Midwestern Dirt Runner- Michele Hartwig

Blueberry Muffins!!!!

2012-02-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Blueberry Muffins- Okay friends...here is the recipe you were asking for! Blueberries are rich with anti oxidants like Vitamin C, B complex, copper and much more!!!

Plus I read they help reduce belly fat!! I'll go with that!

I like the Spelt flour, it's high nutrient and high protein. It can be substituted in any recipe equal for all purpose flour. When you eat something made with Spelt flour you will be much more satisfied and full.

2 cups whole spelt flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup sugar (can use date sugar or raw, I use what I have on hand-my favorite is the date)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (salt enhances the flavor of sweet-plus us ultra runners need it)
3/4 cup low fat milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon grated orange peel (use only the orange part, I grate an entire orange peel..love the taste it adds!)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (not thawed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter muffin pan. Makes 12 muffins.

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl.

In another bowl combine milk, vanilla, melted butter, orange peel, and 2 eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Gently fold in frozen blueberries.

Drop by heaping spoonfuls in to muffin pan. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Counting the days until my taper....

2012-02-01T12:39:00.000-08:00

This cute house is on a favorite road running route of mine.

February 1st...my next race, Iron Horse 100 is on the 18th. Just 18 days away.

This is the time in my training that I'm counting the days until my taper. I've been on a tough schedule for months... back to back long runs on the weekend, a recovery run Monday, then double runs & speed work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Friday a recovery run. Then the week starts over. 7 days a week, high mileage... no break days..train...train...train.

Making a small change in my schedule is impossible. It is written out perfectly to give me the most miles and speed-work, while allowing the proper easy runs to let my muscles repair to work them hard again. I dream of having a perfect race. This is what I work towards every day. This is why I choose to follow my plan exactly, every day.

This last Peak week of high mileage is the toughest. This is the week of training that I run, work and sleep. I do this while taking care of my house, family and job. I happily do this because one day I'm going to have the perfect race. My best chance of this happening is to train to my personal best. Every day I remind myself get through this run, rest is coming.

This is the time of my training I doubt my abilities to keep a solid pace for 100 miles. I'm so tired now that even my easy pace is tough. Every run my legs are tired and heavy. I still have speed work outs that require me to run a certain pace. Somehow I manage to move my tired legs fast enough to finish the work outs.

I have to remember what it felt like to run the last time I was tapered and fresh. I have to trust that my training is working, that I will be rewarded at my race. I work hard to give myself the best chance at showing up race morning, having the race of my dreams. The perfect race! It will happen for me one day, I trust this.

I love this quote from Ben Nephew, "Miracles rarely occur on race day; your training should be at a level which makes your race goal a logical result, and not dependent on a vast improvement on race day, "

My favorite road route is around a lake, this is where I usually do my speed-work

From Roclites to Flyrocs...my year in shoes

2012-01-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

I'm starting 2012 racing season out in a brand new pair of Roclite 268's! I love the new color combination, grey, navy and brilliant blue! I've been drooling after than since I first saw them at the Fleet Feet conference in Chicago last July.

2011 was a good running season. I started the year with new training program. It worked out great for me and I was able to train solid all year long with no injuries. I was pleased to have gotten PR's in every distance that I raced. The two main trail shoes I used for training were the Flyroc 310's and the Roclite 268's.

For years Flyroc 310's have been my favorite. These are a great stable shoe with excellent grip. I do many training runs on the Ice Age trail in Wisconsin, or similar trails. It's single track trail, with some open prairie, rolling hills and many rocky areas. With the Flyroc 310's I am able to cruise over the rocks and not feel them at all. They are a solid shoe that holds your feet very well in place as the trail tries to twist your ankles around. I can attack the downhills and have excellent toe protection with all the roots and rocks I inevitably kick. The Flyrocs weigh 10.9 ounces.

The Flyroc's had been a proven favorite of mine but I had been curious about the very popular Roclite 268's. I know a lot of people are very happy with these shoes. So I decided to order a pair. They are a light weight women specific trail shoe weighing 9.4 ounces. The same shoe for men is called the Roclite 295. When I first got the Roclite's I wore the them once or twice a week. Trying to decide how I felt about them. They have a lot more flexibilty in them than the Flyrocs. I soon discovered, whenever I wore them I felt fast and light.

With my new training program my mileage was increasing and my feet and ankles were getting stronger. I was getting stronger and faster on trails and the Roclite's were now the shoe that was fitting my running style. They give me good "feel" for the trail. My feet adjust to every rock or root making me feel light and fast as I cruise through the trail. They breath great and have plenty of underfoot protection. The Roclite's have the same great toe guards as all the Inov-8 trail shoes. They soon became my perfect "go to" shoe! I nicknamed them my long distance racing flats. As in 50+ miles.

I still like my Flyrocs and will always have a pair for long training runs. On race day, or days I just feel like tearing up the trail my new favorite is the Roclite 295's!

I'll be wearing my new pair at Iron Horse 100 in Florida next month!

Pumpkin Holler 100 mile-Rising from the Dead!

2011-10-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

Me, Steve and Mark

Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd- Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Race held in the 17,000 acre J.T. Nickels Preserve in the Ozarks.

My garmin registered Elevation Gain 15,221/Elevation loss 15,213. According to Ultrarunning magazine that would be on the low end of 4 for terrain. 4=very hilly, total climb between 150-250 feet per mile (7,500-12,500 feet in 50 miles) Surface- my opinion is it was a 3. Ultrarunning magazines definition of 3=trail or dirt road with some rocks, root, and/or ruts. My garmin registered 102.53 total miles.

Crew Chief Royal (My hubby) and me

Me and the Pumpkin crew headed south Thursday morning for Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd! My Brave crew chief Royal drove. Our friends Steve Conn and Mark Francis came along to crew and each run a 50k. We enjoyed the "road trip" down, taking time for plenty of stops to take cheesy pictures of ourselves! I was feeling rested and ready to tackle another 100 miler.

Pumpkin Holler was my first try at a little faster hundred. Usually the goal is to finish under the cut-off. This time I wanted to kick it up a little. My training this year has been insanely great! Simply because of my running coach Cari Setzler (the "Boss"). She has been training me since last year. She has gotten my mileage higher with plenty of quality speed work. I've been healthy and fast all year long, a few PR's...and not even the slightest nagging injury.

Me, Steve Conn, and Mark Francis- Ready for take off

I wasn't sure what my "comfortable" 100 mile pace would be. The last time I tapered was in June for Kettle 100k. Every run I have done in the last 4 months has been on tired legs. So even when I've been running in my "easy" heart rate, I've felt fatigued. I couldn't remember what it felt like to run feeling rested. The "Boss" gives me my weekly training schedule and I just simply do what she says. If she says run tempo pace...that's what I do, hill repeats....done...easy pace...okay. I just knocked off one work out after another, 7 days a week. It was an aggressive schedule. I enjoy training hard, and was looking forward to the reward of my efforts.

Pre Race Meeting-

I found it strange that couple of days before the race I got an e-mail from the Race Director. In all capital letters it read, "THIS IS NOT A FLAT COURSE." I had read the website quite a few times and was under the impression the course was fairly flat. I went to the website and sure enough, it said no where that it was flat. I thought to myself, "how could I have read the course description wrong?" No big deal, I'm a strong hill runner and whatever the course was, I was fit and ready!

The Race directors introduced themselves and the first thing they said was, "We would like to apologize for saying this course is fairly flat, we have changed the wording on the website" They told a cute story about how they came out and drove the course and it didn't seem very hilly, came back... drove it again, and thought, huh...I guess this is fairly hilly...came back a third time and thought, oh dear.... this is a very hilly course! They also told us they always like to give their runners a little something extra- so the 100 mile course was going to be 101.3 miles.

We would start the race on an out and back that measured 8 miles, then we would do a 31.1 mile loop three times. This was all on gravel, lightly traveled park roads. Whenever the course had an out and back they had timing mats. I appreciated that they did this. You like to think everyone is honest, but unfortunately I've seen, it doesn't always work out that way.

Morning sunshine on the river

Race morning I was calm and ready to race. I wanted to run this race as perfectly as I could. I was wearing my heart rate monitor and planned to keep my heart rate as low as possible. I had no intention of running for pace, it was whatever my body was truly comfortable doing, 100 miles is a long way. I wore a Nathan hydration pack that I would keep full of water, then I would refuel with a glass of Perpetuem at the aid stations...plus a variety of foods. It was in the 50's at the race start but the temperature was going to quickly rise to the mid 80's with full sunshine.

5...4...3...2...1...BANG...the race is on! I decided to wear my headphones for the first lap. With headphones on you risk running to fast, but I felt I was smart enough to resist the urge to get carried away in the music. I ran along, enjoyed my music, and concentrated on staying extremely comfortable. I could have ran faster and still been in my "easy" zone, but the pace I was running was already at a fast 100 mile finish pace. I cruised through the first 8 miles easily and was back at the start.

I had done a great job drinking my water, I filled my pack again. Drank a glass of perpetuem, grabbed a little food and took off for my first 50k loop with my music still on. I ran across the bridge that was near the start/finish. Nice and easy pace. I knew I had a long day and night ahead of me. I ran patiently leaving myself as fresh as possible to be able to run through out the night.

The course was hilly gravel roads with quite a few rocks. I'm glad I decided to wear my Inov-8 RocLite 268 trail shoes. The soles of the shoes gave me a lot of protection from the rocks as I ran across them. Plus, I appreciated the toe protection since I kicked quite a few big rocks. I lubed my feet with body glide and wore my shoes with Injinji socks and no gaiters. I personally think the trail shoes do their job of keeping rocks out of my shoes.

I had no problem running the hills. I run hilly trails nearly every day. Even though the course was hilly, I found it easier than trail hills. My legs were strong and fresh! I was just floating through the course. I was slowly passing people through out the first lap. It was incredibly comfortable. I couldn't imagine getting tired at the pace I was running. I was absolutely LOVING this run!!!!

I picked up my first pacer Mark at mile 39.58. Him and Steve had both signed up for the 50k, that way they could get a finishers medal and a t-shirt. I had to laugh when they were asking the Race director if they could start their 50k when they started pacing me. The RD said, "that is fine, I'll start your 50k time when you start the race, but you will not be eligible to be overall winner of the race". How funny the RD thought I might just be running fast enough for them to finish faster than any other 50k runner.

Mark and I had a blast running together! We are both M.U.D.D. club runners but we haven't run a lot together. This was great because all our stories were new to each other, we chatted non stop! During long distance runs conversations can get really deep and personal. In a 31 mile run you can feel like you have a friend that you have talked to every day for years. I love that! I can't express how important Mark was to my experience.

My legs were still feeling fresh this lap but I was starting to eat a lot of TUMS. The dreaded digestion problems were sneaking up on me. I was trying to keep drinking and fueling myself but it was getting more and more difficult.

I picked up Steve for my final lap. I'm comfortable with Steve. We have run quite a few training miles together. I trusted him completely to do the best he could to help me be my best. I am very confident of what I'm suppose to do at a race. I don't let people push me into doing things that I know from experience are not good for me. I told Steve from the start that I always lead. I know how to pace myself. This is how we ran for approximently 10 miles of the course.

That's when my stomach issues were getting bad. I wanted to mentally make myself run. Mentally I knew my legs felt great. But my stomach, chest, face, throat, were achy, sick and nausous. My body was completely drained of energy from not being able to keep water or food down. I trudged along with Steve just a few feet in front of me. He kept me moving a tiny bit faster than I wanted to go. Our next aid station was taking forever to get to. I wanted to throw up more but just couldn't. We kept moving forward till finally we saw the station.

Royal and Mark came up to me and I immediatly started violently puking. It was zapping every bit of energy out of me. It was a burning vomit that made everything in my body hurt. I tried to look at my crew and appear ok, but I knew my eyes were glazed and I was unable to focus. They had to catch me from falling as I tried to stay upright. Royal asked me if I wanted to sit down. I said, "No, I can't sit down, that's death in a hundred". The problem was I couldn't stay standing. I had to get water and nutrition in me. Royal changed my shirt, sat me in the chair and covered me with a blanket. He massage my calves, knees and ankles to keep my blood flowing. It was freezing in the chair. Steve held my head so I could take a little nap. Mark brought me a couple of advil and I washed them down with Starbucks expresso double shot. I had to get moving, my break was over. I left that aid station One hour after I had come into it. 4 women had passed me and looked at me with pity as they ran by.

I could barely stand up. My legs were frozen after sitting for that long. I shuffled one foot in front of the other and took off up the hill with Steve. I could see by the look on the aid station captain that he was worried. He knew Royal had a car, and Steve had a phone with him. He told Royal if I had problems they could drive out on the course and get me.

It was so cold I had to move along just to stay warm. I would shuffle as long as I could then walk. Steve was encouraging saying, "great, you made it a mile that time". We arrived at the next aid station. Royal and Mark were still sitting in the truck. The way I looked the last time they saw me they didn't expect me so quickly. This station had hot chicken noodle soup. I still wasn't hungry but was trying my best to drink as much as I could. They poured me a big cup and I stood there and drank it slowly. I joked about never running another 100 while at the same time saying what I needed to remember to bring with me at my next one. I finished my soup and was on my way. The station crew said, "it's only 13 miles to the finish, just an easy Tuesday night run".

Steve and I walked off. We were about 1 minute away and I realized I was feeling good. I looked at my watch and thought I must have accidently stopped it and told Steve. Steve said, "no that is correct" his was the same. I could actually still finish this race in a good PR time. Steve made the logical suggestion, "We should run sub 10 minute miles from here to the finish line". I said, "Let's do it!!! Let's kick some pumpkin a$$!" It was time to put on my music and open up a little can of whoop a$$ on the Pumpkin Holler!.

I was totally pumped! We took off running! Steve went just a little ahead of me. He started us off at about a 10 minute pace then pushed it just a little past that. We were barreling up hills, knocking off one mile after another. I felt Freaking Awesome!!! My music was jamming, I tried to sing but I hardly know any words to my songs. I bopped my head to the tunes and played the air guitar as we picked off the miles. Yeah Baby...bringing it home!!!

We came to the last station we would see Royal and Mark. I yelled my race number to the station, "20 in and 20 out! I'm not stopping till the finish line!" My hydration pack was full of water and we were booking along feeling great! Royal and Mark didn't know what the heck had just happened. Royal yelled to me "be careful."

We cruised along at sub 10 minutes miles and started picking off one runner after another. I passed every women back that had passed me during my break down. Catching people was great motivation to keep moving. Although it really wasn't that hard. My legs felt great, my breathing was great! I just figured I would run a little half marathon to the finish line. This was fun! I love it!!!!

About 9 miles in to our "speed trip" my stomach was getting upset again. I had gotten a lead on all the women that I could. The next women in front of me was Debbie Leftwich and I doubted I would be able to catch her. She's a very talented and ultra experienced 100 mile runner. I was sure she would be running strong to the finish. So I started doing more of a run walk to the finish. I was still ridding my body of stomach upset. But it wasn't as violent as the middle of the night break down. At this point I was able to drink and even ate a package of honey stinger chews during our "speed trip".

We were less than 1/2 of a mile to the finish line when I turned around and saw a women running behind me. I took off in my best end of a 100 mile sprint, she didn't even try to catch me. She had seen me barrel past her earlier, so she knew I could pull out the speed when needed. I stayed into it all the way to the finish line. I finished in 24:48! For a 100 mile PR...I beat my best time by a whopping 3 hours!!!!!! I was 4th overall female and 13th overall finisher. Woo Hoo!!!! Pumpkin Holler!!!!!

My husband was a wonderful crew chief. Everyone that has been at races with us knows how well he takes care of me. Mark and Steve were amazing! Thank you so much guys! The aid stations were well stocked with great food. My favorite had to be the Mad Dog Station. The station captian (a dude Martha Stewart) had baked these delicious ginger cookies shaped like a dog biscuit! He even stamped each cookie with a stamp that he made. Each cookie read Mad Dog on them. He made so many that they never ran out. I was filling my pockets with them at each stop. Really fun! The course was country beautiful, with bluffs, barns, Long horn cows, horses, snakes, adorable houses, friendly people....I could go on and on! Thank you Pumpkin Holler for an incredible race!!!!

Sitting on couch the day after the race enjoying the view- totally worth it!!!

You can see my feet looked great after the race. My Inov-8 Roclite 268's were the perfect choice!

Kettle Moraine 100k- June 4, 2011

2011-06-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Chuck, Me and Dorn ready to go! I've learned a lot from both and appreciated them doing a bunch of training miles with me. On one of my training runs with Chuck we did 4 hours on the hilliest part of Kettle. Chuck is faster than me. My training schedule called for me to speed up to "marathon" effort pace. We were almost back to our finish and I'm dying, Chuck just casually says, "I'll race ya to the finish!" you know, I kind of wanted to kick him!

Preparing for Kettle 100k

Kettle Moraine 100k, my first goal race of the year! I decided I needed to make some changes to my training in preparation for this race. First step, good training plan. I started by backing off doing races last year around November and replace it with quality training runs. I felt I needed to have months of consistent high mileage, work on a smart race fueling, pacing, and speed work. I hired Cari Setzler from Running Depot in Crystal Lake to write my training schedule and coach me.

Soon she had my mileage high and with no little injuries going on. She had me running 7 days a week, many times twice a day. Plus she added extra core work to my schedule. (This was a huge benefit) It was challenging working 40 hours a week, taking care of two kids and coaching 2 nights a week -on top of a high mileage training plan. But I was completely focused on getting myself ultra fit. I never felt overwhelmed because this was something I wanted to do. I soon learned how to manage my time better. Many times I was starting my second run of the day at 10:30 pm, then I would get up early the next morning and run again. I got completely comfortable with this. I knew the training was working. I ran Winona Lake 50 as a training run without tapering, and it actually felt kind of easy. I was able to keep a faster pace at Winona 50 than my Kettle 100k goal pace was. This was a good sign.

I had my goal pace in mind but I know weather plays such a huge factor in what we are going to be able to do on race day. I also know everyone has to deal with that weather, heat or rain- so we just have to come in to the race at our own personal best fitness level- then do what we have trained to do. With my race pace goals I thought I would have a good shot at a top five finish, but my main goal was win 1st overall Master Female.

Me and my friend Tom Wilson. He paced me to my first 100 mile finish at JJ100. I was so happy to see him! He is a strong runner that has finished many of the toughest 100 mile races in the country. I greatly admire him.
THE DAY BEGINS....

Kettle Moraine 100 mile/100k Starting line

I was as prepared as I could be. The weather at the start of the race (6am) was already 73 with very high humidity. The temperatures would rise to the mid 90s before the day was over. I knew any tiny nutritional, pacing, or hydrating mistakes would cost me big on a day like this. I just needed to keep my head on straight, remember to drink, eat and take salt. Plus keep a close eye on my heart rate so I knew I wasn't using to much effort early on.

I started middle of the pack. I wanted to start slow and ease in to it. It was the first time I had tapered all year, It was so odd running on fresh legs. I had to be careful not to go to fast. The course starts out on the Nordic loop. I kept my heart rate low and was running just a little faster than my overall goal pace. This was good. My race plan was to keep the same pace through out.

Me and Dorn at race start

When I finished the Nordic Loop my shorts were sopping wet from sweat. This was the first time all year that had happened to me. I didn't feel especially hot, but I figured I better be extra careful hydrating because I was losing a ton of water. I had a great crew, my sweet 11 year old daughter and my wonderful husband Royal. They would help me remember to do everything I needed to take care of myself today.

I was cruising through the hills and rocky trails having no problem keeping pace. I had practiced many times the months prior to the race on these same trails with many different shoes. I eventually decided my Inov-8 FlyRoc 310's were the perfect shoes for this course. They are very helpful on the rocky sections. I was running and feeling very comfortable. Drinking 2 bottles between each aid station and taking my salt every half hour. I was getting my calories from Hammer Perpetuem, Lemon Sublime Gu's and Honey Stinger Waffles. My goal calorie intake was 300 calories per hour. I was using Hammer Endurolytes for salt. One on every half hour and 2 on every hour. If I was feeling funny, I would add an extra salt or Gu. I was also careful to slow my pace after eating to keep my stomach digesting my calories. I was feeling good and hopeful the heat was not going to kill my goal pace.

Then the open fields came. Very soon in to the open fields I realized keeping my goal pace would hurt me. I did not realize it was in the 90s with almost 100 % humidity already. I just knew keeping the pace I had practiced a million times was not going to be possible for me today. I couldn't understand why. I had run so many miles on very tired legs and could always keep pace. Today I was tapered and 16 miles in to the race. I made a very smart decision at this time. Don't watch my pace, just move forward at a pace I felt I could keep in this weather for the remainder of the race. I was still keeping an eye on my heart rate, not letting it get out of the comfortable area. I ran the entire open meadows at a conservative pace.

The killer open fields!

After leaving the open meadows the course heads up to Scumpernong. Part of the way is easy Pine forest trails and part of it is fairly challenging hills, all wooded. I was more tired than I thought I would be at this point. During my vision of how the race would go, I thought I would get to the 50k mark feeling fresh. I had done so many long training runs on this course. I knew my body but today was brutally hot and humid, the first of the year. What I had practiced was not going to work today. This just meant I had to dig deep early.

I got to the 50k mark and saw so many of my friends and family. It was great seeing everyone! I smiled, gave high fives, and lied to everyone about how great I felt. Then I turned around to go run the same 50k back. The good thing about the turn around was getting to see all my friends on the ways back. Seeing them was uplifting every time!

When I got to the next aid station my husband gave me my Ipod. This was a HUGE help. I cranked my music high and was feeling great. Suddenly I was running through the trails quickly and keeping my heart rate low. I blew by a few women at this point...Woo Hoo!!!! One of them was the only Master female that had been in front of me. Yee Haw!!!! I was feeling freakin Awesome!

That lasted until I hit the open fields again. It was hot, I was tired, but this was my race! PUSH... PUSH... PUSH.... I had blown by those women so quickly I knew if I was able to run that open field the entire way, I would get a good lead on them. I know my training kept me going, the meadows were brutal. I was prepared for them mentally and physically and I was able to run them on the way out AND the way back in!!!! Yeah baby!!!

My 11 year old daughter Tasha was at every aid station. When I came in she would give me ice, fill my water bottle. She would encourage me "your doing great Mom, your 1st Master Female and 4th overall ". I wanted her to see me work hard. I wanted her to know it wasn't easy for me. She had her big 5k the next morning that she had been training for. I wanted her to be inspired by my performance. I wanted her to learn from me and show up motivated at her race the next day - to do her personal best! I was planning to show her how to dig deep and gut it to the finish line!

My Mom and Son were driving up to see me cross the finish line. For some reason my Mom worries about me running long distance. She has not been to one of my races yet. I kept thinking I should tell my husband to call her and tell her not to come up. I was pretty sure I would collapse when I crossed the finish line, and I didn't want to worry her. But every time I got to an aid station I was more focused on refueling and would forget to tell him.

I arrived to my final 7.5 miles. Bluff aid station. I hadn't thought there would be a chance in the world I may need a headlamp here, but since the heat had slowed my pace I needed to grab a headlamp. The good thing was now I was able to have my husband run with me. I had originally thought I would come in to early to be allowed a pacer.

I asked my husband, Royal, if he could set my Ipod to play Rhianna over and over again. He did and for the next 7.5 miles I blasted her song S & M while singing loud. Okay, now you have to picture this...44 year old white women, that is tone deaf and knows about every third word to the song- running through the forest, singing risky lyrics at the top of her lungs. Normally I would be way to self consious to do something like this, but this was what was getting me to the finish line! I had to keep running because I didn't want any women to catch me now!

My husband says I was keeping a great pace. It was hard. I never gave up the entire day. I ran flats and downhills and walked the big hills. We almost made it in before dark. Soon I was to the markers counting down to the finish line, 5 miles, 4, 3, 2, 1 !!!! Then just as I passed the one mile mark I saw this tiny little girl in a blue Team Inov-8 shirt standing in the middle of the trail. I said "Tasha?" She says Mommy!!!! I was so happy, I hugged her and we started sprinting to the finish line! I finished in 15:11 as 4th overall female and 1st Master Female!!!! The next morning Tasha got up and ran a super fast 5k. She was pushing so hard to the finish line. She said it was the most focused she has ever been in her entire life. She said she could not hear anything around her and she felt like she was floating! She kicked some major booty!!!! Honestly, that was my biggest victory! I'm so proud of Tasha!

I was so tired at the end of race I sat down with my Award. I wish I would have thought to get a picture with my husband and daughter at the finish line. My daughter told me after the race, "I think I'll wait a little while to start running Ultras because if I start to early I will run out of places to put all my trophies".

Here you can see Tasha focused on the finish line... Then totally tired just after she crosses.... Then Tasha and Brandi raise their hands in Victory knowing Tasha had just gave the race everything she had! Tasha is so happy with herself! What a fantastic accomplishment!!! Thank you Brandi for being Tasha's Running Buddy!

Winona Lake 50 mile, Indiana

2011-04-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

I had some qualms about running Winona Lake 50 mile. I had heard from a couple of very accomplished runners that it was a dangerous course. They said it was nothing but roots, rocks, mud and tons of switchbacks. They did not like it at all, and warned me to be careful. It was a 10+ mile loop course, the 50 mile race would actually be 51 miles. The race started at 2:45pm so finishing would be after dark. I always struggle to see in the dark and was a little scared about doing it on a technical course. Looking at last years results I saw it took Connie Gardener 9:19 to finish, which made me think it would be fairly challenging.

I had not raced anything yet this year and it was time to do a 50 miler. Winona Lake 50 was offering 125.00 for first female, 75.00 for second, and 50.00 for third. I felt I was running very well and might have a shot. I figured I would just forget about my fears for the course and go for it.

Race morning I tried to sleep in as long as possible but my internal clock had me up at 7am. I rested in bed as long as I could then got up and went for breakfast at Bob Evans. I ate 2 biscuits and drank a bunch of coffee. Then drove to the race start.

Planet Adventure was putting on the Winona Lake Ultra. It was part of a weekend of overall fitness. They had several Mountain bike races going on before the ultra started. The Village of Winona Lake was charming. It had a bunch of cute shops along the Lake. I thought I would like to stop after the race for some ice-cream at the Hoosier Mamma Ice Cream parlor. Too bad I would be finishing in the middle of the night.

Driving into the park I was very excited. The trails looked awesome! I was very impressed by the mountain bikers. I’m just amazed they are able to maneuver on those bikes through the tough trails. I have a lot of respect for the mountain bikers as athletes.

The park was only a couple miles from my hotel room so I went back to rest until the race began. I had my clothes laid out and my race fuel ready. The course had aid stations at mile 3.2, 5.4 and 6.8 then back at the start -finish line you passed on each loop. I had Cliff bars, Caffe Latte Perpetuem, Edurolytes and mint chocolate Gu’s.

It was our first HOT day of the year, over 70. Which I knew would feel really warm. I put on my sports bra and shorts to start the race. I had a lightweight-racing Tee to wear at night. I wore my Inov-8 Roclite 268s. I arrived at the race start about 1:30. The large parking lot was full of cars and people. The music was cranking to some great 80’s tunes, it was a very exciting atmosphere. The RD said over the loud speaker, “ a prize for the first person to come up tell me who sings this song” My friend won that race…it was Quiet Riot. He won a water bottle.

Soon the Race Director called us all to the start line. It was a pretty good crowd of people. They had a few races going on 10, 30 and 50 milers plus relay teams. He was sending us off staggered with the 50 milers going last. I would say about 30 of us were left when the 50-mile race started.

We all took off…my goal was to not go out to fast. I knew the heat was going to get to us, especially since we were starting at the hottest time of the day. I had two females in front of me from the start. I thought back to my run with Sarah Jurgaitis the weekend before, she had said “ I like to start out slow and gradually get faster and faster” I kept that wisdom in my thoughts as I let the them pull away from me.

I totally enjoyed the course. I found the switch backs a blast, I’ve never seen so many. Tons of roots! But I liked those too. It had lots of fun hills and some open grassy areas. It was a beautiful scenic course that was impossible to get bored on! You had to constantly think about your footing and I completely loved all the little twist and turns.

I love running downhill. I’m fearless and can fly down a technical hill with out putting forth much energy. One of the fun ones on this course was called “Dead mans Curve” I didn’t see the WARNING sign and came flying down this root filled steep down hill when the trail just seamed to disappear…ugh… luckily I spotted the very sharp right turn just in time, and missed running over the edge to a big drop off. Woo! Hoo!!!…I was loving this course!

Before I knew it I was finished with loop one in 1:52:41. That was a little faster than I thought it would be but my heart rate was low for the entire loop so I felt I wasn’t running to fast. I still decided I should slow down a bit for the next loop. I wanted to run an even paced race and I didn’t have intentions of running a sub 10-hour race on this course. Logically I thought, I better save my energy and slow it down.

My next loop went great. I made an effort to slow down. I have to admit, a small voice in my head was also telling me to stay fast because when the sun went down I was going to slow down from not being able to see well. At the mile 5.4 (of the second 10 mile loop) aid station I saw the 1st place female. She was at mile 6.8 (or 16.8). We shared an aid station at this point. She looked like the heat was getting to her. I figured I would catch her because I was feeling freaking AWESOME! I ended up passing her before the end of that lap. I finished that lap with a time of 2:00:01.

I grabbed my headlamp and fuel needs to head out for my 3rd lap. The start-finish line had music cranking and I was feeling insanely great! I was 100% confident I could have held that pace for the next three laps if it was daylight. This made me feel really good about my training. Since it was going to get dark on this lap though I knew I would slow down, but from darkness, not fatigue. I finished the 3rd lap with a time of 2:09:21.

I headed out on my 4th lap in the pitch dark. I was very careful to pick my feet up. I had to slow down considerably. Some of the hills I could run up and down during the day I walked at night. With an abundance of roots and tree stumps in the middle of the trail I wasn’t going to take any chances on falling. I was thinking about Connie Gardener on this lap. I was running by myself and feeling strong. I pictured her on the same course one year earlier and I felt as strong as her. I was on cruise control gliding through the trails at night. Enjoying the wonderful sounds of the night. Before I knew it I was done with that lap in 2:17:25.

I had no fatigue. I was so comfortable it was insane. I had fueled the entire race on perpetuem and Gu’s. I took 2 Endurolytes every 5 miles. I filled my water bottle, grabbed my fuel and left for my 5th and final lap. I had lapped the 2nd place female earlier so I knew I shouldn't have to worry about getting passed. I just put it into cruise control and ran the course as it directed me to do. Run the flats, walk the steep hills, be careful through the technical areas. I clipped through the trails feeling strong and happy. The miles continued to fly by until I was already at the finish line. I heard my friends yell, “Come on girl, run it in, your almost done!” I kicked it into high gear and came running into the finish line! The race director handed me my 1st place trophy and check. They congratulated me on a very even paced race. I was so happy to find out my last lap was the same as my 4th…BAM!!! Training was working! I’m really psyched for my next race! Kettle 100K baby!!!!!

Side note- It took me 4 nights of sleeping after the race to not dream about running on a root filled trail! I kept waking myself up in a sudden jerk thinking I was falling! During the actual race I hit my toes a few times but I did not fall once!

Race morning when I went out to check out the course we saw a 5k along the lake getting ready to start. They had a registration table set up and not a huge crowd. I joked with my friend we should stop because we might have a shot at winning our Age Group. We still had time to rest up then run the 50 tonight. Great idea but I didn’t figure my running Coach would be impressed with my thought process.

Team Inov-8 2011

2010-12-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the 2011 Team Inov-8. I'm absolutely humbled to be among such a talented group of athletes. They have all had some incredible accomplishments in 2010. I look forward to the 2011 season. I find inspiration in the excellent performances by every one of my team mates. I'm excited for myself, to train hard, enjoy the trails and give the best performances that I can do.

Introducing Team Inov-8 2011-

Viktor Alexy – Trail/Mtn/Ultra - X-Trail Mont Sutton 21k & X-Trail Mont Orford 23k Champion

Sean Andrish – Ultrarunning – Bel Monte 50k Champion, Southern Massanutten 54 Mile Champion

Jonathan Basham – Ultrarunning & Speed Hike - Finisher Barkley Marathons (9th finisher ever)

Katie Caba – Trail/Mtn/Road – USATF Trail Marathon Female National Champion

Eric Charette – Ultrarunning- Keyes Peak Trail Marathon Champion

Yassine Diboun – Ultrarunning – Peterson Ridge Rumble 60k & Silver State 50k Champion

Scott Dunlap - Ultrarunning - USATF Ultra Men Master Runner of the Year

Gary Gellin – Ultrarunning – 4th OA / 1st Master - Way to Cool 50k

Joe Gray - Mtn/Trail – USA Mtn Running Team Member (3 yrs), USATF Mtn Runner of the Year

Michele Hartwig – Ultrarunning – 2nd OA Female Fans 12 Hr and Illinois Ultra Grandslam

Camille Herron – Mtn/Road – Palos Bank Half Marathon Champion, 3rd Female Papa Johns 10 Mile

Dave James – Ultrarunning – WV RRCA State Marathon Champion, 2nd OA USATF 50 Mile National Championships

Jim Johnson – Trail/Road – GSSS Series & WMAC Series Snowshoe Champion, Soapstone 24k Champion

Amy Lane – Ultrarunning – Pittsfield Peak 54 & Stonecat 50 Mile Female Champion

Gina Lucrezi - Mtn / Trail – USATF Trail 10k National Champion, USATF Trail Series Female Winner

Mark Lundblad – Trail/Ultra– Uhwarrie & Pine Mtn 40 Mile Champion

Anne Lundblad – Trail/Ultra – Umstead Trail Marathon Champion, 2nd OA USATF 24 Hr. National Championships

Abby Mahoney – Mtn/Trail – 2010 WMAC Grand Tree Series - Women’s Champion

Peter Maksimow – Mtn/Trail/Road – Pikes Peak Winter Series Champion, Mt Baldy Run Champion

Tommy Manning – Mtn/Trail/Road- Coal Creek XC, Pony Express Trail, Berry Picker Trail Champion

Andy Martin – Ultrarunning – Gore-Tex Transrockies Elite Men’s Team Champion, Chuckanut 50k Champion

Dane Mitchell – Trail/Ultra– Mt.Cheaha 50k, Oak Mtn 50k, Rock/Creek Scenic City Marathon Champion (all CR's)

Joe Moore – Trail/Road – Roanoke Canal Trail Half & Inside Out Sports Half Marathon Champion

Sabrina Moran – Trail/Ultra/Road- 2nd Female Umstead 100 mile, Back On My Feet 24 HR Champion (CR)

Amber Moran – Trail/Road – Chichester Priory 10k, Dupont 12k Trail, The Bear 5 Mile Champion

Ben Nephew - Mtn/Trail/Ultrarunning– Stonecat 50 Mile and Escarpment 30k Champion

Alex Nichols – Mtn/Trail – 2010 American Discovery Trail Marathon Champion (CR)

Chris Reed – Ultrarunning – 2nd OA MMTR 100 Mile, Grindstone 100 Mile & Hellgate 100k

Sam Robinson – Trail/Road – Xterra Redwood Park Trail Race & PCTR Big Basin Trail Run Champion

DeWayne Satterfield – Ultrarunning – Dizzy Trail Ultra 40 miles and Black Warrior 50k Champion

Jared Scott – Mtn/Trail/Road – Soulstice Trail Race and Flagstaff Half Marathon Champion

Jamesina Simpson – Mtn/Trail/Ultra – Shiprock & Grizzly Half Marathon Champion

Dwight Shuler – Xterra/Ultrarunning – Tsali Challenge & Elk River Challenge Champion

Sophie Speidel – Ultrarunning –1st Female Master MMTR 50 Mile, Three Bridges Marathon Champion

John Storkamp – Ultrarunning - Zumbro 100 Mile & Fans 12 Hour (85.5 miles) Champion

Kevin Tilton - Mtn/Trail/Road – Cranmore Hill Climb, Merrimack Trail Race, & Mtn Epic Champion

Ryan Woods – Trail/Mtn/Road – Squaw Valley Mtn Run, Jemez Mtn Half, Mt Penn Mudfest Champion

Team Yoga Slackers – Adventure Racing – Gold Rush 24 hr, Desert Winds 24hr and Sprint Champions

Lean Horse 100- Moutain Lions, Black Hills and Buffalo...oh my!!!!

2010-09-09T12:51:00.001-07:00

Road Trip to South Dakota- The trip started with a fun road trip through Wisconsin then entered South Dakota and Wild Western Landscape, including, the Badlands, Black Hills, watering holes and field of sunflowers. I enjoyed this all with my good friend Holly and her boyfriend, Bill. I looked out the window as we drove along and fantasized about riding horseback across the countryside. Tomorrow I would have my chance with Lean Horse and run 100 miles through this beautiful area.

We arrived in Hot Springs, S.D. just before packet pick up. We met up with our friend Dorn that arrived a week early for some back country hiking and backpacking. We all headed into packet pick up together, dropped off our drop bags and did some shopping in the nice expo. We chatted with our friends from Southern IL, Don Frichtl, Bill Dey, Lucia Alzaga & Tim. Don was doing the 100 but said he was most likely going to have to stop early because his ankle was bothering him. He needs to stay healthy for work, he is a farmer and very busy. Bill, Lucia and Tim were all running the 50 mile race. They informed us we were to yell "Buffalo" whenever we saw each other. I was digging that, I felt like a little kid that just found a new word to yell out, Buffalo!!!

Holly and Me-click on picture to see a video story of race

I enjoyed a pre-race dinner and company, then headed to my hotel room and laid out my race gear. The week leading in to the race I had some nerves and self doubt. But today I was calm, confident, healthy and 100 % committed to finishing this race to my best abilities. I knew it would not be easy, but I had a race plan, the course was well visualized in my head. I knew I could run at a pace that would keep me "comfortable" for at least 75 miles, then I was going to gut it in for a 100 finish. That belt buckle was beautiful and I wanted it! I was physically and mentally prepared to Get-R-Done!

Race DayI slept well and woke up feeling well rested. Had a cup of coffee and got my clothes on. Tempatures would reach the mid 90s with no shade. I was wearing my white singlet, loose fitting shorts, white Inov-8 cap, a waist pack loaded with- a water bottle for my perpetuem drink, hard candies, e-tab, and advil. The shoes I decided to wear were an old favorite, my Inov-8 terrocs. This was the first pair of trail shoes I ever owned. I chose them because they are comfortable on roads or trails. About 33 miles of the course was on roads, the rest is crushed limestone trails. Since it was going to be warm I decided I would also carry a hand held water bottle from the start of the the race.
Me, Dorn, Holly before race

At the start line I chatted with friends. I was going through in my mind what I needed to do to stay strong through out the race. I needed to burn this in to my head because its easy to forget things once you start running. I love the physical challenge of races, but enjoying the scenery is why I love trails. I was excited about the beauty of this course. The race began and I took off. The course starts by winding through town. My goal was to stay comfortable running, nothing fast, I wanted to feel "fresh" at the 50 mile turn around, ready to run another 50 miles.

Once out of town the course went on to a rolling country road. The hills weren't difficult, just fairly constant. I walked up, then ran down them. Just doing what the course was telling me to do. I could have ran the hills but I figured that was a walking break I could not get back. I would save that energy for later in the day.

The first aid station my instinct was to fill up my water bottle quickly and keep moving. But I have found if I wait till I'm hungry to eat, I'm more likely to have a sour stomach. I looked over the food. I grabbed a homemade chocolate chip cookie and was on my way. The road had a trail feeling to me. It went through the Black Hills National Forest and I enoyed the beauty of rolling hills for miles around me.

The road section passed quickly. Then the course switched to the Mickelson trail and my first drop bag. Argyle Road mile 16.6. I ate some fruit, grabbed a small box of raisins, filled up my water bottles and mixed one of them with my caffe Latte perpetuem. I was glad I decided to carry 2 bottles, I was drinking both between stations. I was on my way again...

The course is an old railroad route that was abandoned in 1983. It had been primarily used as a gold mining route and now passes through old mining towns. The hills are slight but constant and long. I enjoyed the stunning views as the course wound through the Black Hills with rocky canyons, praire scapes, and evergreen forest. The trail crossed over many streams and deep valleys that were connected by solid old railroad trestles converted into bridges.

The day went by quickly as I enjoyed the stunning views. I had found a few friends to run and talk with, and was having a great time. My body felt good, my only small complaint was my right knee was starting to swell. It got very hot during the day and I chose to quickly walk some flat areas. My main goal was to finish the race and I wanted to stay comfortable for as long as I could. I felt I could pick the pace up at night when the cooler weather would make the effort less.

I arrived at the 50 mile turn around at 11:58. I decided not to change my shoes. I put my Go-Motion light on my waist pack and dropped off my camera. I also threw some extra batteries in my waist pouch. I was feeling "fresh" and ready to run another 50. The course was more downhill on the way back and I felt I could take advantage of that. I love running down hills. Finishing in the 26 hour range was sounding reasonable.

By the time I get to my next drop bag ( mile 64.5 Harbach) my knee is really giving me problems. It is extremely swollen but I am forcing my self to run. I came to this race to give it my all and that is what I'm doing. Even though I was still running it was costing me time. It was especially slowing me down on the uphill walks. I feel I was still keeping a strong uphill walking pace, but with little movement in my knee, it was slowing me down.

I did a run-walk from here on out. I would run as long as I could, then walk a short amount of time, then start running again. I felt I was doing well, being strong and running when it was difficult for me. I went through another aid station and drop bag, Pringle, mile 76. A lot of runners were looking exhausted, sitting in the medical tent. I was hurting but I thought for running 76 miles, I felt pretty darn good.

I headed off from Pringle with my next drop bag stop being Argyle (mile 83.4). I was tired but determined to finish at my best. I had found a friend running my pace and we were keeping each other company. As we were getting fairly close to the Argyle drop bag we heard a growling, purring noise to the left of us. It did not seam real. We commented on the unusual sound and turned our lights in the direction it was coming from. The trail in the area was about 5 feet elevated from some tall grass on both sides. As my light passed over the tall grass I saw the back of a mountain lion walking with its long tail. It was not looking at us, just moving in the opposite direction we were traveling. It was within 15 feet. We walked a few more feet down the trail and found a fresh bloody kill. It was a rabbit or a possum. I didn't look at it long. We walked for quite awhile because we didn't want to encourage the Mountain lion to chase us. When we got to the next aid station a couple of guys came in behind us. We asked them if they saw the fresh kill in the middle of the trail, they hadn't. I'm sure just after we passed the mountain lion went back up and grabbed its dinner.

At the Argyle Aid station we hung around for awhile sharing our Mountain Lion story. I looked at the food but nothing looked appetizing. They had a good spread, I was just tired and not wanting to eat. The small break chatting was not good for me. When I left the aid station my legs were not working. My knee was tight and I struggled just to walk up very small hills. It was amazing how quickly I went from good to bad. I shuffled along for a long time. If I kept this pace I would possibly not make the cut off. I had done so well during the first 3/4 of the race. I did not want all that hard work to go to waste. I wanted a PR finish. I mentally got myself back together and started running the downhills. I just tackled one at a time. Walk up the hill, run all the way down no matter how much it hurt...do it again. I did this all the way back to town. I had gotten myself back on track for a PR finish.

When I turned on the trails leading back to town I kind of lost it again. I knew I could walk it in and still PR. I was griping, "I'm done with 100's... I will stick to 50s and 100ks that way I'm done in the evening and get to hang with friends...I'm leaving running 100s to Julie Aistars...." It was the early morning rantings of an Ultra Diva. It's a good thing I didn't have the video rolling then. I had 4.5 mile to the finish line and I shuffled my way to it. My whole right leg was grossly swollen. I walked like a peg legged Pirate. I was coming back on the same course I went out on, but I did not remember seeing all these hills on the way out. Ugh!

I finally arrived to the finish line, I was sure I was going to walk it in. My Southern Illinois friends were there cheering "Buffalo!" that perked me up enough to go ahead and run it in. I finished for a 35 minute PR in 27:45. Wow, that was a tough and rewarding accomplishment that will be with me a lifetime!

Next morning thoughts- I had decided, I could have done that better. If I would have forced myself to run that last 4.5 miles I could have taken quite a bit of time off. The experience of this race will help me be just a little bit more mentally strong for the next. I'm looking forward to my next 100 mile race, in fact I think 100s may be my favorite!

For a video story from the race click on this link It's less than 3 minutes long with some fun music ;-)

Me with my AG award and My Awesome friend Holly- her 1st time 100 mile finish - tough ultra chick, plus she is a mountain climber...yeah she is one of those "crazys" that clamps on and goes straight up! We both are happy to have our beautiful Belt buckles!

Lean Horse 100- Part 1 Getting to the Starting Line

2010-09-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

Since many are asking about my Mountain Lion encounter, here is a link to my Lean Horse finishing story, Mountain Lions, Black Hills and Buffalo...oh my! .... Yes...I did see a close up of a mountain lion around 3am, but that little kitty wasn't getting in the way of me and my belt buckle. I'm curious if anyone else saw any Mountain Lion at Lean Horse, this year or in years past. I would love to hear from you. My Getting to the starting line story is below.

Lean Horse 100- Part 1 Getting to the Starting Line

This is me just after the race, tired, icing my knee- with my AG trophy, belt buckle and pillow.

Getting to the starting line, my first step to the finish line

It took a little insane ultra runner logic to get me to the starting line of Lean Horse 100. A shin injury caused me to DNF at Dawg Gone Long Run 50 on July 10th. After that setback I needed to heal and get healthy for my upcoming races. Marquette 50 mile, August 21st was next on my race schedule. It is steep, hilly and technical course that I love and ran in 2009. A wrong turn cost me some time last year. I had been looking forward to returning to enjoy the course and see what I could do without that mistake.

Recovery- I tried to take a few days off after DGLR-50 then run again, it didn't work. I eventually realized I had to give my body some time to heal. I took 18 full days of rest and took a lot of ice baths. During my rest period I worked on my nutrition and considered my options for my upcoming races. My doctor said I should come back slowly, then stay off steep hills and technical trails for awhile. I wanted to listen because running healthy was most important to me. When I started running again my body felt great, the time off had worked. I knew Marquette was no longer a good choice for me. It was only 4 days away, plus the down hills on that course would put a beating on my shins. I had to consider other options.

Option # 1- Take the month of August off of racing, come back slowly, get a solid 11 weeks of training in with only 2-50k races on the schedule. This would give me plenty of time to get some solid tempo runs in without having to taper for a race. I would most likely do better at the 2- 50ks with this choice, plus I could work towards a PR finish at Javelina 100.

Option # 2- Lean Horse 100, August 28th- This choice gave me 11 days of running before the race. Most likely my legs would be dead at my 2- 50ks (which are the last two races in an Illinois Ultra Series I am in). Plus, It was 8 weeks before my next 100 miler, Javelina 100. Would that be enough time to recover for another 100? On the other hand Lean Horse is a non technical race with never more than 4 % grade on the hills. The Doc did say to stay off of technical trails with steep hills. Lean Horse 100 is on the beautiful Mickelson trail, winding through Black Hills National Forest with Granite Mountains and canyons. Buffalo, Mountain lion (as I would see), streams, and plenty of Wild West heritage...Plus I could hitch a ride with my friend Holly that was already signed up. The thought of this course just excited me!

...I decided to pour myself a glass of wine and make a decision...the more I drank the more convinced I was, Option # 2 was impossible for me to resist! I just couldn't wait to get to that starting line! Now I had to plan my running schedule before the race.

I felt confident the time off would not hurt me. My body was now healthier from the break. I considered it a very long taper to the 100 miler. I did get 2 long runs in during that 11 days. The first was a 15 mile run. Then my son Royal biked along side of me for a 17 mile run. We did that run on a wide open trail, 90 + weather during the heat of the day. I thought that would be most helpful to me for Lean Horse.

Here's my son Royal and I during my hot final long training run, we did 17 miles. This was the Saturday prior to race.

I carefully packed my drop bags, I felt I packed light to make it less confusing at drop bag stops. If I had to many choices it would take me longer. I had no crew at the race and was relying on aid station food to keep me fueled, but threw in a few things I like to eat just in case. Plus for an energy drink I wanted to use Caffe Latte Perpetuem. It is not sweet, taste pretty good, and I find it easy to digest to get energy from.

Drop Bag # 1 ARGYLE mile 16.6 & 83.4
1 energy bar
1 Pay Day candy bar
2 ensure drinks, strawberry & vanilla
2 ziploc baggies- both with one serving each of Caffe Latte Perpetuem
2 little baggies of e-tabs and advil
1 flash lite

Drop Bag # 2 PRINGLE mile 24 & 76
1 energy bar
1 Pay Day candy bar
2 ensure drinks, strawberry & vanilla
2 ziploc baggies- both with one serving each of Caffe Latte Perpetuem
2 little baggies of e-tabs and advil
1 flash lite

Drop Bag # 3 HARBACH mile 35.5 & 64.5
1 energy bar
1 Pay Day candy bar
2 ensure drinks, strawberry & vanilla
2 ziploc baggies- both with one serving each of Caffe Latte Perpetuem
2 little baggies of e-tabs and advil
1 flash lite

Drop Bag # 4 BUCKAROO mile 50.8- this is the only drop bag I stop at only once
1 Pay Day candy bar
1 ziploc baggie with one serving of Caffe Latte Perpetuem
little baggie of e-tabs & advil
Go-Motion light kit that fits on to my Nathan waist pack
extra batteries
Flyroc 310 shoes, 1/2 size bigger than I started race in. (In case my feet were swollen and I wanted to change shoes.)
Injinji socks

I was starting the race in Terroc 330s, I feel the Terrocs are the best shoes for the course. I used the Flyrocs because I already had a pair that was 1/2 size bigger I picked up for Javelina 100.

Lean Horse 100- Hot Springs South Dakota

2010-09-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

Lean Horse 100 mile, Hot Springs South Dakota. It was a very exciting race and I'm writing a story to share. So many exciting things happened, including seeing a Mountain Lion around mile 75. For now here is a video story about the race, enjoy!

Me, Holly & Dorn- the night before the race enjoying the Wild West Heritage

Howl at the Moon- 8 hour Ultra, Danville IL

2010-08-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

Congrats to everyone at Howl! As usual it was a hot and humid race. It's southern IL in August, what else can we expect? I had a lot of fun at the Margaritaville Aid station. It was interesting watching it this year. Christine Crawford was focused all day long, running a great steady pace. I found out after the race she was hurting, but you certainly could not tell from watching her. She is amazing and it was great to watch her win! Ellen and Kathleen (2nd and 3rd female) made it look easy all day. Both were joking with the volunteers at every stop. Ellen even took a little break to catch up with friends and pass out hugs. Those two are a couple of strong runners and it was a joy to see them.

Great job everyone!!!!

Top 3 Men and Women Results Howl at the Moon

TOP 3 WOMEN

Christine Crawford 49.85 miles

Ellen Erhardt 46.86 miles

Kathleen Yarger 44.27 miles

Ellen and Christine on the final lap- Awesome trail ladies!

TOP 3 MALE

Brandon Janosky 53.14

Tommy Doias 51.85

Mike Crowder 51.35

Margaritaville aid station- that's me and Kathleen's dad, Norm Yarger.

M.U.D.D. McHenry (County) Ultrarunning Dudes and Dudettes

2010-07-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

My friends and I have a passion for running trails and ultra trail races. We want to share this with others and have organized a club. M.U.D.D. McHenry (County) Ultra Running Dudes and Dudettes! Traveling to different trail races is a great way to enjoy nature, be healthy, and make friends. Our home base is Crystal Lake and we have a beautiful park, Veterans Acres, with plenty of single track through the woods. Hills, meadows, pine forest and Mudd! Perfect location to train for an Ultra! We run 4-5 mile trail loops so you don't have to run ultra distances to join us. We want runners of all levels out enjoying the trails. My daughter, Tasha 11, is the youngest member at the moment. She even designed our logo! We are an easy going group that loves to laugh, stay healthy, and have a good time.

Preserving our parks is very important to us. Many of us already work on the trails but we want to expand our efforts. Veterans Acres is in need of help and as I hear of a need I will be posting times and places on our facebook page.

Our founding members are experienced and have run 50k's, 50 miles, 100 miles and more. We are always in training for something. One of our favorite conversations is running and we would be happy to share what we have learned. Join us and we can help you find a race to train for. M.U.D.D. has a long term goal (next year) to organize an Ultra in the area and have some ideas in the works. We hope to see some new friends out on the trails with us. If you have any questions you can e-mail me, Michele or Holly at Muddrunners100@yahoo.com.

FANS 12 HOUR- Minneapolis, MN

2010-06-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! It was finally here! FANS 12 hour race weekend. It's the big goal race I have been building up for. My race choices this year worked on strength and endurance. I learned some tough lessons at a few. They weren't fun, but I am thankful for the knowledge they gave me. My goal at FANS was to finish a 100k in fewer than 12 hours. I had a solid race plan and was anxious to see it work for me. I was excited to be wearing my super cute inov-8 F-lite 301 urban racers! My rockin' husband was crewing. Race plans were in order! Now it was time to see how many miles I could crank out in 12 hours.

The FANS course is a 1.656 mile out and back, and then a 2.4217 mile loop around Lake Nokomis. It's a beautiful urban park setting. FANS has a 12 and 24-hour race, both with a 8am start. For the last hour of each race you had the option to run 1/4 mile out and backs. This option is open so all your miles will count. If you didn't finish a loop before the cut-off, that loops miles do not count. The race course primarily follows the path around Lake Nokomis with a couple small detours or "short cuts". The course is fairly flat with a long bridge as one incline. Then one true hill named Mt. Nokomis that was 15 feet at the beginning of the race...

I went to packet pick-up Friday night and got weighed in. The rules were very clear that they would be weighing you every 4 hours. If you lost 5% of your body weight you would be pulled from the race until they felt you could go back out. I was a little worried about this. I had never weighed myself during a race and did not know if I would lose weight. I would just make sure I ate and drank plenty.

Getting a quality night sleep was part of the race plan. This was going to be easier than most ultras because of the 8am start. I had a nice comfortable bed at Microtel in Eagan . I woke up about an hour before my alarm. Oooo...Nightmares! I kept dreaming that they pulled me off the course at mile 57 because I had lost too much weight. Eeeek! I promise you, I don't normally have nightmares I lost too much weight.

Our friend Dorn Peddy was running the 24-hour race and we were sharing a race area with him. When we got to Lake Nokomis he already had our canopy set up and was sitting back relaxing. It was exciting seeing all the colorful tents lining the course and everyone preparing. Runners/walkers, volunteers and their families were everywhere! The Minnesota folks were Fantastic! I didn't know anyone but I was welcomed by smiling faces. I felt very comfortable. We set up a few more things in our station. Then went over our race plan. Dorn's a speedster. I'm a steady runner. We figured his 24-hour race pace would be my 12-hour race pace. We decided to run together. Royal (my hubby) was a prepared crew chief. I was confident he would keep me hydrated and fueled.

The Race started at 8 am on schedule. Immediatly I tried to keep to my race plan, run 10:30's until the 4-hour mark. This is hard when your excited-fresh and everyone is passing you. I kept an eye on my pace. It was usually around a 9:45 to 10:00 running, but my overall pace was still about 10:30. It took me a few laps to realize I was spending too much time at our tent. It was great seeing my husband every 2.4 miles, but if I was going to reach my goal I better get through the station a little faster.

Zach Gingerich leads the pack at start

When I hit the 4-hour mark I was feeling really great and didn't really want to slow down. I still had 8 hours of running and made the smart decision to stick to the race plan which was slow down to 11 minute running miles. At the aid station I hopped on the scale, "up 3 pounds! Keep running" Huh!?! Ran for 4 hours and gained weight!?! Dorn hopped on the scale, "down 4 pounds...go eat!" Which he had been doing all day, M&M's, chips, Coke. Hmmm....

It was lightly raining most of the day. This helped in staying cool. It was 70 degrees, and since the course had little shade I think we would have been feeling warm. I continued to run with Dorn. I wasn't talking much. I was using all my energy concentrating on running. I was quietly enjoying the run and park. My body felt strong. I was feeling happy and positive that it was going to be a successful race. I enjoyed seeing that even on a rainy day the park was full of people walking dogs, fishing, biking, swimming, and running.

The only time I said anything was every 2.4 miles when Dorn kept missing the beach house "short cut". I was getting kind of annoyed with him. This made me have to talk every 2.4 miles and that was energy I needed to run. I politely reminded him for the first half of the race. After that he claims I started shoulder plowing him to lead him in the right direction. I think it was a little nudge, he was just getting so skinny that it felt like a shove. Meanwhile, I was rapidly gaining weight, I was now up 5 pounds.

I was coming up to the 8-hour mark. The race plan was to be at mile 43. I was just a tiny bit behind schedule so I picked it up a little and hit the 8 hour mark at mile 43. Cool, that was fun. It's so nice when things work out as planned. This gave me a little mental boost, my next 3 laps were quicker. I hit the mile 50 mark at 9 hours 21 minutes. WOW, I had never run 50 that fast. I was feeling great! At this time I knew I could stay into it until the end.

When I got to the start/finish area my husband said I had passed the 2nd place female on that lap. I was now in second and feeling awesome! Dorn was talking about the shirt I was going to get for finishing a 100k in under 12 hours. I was excited about that but I did not want to celebrate. I've learned things can turn quickly. I still had 2 1/2 more hours to run. I needed to stay focused.

As the day went on I settled in to a solid pace. I was using all my will to stay in to it. I was tired, but happy because my body felt strong. When I got to the final lap to finish a 100k in less than 12 hours I had plenty of time left. I could walk part of the lap and still do it. This day, walking was not part of my race plan. I was determined to run in strong! My running pace wasn't speedy this lap but I kept moving along. I made a little bargain with myself to motivate me to keep running, "when I get to the 100k line I'm walking the out and backs, that will be my walking break for the day". That last lap was tough. I was tired and looking forward to sitting down. I rose over Mt. Nokomis and it was downhill to finish the 100k. I was finally there! All the wonderful lap counters and people were cheering. They rang cowbells every time someone reached the 100k point. It felt great to hear them ringing for me! I checked in with my lap counter. It was time for out and backs.

I walked about 25 yards of the out and backs when I saw a strong female running out of her shoes. I just knew that was the 3rd place female, Kathy Uknis. I had to break my walking break promise and took off like I was running a 5k. I didn't know what her mileage was and I didn't want to get passed here. I managed to crank out one more mile when I was running on empty. For a total of 63.07! 2nd overall Female-6th overall finisher. A huge personal record! Fastest 8 hours...PR 50 mile...PR 100k and fastest 12 hour! Geez!!! Was I tired! Time to sit down!

Here I am the next morning just after the awards ceremony with my 2nd place plaque!

Female 12 hour results

Carolyn Smith 82.69 course record

Michele Hartwig 63.07

Kathy Uknis 61.40

Male 12 hour results

John Sorkamp 85.49

John Mass 83.69

Dave Eitrheim 66.62

Congratulations to everyone! 3 courses records broken!Thank you to the FANS group for putting on a wonderful race and raising money to enrich young adults lives. Your hospitality was exceptional and I look forward to coming back. I have to give a huge congratulations to Tom Andrews who did the 24 hour race with a broken foot (hockey injury). He was on crutches and did over a 50k! Local legend Fast Eddie at the age of 70 cranked out 87.79 miles for the 24-hour race. It was his third ultra in the last 8 weeks! Our friend Dorn Peddy (52) worked his way up the leader board from 6th place to finish as 2nd male with 111 miles. The volunteers were getting a kick out of his good humour and peppiness throughout the night. They gave him the nickname "Energizer Bunny". He was stoked to take 2nd after Zach Gingerich! Dorn was so pumped he nearly knocked Zach over after the race when he high fived him to congratulate his win! Dorn had fun on the course with Zach. Since Zach reached his goal early he started walking (it was a training run for him). Everytime Dorn passed him Zach teased him saying "did you catch me yet?"

Dorn just finishing his final lap!

Ice Age 50 pictures

2010-05-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

" "Feeling like a Rock Star!"

Nothing makes a race better than great friends! Mike, Robin, Kamil, Dorn
Juan, Karen, Me, Anastasia and Puffy, the Pomeranian!

Victory! Finish line in 10:58:25!

Dorn and I, just before skipping one of last aid stations.

Thank you aid station volunteers! Me, Dorn, and Holly.

Me, Dorn, and Holly...strong and steady!

Me and Holly....feeling good!

Ice Age 50- Let's try smart pacing and good nutrition

2010-05-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Anastasia, Holly and Me, Ready to rock the trails!

Ice Age 50 in Wisconsin. I had a crazy plan for this race. Proper pacing and refueling. Last race I went out to fast, didn't eat, in fact throw up, then bonk. I was not going to let myself do that.

After an injury that nagged at me all winter, I had overestimated what I could do. This cost me. Let's learn from this...I thought about this all month and came up with a plan for Ice Age. I knew I was smart, strong and ready to rock the Ice Age trail.

1st step- good refueling. I had been practicing a new nutrition plan during my training runs but this would be my first time using it during a race. I made my own energy drink. Lightly brewed tea (for a little caffeine), then I dissolve honey stingers in it...delicious. I had this, Vanilla Ensure and bread sticks brushed in olive oil at my drop bags. Olive oil is a good source of energy plus the carbs from the bread. I was careful all day to eat and stay hydrated. 2nd step- better pacing. I decided not to use a watch. I just wanted to run on "feel". My main goal was to enjoy the course and still be able to run all the way to the finish line with no stomach problems. I set what I thought was a reasonable goal for this, to finish in under 11 hours. A bonus of finishing in under 11 hours was it would qualify me for Western States 2011.

Woke up race morning to freezing rain and wind...brrrr...but I was so excited it didn't hardly bother me. I decided to wear a lightweight longsleeve shirt, my favorite hat, shorts and my Flyroc 310's. I had a good race plan, plenty of support. I was starting the race with my friends Holly Bochantin and Dorn Peddy. I would be leading and we would all stick together as long as we could. My hubby and daughter were coming to watch and crew. This would be a big treat for me! Plus my very colorful local "posse" of trail friends running the 50 mile race. It would be great seeing them on the trails! (I have a blog page decdicated to them...they are a riot!...)

The race starts with a 9 mile loop that comes back to the start finish line, then you head out to confusion corner. First you go left towards Rice Lake, come back to CC. Then you head out to Emma Carlin and come back to the finish line. The course is rolling hills. nothing to big and the downhills are all very runnable. Even though the hills aren't to hard, there are so many, if you don't pace well it can wear you out. I find it an easy course to visualize. Which mentally is very helpful.

I had run most of the course, except near Rice Lake. I had heard it had some tough hills and killer stairs. Since I had just ran the ultra steep hills at McNaughton 50 , Ice Age was feeling like a piece of cake for me. The killer stairs were nothing. (At least for me Saturday) I stuck to my plan of running on "feel" by making sure I was always comfortable. I was still leading my little group enjoying the scenery and conversation.

We were experiencing every kind of weather. Very short spurts of sunshine, with lots of wind, cold, rain and stinging hail. We got hailed on 5 times during the day. I was glad to have my hat on. It kept the rain and hail off my face.

My race plan was to make sure I felt comfortable at mile 20. Then at mile 20 I thought, feel good at 30...now steady and comfortable to 40 and so on. Our little group was moving right along. We all stayed together until mile 38. Holly was running strong but she needed a serious refueling break and told us to move on.

On the way to Emma Carlin we picked up another friend Ed Werner. We had some lively conversation and made the turn around feeling strong. I only had 9 1/2 miles to go. I was truly enjoying the beauty of these trails. That was a huge success for the race. As we made our way back I kept saying, "I can't believe we only have 8,7,6...4 miles left"

I was feeling strong and decided to skip the last 2 aid stations. We only had 4 miles left and I had my energy drink full. I felt a little like a nascar driver running through, thinking to myself, "hope I don't regret not making a pit stop and run out of fuel". It did start to get tough with just over a mile to go. I don't think it was lack of fuel. I could just smell the finish line!

I crossed in 10:58:25! It was the first time I've ever thrown my hands up in the air after I crossed the finish line! I was happy I stuck to my plan and ran a steady race. I really enjoyed the course and seeing friends on the trails. I've been trained all year, but smart pacing and refueling can make a good race a great race! My feet stayed healthy all day! No blisters or banged up toenails. Thanks to my shoes holding my feet in place! All my friends had a successful race. Congrats!

My Team Inov-8 USA teammates did Awesome! In the 50 mile race Todd Braje finishish 1st overall, Mark Lundblad was 3rd overall. In the 50k race Dwight Schuler finished 5th overall. Check out Dwight and Todd's great story on there blogs!

Ice Age training Run

2010-04-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Ice Age 50 organized a training run for the race on May 8th. The parking lot was full of cars with cool bumper stickers and creative personalized plates. " I run sum" "slo runner"... It was great to see all the familiar faces of our ultra running community.

I brought up 2 new ultra runners I met last week. Juan and Antastastia. I heard they were training for Ice Age 50 so I introduced myself. They had never run on trails yet. I offered to take them up with me for the training run. Friends, Robin and Holly, joined us.

Juan and Antastastia were both excited and nervous. With months of hard training they were anxious to tackle the trails. I set a steady pace and we ran 20 miles of the course. They both ran strong and really worked the hills. Juan had a fall that included blood streaming down his leg. He was laughing hard. We stopped to take a souvenir picture. Leaving DNA behind made it official; he is now a trail runner. They both finished tired, inspired and addicted to the trails. Juan said, "I can honestly say that was the best run of my entire life!" He was glowing. We stopped at the local organic sandwich shop after the run. Juan finished his sandwich and said, "I don't know if it was the run or what, but that was the best sandwich I ever ate!"

Their happiness was contagious. It felt good to watch two people fall in love with the trails that I love! I feel lucky to have gotten to share this day with them.

In the parking lot full of personalized plates I proudly parked my Jeep in a prominent spot for everyone to read my new plates. Which I have to admit...I thought were the coolest plates in the parking lot.

McNaughton 50 miles "Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up!"

2010-04-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

McNaughton 50 mile race, Pekin IL. Race started at first light on April 10th, 6am. It is a 10 mile loop you run 5 times for 50, or 10 if your doing the 100. I had not run McNaughton before. My running mentor Dorn gives me a lot running advice. He had run McNaughton about 7 years ago and told me it was very similar to the Clinton Lake 30 race we had both ran 2 weeks ago. I found Clinton Lake very runnable. The uphills were gradual to slightly steep and the downhills were a little technical but very runnable. I finished Clinton feeling good and thinking if needed, I could go run 2 more laps strongly.

With this information I planned my pace for my first lap. I ran exactly what I had planned but it turned out to be to quick for me. McNaughton was a very different course. Each 10 mile loop had 1600 feet of elevation gain. I knew this, but have never really paid attention to elevation charts. It's an ultra, I know I'm going to see big hills. I just deal with them one at a time. McNaughton hills were some of the toughest I've seen. They are either straight up or straight down. My knees were hitting my chin on the climbs. I definitely had to use my hands on some. Usually when you walk a tough uphill, your rewarded with a downhill. McNaughton downhills were steep and technical. At the beginning of the race I ran these because I love technical downhills, but I paid the price later. Next time I'll take the downhills a little slower. They tore up my muscles as much as the uphills. I'm not saying they were impossible. I just paced myself incorrectly and they wore me out. If I had ran that first lap more conservative I would have felt a lot better through out the race.

Along with the challenging hills we crossed "Lick Creek" 3 times per loop. ( A total of 15 times) This was knee deep, clear running water which felt great on our tired legs! Lick Creek was always a welcome sight, each crossing I took the time to splash the cool water on my legs. The 10 mile loop also had plenty of fun, easy running single track and a couple big open meadows. I was lucky to see a heard of deer running effortlessly across the meadow.

Fueling myself has been a reoccurring problem I need to work on. When I do my training runs I don't need food. I can run 20 miles comfortable on water only. Even a 30 mile run I don't need much more than that. I get past 30 miles and I need something else. I tell myself when I show up for a 50 mile race that I will just force myself to eat. But since I don't practice eating while I'm running, I can't seam to do it. In the next few weeks before Ice Age 50 I'm going to work on this. My plan is to use Vanilla Ensure shakes. I have had a few successful races last year drinking these. I have also started to drink sweet tea I make myself on training runs. I think the caffeine and sugar should give me a good boost later in my runs. Now I just have to practice and find out if it upsets my stomach.

This was a day for me that finishing the race was a victory. We crossed the finish line in 13:45 and got our big huge belt buckle! I had fun running the last couple laps with my girlfriend Karen. She was patient with me when I had to take a break on the side of the trail as my stomach violently rid my body of the little bit of stuff I actually did eat. We laughed with other runners and enjoyed hearing about the different races they have done, shared our own stories with one another. I love that about ultras. I may have been tired and dry heaving but I was still having fun with my trail running friends!

When I came home and reflected on the race. I thought to myself, "If I paced myself better It would not have been so hard. In fact, I bet I could pace it well enough to finish 100 there." I'm thinking that is a good goal for next year. If I am able to run healthy through out the winter, I'm going back to tackle the 100! Now I just have to find a few friends that will run a 10 mile loop with me. So for now, I'm going to go run some hills, stay strong, work on refueling, and come back next year and kick McNaughtons butt!

"Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up!"

Clinton Lake 30

2010-04-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Clinton Lake was a huge success! The weather was great, cool and sunny. I had planned on wearing my new Mudroc's. The race director (Chris Migotsky) said the course was dry. It was hard for me to believe after what I had saw only a few weeks earlier. But I went ahead and wore my favorite shoes, the Flyroc's 310's. They were perfect! Love, love, love them on the downhills. Held my feet in place, toes did not pound on the front of my shoes. Gripped in the mud! Comfortable. I finished the race with happy blister free toes and feet!

I loved the course! 30 miles of great hill repeats! The downhills were so much fun! I was happy to have my new friends Steve and Gary keeping me company for the first 20 miles. Thank you for the great conversations! I ran a solid 30. I was really pleased with how I did. I'm feeling 100% healthy again. I'm really looking forward to McNaughton 50 mile next weekend!

Sorry to make this post so short. I've got the kids home this week and I'm taking them camping. Would have loved to elaborated on Clinton Lakes Awesome course.

RUNNING WILD!!!!!!!

Clinton Lake 30

2010-03-23T08:10:00.001-07:00

I am excited, Friday is Clinton Lake 30 mile! It's my first time running this race. I'm nervous and want to run a solid 30 miles. I've been training at Veterans Acres. It's my local forest preserve with about 8 miles of rolling, single track trails that I can mix up lots of different ways to keep it interesting. I've been working on running hills. I will never feel I have trained enough for hills and they will never be easy. But I'm showing up for race day full of confidence that I'm going to give the course 100% of my best effort. I will be happy finishing this race and knowing I gave it my all!

I made the 4 hour drive 2 weeks ago and did a practice run on the course. So glad I did! I read that the course was rolling hills around a natural lake. I've been to the Bloomington IL area and it is very flat farmlands. I thought "how hilly could the course be?". I had envisioned a course like Kettle Morraine 100, with not quite as many hills. I was wrong. It has many steep hills, rocky and slippery mud. I struggled running because of my feet slipping. The mud and hills were exhausting to my legs. Now that I've run the course I feel I'm more mentally prepared for the challenge It's a lot better knowing what your in for than thinking it's an easy rolling hills course. They haven't had as much rain so the course may have dried up. If that's the case the run will be easier. But I still feel better mentally prepared for the race. I am going to wear my Inov-8 Mudroc 290's. I think they will be a great help on the slippery muddy down hills. Plus giving me extra grip on the rocks. I will post a race report afterwords to let you know how they held up for me.

2010-02-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

DWD Green Swamp race 2010 had a variety of challenging trail races going on. They had a 50M/50k ultra marathon, a 26.2/13.1, and a 50 mile relay team race. With all the different races, it was important to keep a close eye on your signage as they all weaved in and out of one another. At packet pickup everyone was buzzing about the wet course conditions. I asked Race director Randy “The Head Goat” what he thought he slyly smiled and said “It’s Bloody Muddy!”

The course would take us through swamps, cypress forest and down the beautiful Florida trail. The Florida trail is one of eight National Scenic Trails in the United States. It is a hiking only trail that travels more than 1500 miles across the state of Florida with 1100 miles of that being continuous. The trail was established in the Ocala National Forest in 1966 with much work done by Jim Kern from Miami.

I ran the 50 mile race which started at 5:30am with a temperature of 40. The days forecasted highs were in the mid 40’s. It was dark and we headed off into a relatively dry 5 mile loop. This consisted of some wide trail, single track and sandy footing. I ran a little quicker knowing I would have to walk some of the flooded areas later on. During this leg we heard an owl “Hooting”. I was running with local runner Paul Carrington. He told me this was a Hoot Owl. The owls hoot kind of sounds like it’s saying “Who cooks for you” We could hear two of them talking back in forth between one another. Hoot Owls are home bodies that generally never travel more than a few miles from their birth place. They prefer living in swamp lands.

The second leg was a little wetter but still easy to run. This leg had some open wet fields and woodsy areas. This is where I first noticed the giant 100 year plus oak trees. They had huge trunks with gnarly outstretched limbs. The canopy for one tree would outstretch 150 feet. The trees were draped in Spanish moss that swayed in the wind giving them a bit of an eerie feeling early in the morning.

I arrived at aid station 10.3 thinking they may have exaggerated the muddiness of the course. Here the volunteers told us that it was 4 miles to the next aid station and we would have a river crossing. We ran about ½ mile down a soft sandy road then hit some harder packed trail. We were on this for a very short time when the whole trail turned to water for the next 3 miles. It was cold, knee deep, mucky dark water. I tried not the think about this looking like a perfect spot to see alligators. The vegetation around us was thick. I wore my Flyroc 284’s and they drained quickly and stayed light with the wet muddy conditions. I felt great and was really enjoying the challenge.

I arrived to a very cheery group at the next aid station. It was a remote area. Volunteers had to travel through some tough areas to set up aid for us. We passed this nice crew twice and enjoyed there laughter at our mud soaked bodies. The next stop would be the Decider point.

Decider point was also a relay team exchange point. The adrenaline filled teams cheering added a lot of exciting energy to this aid station. Last year you left this aid station and went under the bridge through the Withlacoochee River. This year the water was up 70 feet. So we went over the bridge and then we turned into the woods. For the next 11 miles we traveled through pine tree trails, open fields, and wet single track areas with plenty of twist and turns. This went by quickly and we were back to Decider point with 17 miles left in the race.

A good portion of the last 17 miles of the race was on the Florida trail. Here I saw Armadillo, Cypress forest, Pines, Cabbage Palms and plenty of lush Florida vegetation. One of my favorite changes made to the course was in the last 3 miles. DWD took us off the Florida trail through the thick of the forest. We just followed orange ribbons that were tied to trees, cypress stumps, poison ivy, bones and whatever the “Head Goat” found along the way. Your tired mind was well worked watching for direction in this thick area. This was where the most spectacular Cypress Tree forest was. Cypress trees grow in very wet areas, so to adapt, their roots produce these smooth unusual “knees” that protrude above the soil ranging from a few inches to 6 feet. This was a really cool place and I felt lucky to see this natural environment. It was tough to run because the vegetation was so thick and muddy. Since it was close to the end of the race you didn’t mind a little walking break to take in the unusual sites of nature.

The finish line was good to see. A great picnic style dinner was set up. DWD puts on a great adventure style race that ensures you never get bored. Green Swamp is one of my favorites and I look forward to coming back next year to see my many new and old friends.

2010-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

2009 Green Swamp 1st overall Female, with my treasured trophy

Yo Alligator Jumpers...I'm preparing for Green Swamp 50 mile race at Pasco

County Withlacoochee River in Dade city Florida. Randy "The Head Goat" is race director of a series of Dances with Dirt Races. This is the first of four for the year. I did all four of DWD races last year. Randy has established his reputation as a race director that enjoys sending us through plenty of stupid spots. At Gnaw Bone race in Indiana we started the race on a 5 mile uphill through calf deep shoe sucking mud! At Hell Michigan the mud was so deep (it was above my waist, and I'm 5'8') we had to use a rope from one side of the mud river to the other to get across. After a rinse going upstream about a 1/4 mile down the middle of chest deep river we had to crawl up a 15 foot sticky black mud hill. Florida has been getting pounded with rain so as far as Green Swamp goes...The "dirt crew" said they had to tweak the course a little this year...if they didn't we would need a snorkel...and one of those shark cages! I will double knot on my Flyroc 284's and watch for alligators. I don't know what to expect of the Green Swamp course this year...but I'm sure it will be interesting!

Winter Fuel

2010-01-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

Logging the miles I run every week I need to fuel my body with healthy food. This is one of my favorite soup recipes. It's rich and creamy and it hit's the spot after a cold winters run. This recipe makes enough to heat up the next day for a quick meal or snack. It's easy to make this vegetarian by replacing chicken broth with vegetable broth and omitting the Prosciuto.

Rich and Creamy Garbanzo bean Soup

1 lb 13 oz can of Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 32 oz box of Chicken Broth
1 sweet potato peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups chopped and peeled carrots
1 onion chopped
olive oil
2 1/2 ounces Prosciuto finely chopped

In a large soup pan cover bottom of pan with a little olive oil. Add prosciuto to olive oil and cook until slightly crispy. Remove prosciuto, add Sweet potato’s, carrots and onions. Cook for about 5 minutes then add Chicken Broth and Garbanzo Beans and the slightly crispy prosciuto. Gently boil for 30 minutes or until veggies are soft. Take this yummy mixture in small batches and blend until smooth in a blender. Then serve. It is rich, creamy and so delicious! Stays good in refrigerator for a week. I love it after a cold winter run, quick and healthy meal.

Javelina Jundred October 31, 2009

2010-01-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

Me, Tom Wilson and Betsy Johnson. My 2 Awesome Pacers!

This is just after the race. Notice I have my 100 mile finisher Belt Buckle!!!

I was overcome with emotion to finish my first 100 mile race, Javelina Jundred in Fountain Hills Arizona. October 31st 2009. My pacer, Betsy Johnson had to remind me during the last 9 miles to save the crying for the finish line. I ran this race for my Dad, Michael Lee Cooley. He is a Vietnam Veteran that spent 2 years in Vietnam. If at anytime during the race I felt tired I just reflected on what he went through to come home safely to me and be my wonderful father. I had his strength to and was proud to see him at the finish line. Thank you Dad.

I paced myself very carefully. I wanted to finish the race and feel good. I took my time at aid stations. It was a mental break chatting with all the fantastic aid station volunteers. I enjoyed the 15.5 mile loop that we changed direction after each time around. It meant you always had someone coming at you. It feels good to smile and wave at a fellow runner. Sometimes when you pretend to feel good, you actually start to feel better! Everyone did a great job! I must admit I was especially impressed with David James. The first time I saw him he looked like he was running a 5k. I could have thought to myself he couldn't possibly keep that pace. But I didn't, because he looked so darned comfortable! He was friendly and strong every time I saw him. He went on to finish the race as first overall in 14:20:54. It was great to see.