, And I stopped.
June– The leg drama bled over into the first 2 weeks of June. The issues on my legs turned into a chemical burn from too many failed attempts trying to fix the first issues, ha! I barely ran as running just made things worse. I felt so lazy and was missing racing too. I may be slow but I was having fun running races this year. But then I went to Yosemite. OMG, so many people, so many people. Still amazing views though.
July– I greeted July with a 10k Trail race (Golden State) back up at Fort Ord. Again I roasted in direct sunlight. Did turn in my fastest Inside Trail race 10k time though. Then I had a birthday that was a not the happiest of times but that’s getting older, right? Ran another of my favorite races towards the end- Rock to Pier- which turned more obstacle course like over 6 miles of beach than I had thought. The beach has changed a lot this year from all our early year rain. We were jumping rivers and rocks and piles of seaweeds. Granted if I hadn’t cared about wet feet, the rivers would have been no big deal. But who wants wet feet first thing into a race?? I also started training for CIM. And quickly realized I chose the wrong training plan, oops.
Outside of running, I feel like parts of my life are running me over with a truck and then backing up for more so that’s cool, cool. I’ve been stuck in a funk I can’t shake and it’s made writing seem so hard. I plan things out in my head but then lose the desire to actually type or write or anything. I said that already didn’t I? I am trying to kick that though, so maybe this post is my first baby step back?
I am so behind on posts. I still need to do my Grand Canyon post as well as 2-3 race recaps. Can’t actually remember at this point truthfully. I mean to write, really do but then Squirrel!!!
Let’s talk about my current squirrel— itching!!
A few weeks ago I headed up to Henry Cowell State Park for a Mother’s Day hike with my mother. Actually that should be a post too, oops. I thought it was going to be very user friendly (I was wrong) and didn’t wear compression socks or full pants. Ended the hike with a few scratches on my legs, worst ones on my left. No big deal, right?
Headed out for a trail run the following weekend, again no socks or full pants. By the evening, those week old cuts had swollen and turned bright red. Over the next week, my legs got uglier and uglier. Eventually work badgered me into going to urgent care on that Friday. Where I was told I had poison oak and an infection. I managed to avoid poison oak my entire childhood growing up in the sticks and my first 10 years trail running. Grrrr. They prescribed a steroid cream and a course of antibiotics. Problem solved?
It’s funny that we thought this was bad. Had no idea my entire leg was about to look like this.
I started using the cream right away but eased into the antibiotics as I had a big hike planned and the bottle warned against too much sun. Other than that I did not read any of the side effects as I know I am a little suggestible when it comes to those. Hiking and running that weekend wasn’t exactly comfortable for my legs but wasn’t horrible. I also kept everything covered this time.
I did a slow couple miles on Memorial Day-Monday and my legs burned. By Wednesday, my legs were red and swollen and itched so damn bad. I couldn’t wear pants only skirts so I was trying to hide at work. You never realize how often you cross your legs or ankles until you shouldn’t do it. And then my right leg was contaminated. Boo. I’ll spare the you the pictures.
I felt so bad I actually ended up going home sick on Wednesday. Air hurt, showers made me cry. My skin felt like it was on fire everywhere even the parts without poison oak. I tried all the things to stop itching- the steroid cream, Gold Bond Itch, Benadryl ointment, calamine, technu, nothing seemed to help. The itch had turned to pain that was keeping me awake at night. And I have a high pain tolerance. What the frak? Plus I was beginning to have other random issues too.
So… yeah those antibiotics? Guess who’s allergic???? Me! For the love of Pete. But at least an answer of why I felt so crappy.
After days of lazing about, err resting, I attempted a slow walk on Sunday. Very bad idea. Between the rash and an occurence of my sometimes present Hiker’s rash- that’s a fun one- anyone heard of it? I regretted my choices. I’ll spare you the pictures. Dove into a cold shower and jar of Vaseline. Tiny bit of relief, hallelujah.
So yeah, that’s me right now. How about you? What you up to? Ever have poison oak? Ever heard of Hiker’s rash?
The next day we were up early for what was supposed to be a short, easy hike and then followed by an afternoon of shopping in downtown Arizona. However, we had some trouble. We had planned on going to Sugarloaf for the trail there.. The parking lot was full and street parking was not allowed. We then planned for Bell tower but the parking lot was full. Planned on going to Vultee Arch- couldn’t find the parking lot so we ended up driving out to Brin Mesa. I tell you a four-wheel-drive will be much better to get you there but we were able to find parking. Hallelujah.
We headed out for what All Trails said was a short 3 1/2 mile out back , it was also supposed to be very easy with very little incline. Lies! Brin Mesa started on this marvelous orange trail with green trees and the awesome rocks to your right. . Everything looked amazing. Then we had a little turn and a little climb that turned out to be a lot steeper than we thought. It’s basically like climbing steps, but I wasn’t prepared for that and I was whining.
Once we got to the top, we took a breather and we could see some people out on a rock. So I let my mother convince me to go to the rock. Once at the rock the view was amazing- 360° view. Let me tell you, Brin Mesa is worth it.
Then instead of turning around like I had planned, we continued forward. Did we have a real plan? No. Was I positive I had looked at the map at the trailhead right? Also no. But, choose your own adventure. So we continued around and eventually Brin Mesa turned into Soldiers Pass Trail, along the way this had one of the best views I’ve ever seen. Pictures don’t do it justice.
We continued down into a little gully and started to realize that we were connecting with Soldiers Pass, which I had hiked a couple years ago and I vaguely remembered the area. I was pretty sure we could pick up the other trail and loop around it to Brin Mesa without turning around, but also wasn’t positive. The catch was that I hadn’t actually looked at the map that closely and I couldn’t remember what the name of the other trail was. I vaguely remembered a man’s name so I figured I would figure it out. It took us past the Seven Sacred Pools and back passed the sinkhole to the Soldiers’ Pass trailhead.. We were able to pick up the Jordan Trail- success! And then we were headed back towards the Brin Mesa trail head.
The Jordan trail was nice and pretty easy. There were no real technical moments, just a few parts where you crossed the rocks and kind of lost the trail, but it was fairly easy to pick it up again. I was melting because once again, I was unprepared for how much sun I was getting. We ended up getting back to the trailhead and getting in around exactly 6 miles. So while it wasn’t long it was a longer route that I had originally planned, but still worth it.
However, I was still concerned about the next day, when we would venture into the Grand Canyon. We then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around downtown Sedona and ate some good pizza before heading back to the hotel to get some rest.
Slacker Runner 