Two Vertical Miles, One Half Burqa

Today I woke up at 3:25 am. I don't know why.

The girls insisted on getting up with me, and they have to do their routine in the morning, which meant they got their treats, went out to get the paper, and ate their breakfast way too early. They were pissed when I started packing up the car and putting my running shoes on. They were not going. I had to leave a note for Dennis to feed them halfway through the day because I might not be home until almost dark, and he was going to Denver.



JP started with me at 6 am at the Horsetooth Mountain parking lot. The sun was already up but it was cool outside. I was wearing my half burqa outfit. The Saudi porn star, with my half burqa, bare legs, pink leopard print gaiters, and compression leg sleeves.



I felt sorry for JP. Not because he had to run with me in my crazy outfit, but because he was suffering from what he thought was food poisoning and was barfing on the side of the trail after our second repeat. I gave him some ORS (oral rehydration salts- bitchen swill!) and he drank it, then he did one more repeat and called it a day, a good idea.





I continued on at a slow pace, not sure how I'd feel, but as the day went on I felt good and decided to go as long as there was daylight. I didn't feel like being bear, mountain lion, or snake bait. I called it a day when I reached 40 miles, which was exactly 9 1/4 rock repeats. My quads and calves were starting to complain and my shin was screaming. Forty miles and 10,350 feet of vertical gain, and the same of descent. That's climbing two vertical miles in a 40 mile run. Not bad, almost all of what I'll be climbing and descending at Badwater in 135 miles. It took me 11 hours and 20 minutes, not including breaks. I was in super slow mode today.

On my 8th ascent I ran into Dennis Vanderheiden, running club president, who was planting flags on the trail for the next day's Horsetooth Mountain trail race. He looked surprised and amused to see me. By then I'd changed into my hazmat hat and took off the white jacket, so I looked a little less like a porn star and more like a fashionable EPA employee at a Superfund site.



It was a cool day, never got much above 75 degrees. Nice views of Longs, the snow is melting, but lots of haze from the Arizona fires. I heard from Chris in Arizona who wants to join me for part of my training run when I'm in Phoenix next week. I'm off to Arizona for my last week of hard training, to get some heat. It should be at least 100 degrees this time.

Got a big blister on the side of my big toe. That's a bad callus area, so I need to work on that.

It was our 21st anniversary this week. The wildflower garden is blooming. We had a huge hailstorm the other night that trashed a lot of the flowers, but there are still a ton left in there.



Other than that this week I bought a pile of running shoes, because I'm out and I need some for Badwater. I got some bigger ones too, because I always need that when my feet swell. Maybe if my feet keep growing I'll catch up to Dennis and wear his size 14s. Then we can share.


Felix thinks Dennis has a women's shoe fetish. What do you think?

Run 'til it falls off...

I had a tough running week. It was a challenge for me, as I didn't feel so great for most of it. I didn't get the miles I'd hoped for, but things got better toward the end of the week.

When I speak about running, I always tell the audience that you have to take setbacks and turn them around as positive events. You have to be able to re-frame the not-so-great experiences and look at them as helpful and part of the process of moving forward. The old silver lining cliche.

I had the opportunity to do this for myself the other day. This week was exceptionally exhausting for me, before I even got to my running days.

As I entered the hospital Monday morning to go into work, after crossing the bridge from the parking garage, there was a table staffed by two people who were giving out snacks and other stuff. I stopped to ask what it was for. They said, "It's certified nurses' week. Are you certified?"

Resisting the urge to smirk, I said, "Yes, I am." I actually do have my certification in critical care, even though I don't work there any more.

They offered me some granola bars and juice, and handed me a
little tag to wear on my badge that said, "Certified".

Obviously they didn't know who they were giving that to. It was NOT going to be used as it was intended.

Monday and Tuesday I had two long, busy, exhausting, but extremely gratifying days at work, because I felt like I was able to make a positive impact on a patient's life...so it was well worth the energy. But then I had a staff meeting early in the morning on Wednesday after my two long work days, and I happened to wake up at 3:30 am that morning, not by choice, but by another one of those nighttime hot flash/sweat fests.

After waking up early for that I felt completely wiped out. I knew running was not going to be an option until I got more sleep, so I headed over to the sauna and sat in there for 40 minutes. Then I came home and fell asleep from 11:30 am until nearly 3 pm. When I woke up, I felt human again. So I went running with the Wednesday night group, and they always kick my butt, they are so fast, it's my weekly speed workout to run with them.

After that run, I was wiped out again, and Thursday morning I went over to Tortilla Marissa's and hung my artwork in the restaurant. I had big plans to get some long miles in afterward. When I woke up that morning I knew it was going to be a challenge to get even a few miles in. I managed to crawl for 4 miles with the girls, and then I was done. It was 11:30 and I needed a nap again! After a 2 hour nap, I got another 7 miles in and that was it for the day. I was toast.

Friday morning I needed to get a decent long run in. Forty miles had been my original plan, and I started out with good intentions. I did my first 4 miles with the girls and after that I knew I was in trouble. I set out from the house and decided to do an out and back on the bike path and see how that felt. A few blocks into it, I started walking. I kept on moving and eventually the walking pace turned into something respectable.

Friday ended up as a 20 mile walk, which was useful, as I need to keep working on that walking pace. But the BEST thing that came of that was I started to develop a friction spot underneath the ball of my left foot, which has a callus on it. That's the one that became such an issue during Badwater in 2008, and slowed me down so much.

When I peeled my shoes and socks off Friday afternoon, I could see that a deep blister is forming underneath that same callus. That is AWESOME! I am going to keep working on growing that blister so the callus will eventually peel off, as it did after Badwater 08. That way I can start with a callus-free foot before Badwater this time.

Today I went up and did Rock Repeats and had an absolutely kick ass 22 mile workout. Five Rock Repeats at a good consistent pace, with the last one as the fastest one.

It was a beautiful clear day after the fog burned off. It was gusty up there and with the wind in your face it was freezing. But most of the time it was perfect.



I could see clouds on Longs Peak, and above Coyote Ridge.



There's another runner I met up there a few weeks ago named JP and he's training for Leadville. We found out we were doing the same workout and Katy and I ran into him last Saturday.

JP was up there today but he got a late start, so I was finishing my 3rd as he was starting out. It really helps to see another runner up there doing the same workout. By trying to guess where we'll pass each other on each out and back, I can try to push myself to run harder.

So tomorrow the plan is to do the long miles on the flats again, and alternate running and walking a lot, because walking creates more friction on the bottom of my feet. I'll run until the bottoms of my feet fall off! And that is the silver lining.