jay challenge

if you want to see the insane ultramarathon i plan on doing this july, check out the jay challenge.

oh, and for the full effect, click on this map, and click on the yellow circles for the pictures.

here's a description from the website:
The Marathon is a 31.5mile, mostly off-road, run. The race starts by climbing 4,000 feet over 9 miles to the summit of Jay Peak. Then racers head downhill for 4 miles, descending 2,000 feet on Ullr’s Dream ski trail, continue on a series of trails through the woods connecting to Wilderness Village back road, and through Jay Village. Then racers will cross fields and rivers, follow a deer trail, and run in a brook. Yes, in the brook, for about 3 miles. A bushwhack and beaver dam leads to a swim across a 50-foot river, (aided by volunteers and a cable), and then racers will reach aid station # 6. It is advisable to re-fuel and rest at aid station #6, because the worst mud hole in the world is yet to come on the last eight miles of the course!

yikes! i can't wait. i am already training, and already excited!

only in new york city

on a fifteen miler this morning, i saw two women and one man at the side of the lake in central park, meditating. that was normal. i found it slightly amusing that the women were wearing bikinis. hey, i can meditate and tan at the same time!

congrat-u-fucking-lations

i've never had anyone else make me as unhappy as you have.

deciding

i'm almost 28 and it's time to make some decisions about my life. should i stay in nyc forever? why am i not writing? when will i get my books published? how can i ever possibly save up living as i am in nyc? when will i go on a RTW? is marriage right for me? should i quit men and go back to the ladies?

there's so many decisions and i won't make them all. so i'll make these:

• yes i'll be an ultramarathoner. in fact, i may do one this july!
• i'm going to dance today. dance. that will solve all my problems!
  

top 10 things of this friday night

as i sweat gently in my apartment, still not sure what i'm wearing but i know i'm going out, i just wanted to make a list of ten fab things i'm enjoying this lovely evening:

1. fruit. i LOVE fruit, especially when it's ripe and delicious in the summertime. yum.
2. fancy delicious drinks, like the pear-lime martini i had earlier.
3. madonna's good songs, singing along.
4. good drum n bass that makes me wanna dance--that sustains me as i walk along wall street.
5. my new white fabulous shoes!
6. loads of fab vegetarian cookbooks from the library.
7. dreams of traveling, revived by a fat stack of lonely planets on my bedroom bookshelf.
8. how much i like the way i rearranged my furniture in my bedroom.
9. loud good techno bouncing out of a car's open windows when i'm on my way somewhere fun, possibly with an italian ice in my hand.
   
10. feeling free and happy and full of life in the summertime!
    

eugene marathon results

So I ran the Inaugural 2007 Eugene Marathon--and the best part is, I qualified for Boston 2008. Boston is one of the biggest marathons--some say the best, though how could anything beat NYC?--and to enter, you either have to raise like a billion dollars for charity (okay, maybe it's a little less) or run fast. I ran fast. For a woman my age, I have to run 3:40 or faster. Today I ran 3:36:09. The last two miles were the hardest--my stomach was really not happy (that last hammergel made me feel like I was going to throw up) but I kept telling myself, MIND OVER MATTER--I wouldn't let myself slow down or walk or quit, and it's so hard to not do any of those. My back was aching (damn fuel belt), my stomach was hurting (evil energy gels), blisters were growing at an alarming rate (Who ever heard of blisters on the pads of your feet???), but I persevered. I just kept digging deeper, running a hard as I could--and I knew I could do it. I'm so, SO happy. Here are my results:

Out of 1496 finishers (not sure how many were DNF), I placed 339. Out of 659 women, I placed 73--getting me a TOP FINISHERS coupon, woohoo, to a store in Eugene I won't go to! But anyway, I'm really happy.

The part I'm sad about is my beloved running partner, Crista, wasn't feeling so hot--her stomach was really hurting her and her knee was really bothering her--so we couldn't finish together. But she did finish--and at a sub-four hour pace--so I'm really proud of her. It is SO hard to run--and to finish--and at a good rate--that I am very happy with my fast friend! Go Crista! I love you! Run hard at Marine Corps--I'll be there!

The things I did that I want to repeat include:

*Carbo loading all week

*Speed workouts

*Took energy gels religiously every 45 minutes (I LOVE Strawberry Banana gu)

*Took three salts

*Drank lots of gleukos (yummy and less sickenly sweet alternative to Gatorade)

*Slept really well the previous two nights to the marathon

I'm in a lot of pain right now but really proud of myself. I'm running Boston in April, maybe I'll even do Big Sur, and Cara, I'm ready for the Jay Mountain Challenge. Thanks to all of my friends and family who support me, and I'll be looking for you at the sidelines of a future marathon!