24 Hours the Hard Way: Race Report for 2013 Super Fun Race!

Initially, when planning my race schedule, this race, 24 Hours the Hard Way, was not part of my plans. It was the week before NYC Marathon, where I wanted to race strong, and it was pavement, and it was in Oklahoma.

Ray K. convinced me to do it, and I'm so glad I did. But really, I'm not sure what pushed me into going, now that you ask me. I think it's just Ray's persuasive and charming personality.

Going out to Oklahoma was a little insane. My life has been insane - Hinson 24 Hour in NC, followed by Ted Corbitt 24 Hour the weekend following, then visiting my bestie in Buffalo (wine! tea! fun!), then Toronto for work and the Toronto Waterfront Half. I came home on Wednesday from my work trip, unpacked and immediately repacked my suitcase. Then I took a nap, worked a day, then flew to Oklahoma. Ray K. and his son Jon picked me up from the airport, where I had shared a flight with the legendary John Geesler (who frightened one of my pacers at the VT100 two years ago when he was literally sleepwalking on the course...of course I was uber impressed).

The race was full of impressive runners - American 24 Hour Women's Record Holder Sabrina Little (who dropped out due to having a wretched cold/bronchitis/asthma), Connie Gardener, John Cash, plus a lot of of the older-but-super-fast-in-their-time runners. I met "Doc" aka Andrew who gave me advice on the damage that my frostbitten feet are STILL experiencing. 

Race morning, Ray impressed many by arriving more than 4 minutes before race start. We put our chips on; they used the ankle strap but I have never loved those. I imitated Ray and strung it through my shoelace (which just meant I had to move it when I changed shoes, which I did three times).

The course is a loop just under a mile - something like .96 mile. It's pavement. The course winds a bit, so you have to take the tangents so you don't run way over, but it's not horrible. It's pretty. Since Oklahoma is warmer than NYC, there were more plants alive, and it was pretty. The sun set later, which was nice, though it also rose later, which wasn't as fun. There were some slight hills, which we all regarded as mountains later in the race. "Cherie, toss me your crampons," Ray would yell if we'd pass each other on a "hill." Really, they'd classify more as "rolling hills."

The organization was pretty good. Chisholm is super-duper friendly, and his wife was amazing too. There was a big problem with timing (The display wasn't working, some laps got missed, and everyone was confused about their mileage, which was irritating.), but hopefully things get solved soon. I still am unsure of my exact mileage - I believe around 115.4 miles, which is a PR. Sweet.I missed my goal of 120 miles but I also had some issues, and it was not the perfect day for me - so to get a PR on a less-than-perfect-day is great.

The aid stations were great. There's one water and Gatorade stop in the middle of the woods, which I only stopped at a few times, but was nice to know that it was there. (So if I wanted a gel mid-loop, I could get some hydration with it. Yay.) The main station included a separate section for beverages, which was great if you were blasting through and just wanted to grab some liquid - water, Gatorade  sodas, red bulls of various kinds. They were lacking ginger ale early on, but after maybe 8 hours, they had some, which was nice that they listened to requests (I requested it; not sure if others did too?). The food - broth (chicken & vegetarian, yay, vegetarian!), standard ultra snacks of chips (but different kinds, how neat!), lots of hammergels, skittles, starburst, muffins (mmmm), frosted cake, grilled cheese, burgers, pulled pork, peanut butter, graham crackers, cookies, pretzels, and so many things. Basically, even a picky-in-ultras-eater like me was quite happy. I LOVED THIS AID STATION! I supplemented this with Delta cookies I hoarded from recent flights. 

Also, people moved a Halloween costume hammer around the course, and several balls. It's just a thing you did; pick it up and hang it from a tree branch or put it on a bench...They hung white Christmas lights in two different dark spots on the course which were pretty and fun...and combined with that and the brightly-lit sky, you did NOT need a headlamp.

I started out feeling good. As I blazed through the start/finish/main aid station, I thought, "Oops, a little too fast." I was running with a super nice woman Carol, also wearing pink (whose two sons were also running, how neat!), and said, "Ray is going to kill me." I was running sub-9s for a while.

After two hours, my tummy told me it was in charge. Good thing there were plenty of port-a-potties (always with toilet paper, yay) along the course. I stopped eating gels, visited the potties, and took an Immodium. Sad face. I hate my tummy sometime.

I slowed down, and skipped on gels for four or six hours. I switched to pretzels, veggie broth, and blueberry muffins. I was sad when they ran out of blueberry muffins (possibly because I ate them all) and I was forced to eat the lovely-but-just-not-as-delicious banana nut muffins.

And then, somewhere around 40 miles, I ran into Jameelah, and she told me her insane journey of getting to the race (which involved sleeping in a Walgreens!), of recovering from a recent injury, and then she mentioned the medics had done some work on a blister of hers. I had already changed shoes back and forth to accommodate my blister pain that day, so figured, why not stop by?

As I watched John Cash and Sabrina Little and Connie Gardener blow by me, the medical staff were super awesome and attended to my needs. First they taped up my toes together, and then did some massage to help my stomach, and gave me Rolaids and a ginger root pill. I ran a lap and felt like I was going to fall over - my balance was totally off with my toes taped together. They tried to cushion it. I ran another lap. "This is still not helping," I told Jared and the medical director. "Run another lap - we'll get the scalpel and then try to scrape it off."

I ran another lap and saw Jon mid-way and told him what they'd be doing. "Scalpel? Can I take photos?" Sure, why not. So of course he ran over to the medical tent. He wasn't running, but was taking photos.

I spent a little too much time getting my toe scraped at. Basically, there is a callous that has grown, and the blister was underneath. Or something. I'm headed to George Morgano tomorrow, my awesome podiatrist, who will hopefully help. So they had to scrape it down, then put these cushion things on my toe, then tape it up. Then I put on my cut-apart sneakers, because every ultrarunner has shoes with the toes cut out, right?

And I felt better. 

I ran on. I chatted with people, smiled, got lost in my head. I counted the laps, pushed up the hills, sipped broth. And I was feeling mostly good. It was an ultra. It was a 24 hour race, which is where you get to make friends with the fastest and the slowest of runners. I loved the people who set up some carports and hung their TV in the middle of the course, watching "the game" and updating everyone with the score. I laughed. I had fun. Even when it hurt, even when it sucked, I still had a lot of fun.

It rained. Silly Oklahoma. I wore a rain jacket, which normally would dissuade the rain, but the rain didn't listen. It wasn't heavy, but I wanted it to stop. It got a little muddy by one of the port-a-janes. It stopped before nightfall.

Night fell. I changed into a completely dry outfit in my new BFF Sherry's tent. (I was squatting with my plastic bags of supplies outside her tent and we became friends.) I felt amazing in dry clothes. I ran a lap and then ran into Chris Roman, a good friend of Tony's. We began running together....

...and we didn't stop until the end.

It was pretty awesome. I was pushing him, and he was pushing me. When I felt like crap, I thought, "I can't lose Chris now. He's pushed me so much already." And we were doing that thing, where I thought I had to run faster to keep up with him, and he thought he had to run faster to keep up with me. Basically, we spent over 12 hours running together, talking, laughing. I got a lot less sleepy and hallucinated a lot less than normal, mainly because Chris was keeping me focused and awake the whole time.

Don't worry, I did hallucinate though; I kept seeing headless runners (I'd see someone but see no head) or it would look like runners were running with their heads on backwards. Ummmmm....I have strange hallucinations.

Chris told me stories of running the Eerie Canal, the Brazil 135, races he had done, stories of mutual friends. He cursed when I convinced him to run up a hill. Sorry about that, Chris, but I figured that uphill was good for us. You know, good for you like cabbage.

I hit the 100 mile in 20:28! A PR by 30 minutes. I was SO excited. I believe I was screaming  in the aid station. Everyone seemed amused. Oh well. Good for something.

One of the race timers told me, "You're third woman overall, 2nd USATF." 

"What does that mean?"

"You're third woman. The second place woman isn't USATF. So you're second USATF."

"What do I get?"

"A shiny silver medal."

"I want a pony!"

But alas, I did not get a pony, but I do get a rather nice cheque. 

The USATF thing...you have to be a member of USA Track & Field, or you won't be counted in this race as a USATF winner, and since this is the national championships, it makes sense to be a member. I'm a member. The 2nd place woman didn't realize this, was not a member, and was rather upset at the awards ceremony. I don't blame her, as she ran a stellar race, and it wasn't acknowledged in the awards ceremony officially.

Anyway, the last 3.5 hours were rough. Chris and I both felt pretty tired. He hit a wall around hour 23 and I am afraid he may have been cursing me frequently in his head. I believe I did the same at one point. Something along the lines of, "WTF, why are we running? OMG this hurts, UGH, I hate this." But we stuck together. We were at the point where we had run together so long, we were NOT going to lose each other. We'd coordinate our bathroom breaks or I'd walk while he'd go or vice versa and then we'd catch up with each other.

We finished. Chris ran more miles than me early on, for 127 miles total. WOW. I kick myself for my stupid blister problems, which I probably wasted about 45 minutes total on. (What can you do, though?) Possibly more. Ouch. And my stomach is always a challenge. Luckily, Immodium, pretzels, veggie broth, and muffins saved the day.

At the end of the day, I had something like 115.4 miles. A PR. I was very proud of myself. 2nd woman USATF, 3rd woman overall.

I was a little delirious. I ate food, then we left partway through the awards ceremony so I could throw myself into the shower, shove all my disgusting and stinky and wet running attire and supplies into my suitcase, and rush into the airport and onto my flight with wet hair and bags under my eyes.

And then it was all a dream...an amazing race...new friends made....those paths will never leave my head.

Next up....New York City Marathon! I don't think the aid stations will be anywhere near as good, but I always love a running party! 

Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon

Evy is the star w her garbage bag pre-marathon attire

My work told me they were flying me up to Toronto for a conference we put on, so I could do social media. Neat. When I mentioned it to our Events Manager in Toronto, she told me there was a half-marathon and marathon the day before. Hmmm....

A marathon was a bit too much the week before a 24 hour race (I would be running 24 Hours the Hard Way the week after), but a half? I could do that. I did that the week before Hinson Lake 24. So yes, I'll fly up a day early and run a half.

I like a low-key race. Big crowds are also fun, but they usually are not combined. But here, yay, they were.

I headed over to the start with friends running the marathon, including Mary, Evy, Kino, and Thunder. We left our hotel after 8am for the 845 start.

We squeezed into our corrals shortly before the start. And I took off.

I felt pretty decent, and stuck to low 7s, even pushing it into the high 6s at times. Ooops. Oh well.

Around mile 8 or 9, my feet started hurting me. I've been having a weird problem - it is likely related to the frostbite I had a few years back (and am actually going to my super awesome podiatrist tomorrow about it) and my stomach hurt. Bleh. Push it. Bleh.

Close to the finish, one of my former Toronto colleagues, also a runner, screamed for me. Pretty awesome. Then, a few blocks later, my boss and three of my colleagues, up in Toronto for the same conference, were screaming their heads off for me. Really nice finish.

1:46. Not bad. Not my best, but my 3rd best. And not bad for the chaotic preparations (aka none) and the insanity beforehand (Saturday involved four trains, a plane, a cab, a rainstorm, and a power outage). I finished and was quickly covered with yogurt (um, I ate it but somehow got it all over me). I showered quickly and headed over to the work hotel, and on the way, got to see Kino, Evy, and Mary and scream for all of them. Fun times!

Ted Corbitt 24 Hour: A Great Race Honoring a Great Man

This great race, The Ted Corbitt 24 Hour, honoring the spirit of the Great Ted Corbitt, began with Ted's pre-race mantra:

*I will be relaxed and free of all restrictions, free of all coordination tensions in running.

*I will feel buoyant and strong while running.

*I will run in a perfect pacing coordination form.

*I will be at ease during the morning of a/the race and my pulse will not accelerate before or during the pre-race physical examination.

*I will run hard and enjoy the effort.

*My gastro-intestinal system will remain normal in function on the day of a race and especially during a race.

*On the day of a race all body organs will function perfectly, especially the heart and digestive systems.

Ted was considered to be one of the greatest American runners, and was an active and incredible marathoner and ultramarathoner. His friends honor his spirit and accomplishments with this 24 hour ultra.

I originally didn't want to do this race, because it was a week after Hinson Lake 24 Hour. Well, duh, of course I can do two ridiculously-long races two weeks in a row. So says Ray K. And I'm stupid so I listen and I signed up.

The race was located in Juniper Park, less than 5 miles from my home. 1.1982 miles was the loop, and you ran it as many times as you could in 24 hours. 

I started out and immediately felt the hard miles from the week before. My hamstrings were TIGHT. Ouch. I was tired. I took it easy, walking laps here and there. 

My parents showed up, with TWO apple turnovers from the famed Malverne Bakery, and a carrot muffin. I have to say, apple turnovers are AMAZING during ultras. I walked a little with my parents, though they do walk slow (and my legs had already running many miles).

My time was much slower than at Hinson - I could feel the miles of Hinson. Okay, 4:30 for a marathon isn't terrible, neither is a 9:30 50 miler. But this wouldn't be a performance like Hinson. Okay. Well, you can't have two tough long runs two weeks in a row.

I got to meet new friends - this is why I LOVE 24 hour runs. I talked with Emmy a little. I caught up with Erin, chit-chatting with her about the latest in our lives. I met Fred Davis, Jay, Louis, Nick, and others. We cheered each other up, cheered each other on, joked about the tiny hill being a mountain.

me and emmy, pretty in pink!

Wayne stopped by in the early evening, which was a nice surprise. He was in back pain and didn't want to even walk a loop with me. Boo you. I'll run instead. Ouch.

I bantered with the aid station, placing elaborate orders for meals we all knew they couldn't provide, laughing the whole way. The aid station was a step above basic: pbj, chips, pretzels, honeydew, cantaloupe, pasta at night, pancakes in the morning (heavenly!!!), bagels & cream cheese in the morning, broth, tea....

I was running up the hill toward the turn when I heard my name being cheered...by Bomina & John Slaski! I got so excited, I screamed and jumped up and down! They walked towards the timing station and hung out with Wayne for a while, watching me run laps.

The night crew came on in the timing station around 10pm - lots of awesome people, like Phil, Chip, Skye, Shane. All friends of mine so it was lovely to see a cheerful person every lap.

I grew tired. I took my 5 hour energy shot, but it didn't perk me up. Susan's husband made me a perfectly terrible tea (As he put it oh-so-hilariously, "You take a Tetley bag, combine it with bad water and questionable sugar, you get terrible tea." Hahah.) and that actually perked me up, even if it did taste terrible. I ran. I sang to myself aloud. (Sorry, other runners around me!) I even danced while I ran. I tried to avoid the occasional rat. I chatted with my friends as we passed each other.

Morning came. People were running on the track, walking their dogs, chilling in the park, way before dawn. People, what is wrong with you? Go back to bed! I slogged around.

100 miles in 21:50. Not bad. Not bad. I napped in a chair for 15 minutes, then ran some more. And walked when it hurt. And ran.

this is how i run an ultra

I ran 108.56 miles, not bad. Third woman. The blisters on my feet were horrendous, and I couldn't fit my feet in shoes after. But I learned a lot, I had a lot of fun, spent some good time with good friends, people watched in a super interesting park for 24 hours. How much more fun could one have in 24 hours? Normally, not this much - you'd be sleeping, missing out on all of those hours and hours of fun!

Hinson Lake 24 Hour Race Report (or 17.5 Hour Race Report)

You can't always get what you want...or what you train for.

Hinson Lake 24 Hour is one of my favourite races - the people are just wonderful, helpful and energetic. I have never been to a race and met so many new friends. The race entry fee is only $24 ($1 a mile), and the support - the volunteers, the food, etc - is outstanding. You also get a tshirt and a pint glass and sticker. (Pint glasses are good, since our house we break them a lot.)

I was really excited to run here again - it's such a fun race, and I get to combine it with a visit to my baby sister and her absolutely adorable baby. We had a complete blast and her baby is now a toddler and in love with me and she's SO much fun!

I got up at 430am & headed out to drive from my sister's in Raleigh to the race. I freaked out when there was some weird closure and no one had any clue what was going on and we were stopped for over 30 minutes.

The start of the race was a reunion with friends from last year. A lot of people remembered me (my signature buns and pink running skirts) and I was delighted to see my two favourite Hinson-ites, Alyssa and Hailey (sp?), daughters of Joe Fejes and Kelley Wellls (not together - they are daughters of them separately) who are BFF at races and they are super cute and yell, "GO PINK LADY" at me when I run by. They made me a bracelet they presented to me on one of the early loops and I really treasured it. Ultrarunning is really special.

Everyone was chatting and helping each other out. Because I came from NY, instead of having a shade structure and chairs and coolers, I had a bunch of plastic and tote bags. Ghetto fabulous. A random runner (turned out to be women's winner Andrea) invited me into her shade structure and she and her husband were super nice - "Oh, use our cooler if you want." "Sit in the chairs."

After around 30-something miles, I was maintaining a comfortable lead, feeling good. And then, a blister...ouch. I had to stop. I pulled a safety pin out of my bib (ouch, not that hygenic!) and popped my blister. I put moleskin on it and tried to run. Not happening. Kelley, who was not running this year due to injury, duct taped my toe and I must admit, it was better than a band-aid. Maybe she should try this in her role as a nurse? Ha. After a lap, it was still bothering me and I knew what I needed to do: have a Ray K operation performed. Eric, Andrea's husband, cut my shoe for me so there's  nice big hole in the side of the shoe, next to my big toe. Air conditioning! But seriously - it worked and my blister didn't bother me the rest of the race.

I was running pretty solid, chatting with lots of people. I was pushing the pace, but it felt do-able. I ran a 4 hour marathon, 5 hour 50k, and sub 8:30 50 miler...which is pretty freaking good considering my PR for 50 miles is 8:31 at Lake Waramug. I ate a mixture of gus, a few random aid station snacks, and lots and lots of ginger ales.

I kept going. I felt good, but as the sky grew darker, a pain popped up in my groin. A pain that I've never had before. I began to get worried. It hurt too much to walk - and running was hardly pleasant either.

I made a tough decision - having 3 more 24 hour races this season, and 2 marathons, I decided to stop at 17.5 hours. I was sad, and actually cried quite a bit about this. This was after I tried to lie down and couldn't - I was in too much pain. I walked to the car, devastated, but at the same time, hoping I was making the right decision.

After some time off, my groin is totally better. Whew. Was I overcautious? I don't know. But I do know I'm not hurt, which is really huge. So I'm glad that I"m not, but disappointed I didn't get to do the famed banana lap.

Race Report: Narrows Half Marathon, September 15, 2013

I was not sure if I wanted to do this race, mainly because my girl V was in town and I wanted to spend time with her. But somehow, I ended up getting up ridiculously early and heading down to Bay Ridge to run this awesome race just under the Verazanno Narrows, along the water. I have run this before, when pacing in the Great NY Running Exposition, so I really loved this race.

NYC Runs put on the Narrows Half Marathon, and I have to say, I do love NYC Runs (and it's not just because I am so over NYRR). They put on a low-key race, but with nice treats at the end (bagels, cream cheese, fruit, etc) and nice little trophies (which I ended up winning one of, yay!). There's just a much better vibe at all of the races. It's a shame that so many NY runners are a slave to the 9 +1 (To get automatic entry into the NYC marathon, you have to run 9 NYRR races, volunteer at 1 race, and be a member. Way to fill NYRR's coffers.) because there are so many races that are MUCH better and more interesting and fun and unique than yet another trot around Central Park.

The course is flat and fast. You run out about 2.5 miles, come back to the start. Then you head out about 4 miles, and then come and finish.

I ran most of the race with a woman named Emily (Her teammates would not stop shouting her name so I learned it quickly.) and we tried to push each other through the race, which was nice. I had no clue what we'd ultimately run and when she said she was trying to break 1:35, I thought, "Hmmmm..."

1:35:something was my PR.

I came in at 1:34:46.

With a neat-o trophy.

Wayne drove a very happy Cherie home.

Burning Man Ultramarathon 2013: Fourth Annual Ultra, Four Times As Awesome As I Could Have Imagined

The Burning Man Ultramarathon started as a dream of mine and has turned into a passion. It combines my love of ultrarunning with the amazing culture of Burning Man and is truly a race like no other. Where else can you take shots of whiskey, jump on trampolines, dance next to and inside of amazing sculptures, visit huge raves and clubs, see a beautiful mountain sunrise, listen to the boom-boom-boom of state-of-the-art sound systems blasting music from a giant bus transformed into a sailboat or playground or fuzzy caterpillar with people dancing on it and hanging off it...while running an ultramarathon?

Yeah, it's the only place in the world this can happen. And that's why I love it - and the runners do.

Many ultrarunners fulfill their lifelong dream of attending Burning Man - and many "burners" fulfill their lifelong dreams of running an ultramarathon. The community is based on comradery, on the ten principles of Burning Man.  People make the race what it is - each runner contributes a gallon of water and a snack to share (and some of the snacks were phenomenal, considering people were only camping and most without access to electricity), and other runners contributed custom-made water bottles, decorated tiles, laser-burned necklaces, and hugs. The camp Pink Lightning served as Start, Finish and the Main Aid Station, but also was the official party. People came by, sharing water gun squirts and hugs and shots and cheers as music blared and runners circulated throughout the aid station.

First place male Shaun "I usually don't race" Maguire won by nearly 40 minutes with a time of 3:32:51. First place woman Kathy D'Onfrio won with a time of 4:23:42 - and the course went close by Kathy's art installation "A Vortex for Vultures," and everyone was able to get a good view of the beauty of the birds of paradise and vultures as they ran by. While dodging cigarettes offered and loud dub step, runners have an amazing time like at no other race. While a ticket to Burning Man is required, the spirit of Burning Man will carry you when your steps tire - to the beat of whatever music you happen to be passing at that moment.

To see a truly wonderful video that captures the flavor of the race, check out second-place male Ryan Van Duzer's video.

My race was a little crap - my stomach went south after busting out 8-8:30 minute miles for the first 10 miles - and then I spent quite an enormous amount of time in the port-a-potties. Luckily, the port-a-potties were stationed close to big sound camps, so I was able to have a soundtrack to my misery. Ah well. I would literally lose everyone I was running with, as bathroom stops were usually between 5-10 minutes. Argh. When I came into the aid station, I yelled to Wayne (aka timekeeper extraordinaire and super boyfriend) to get my medical bag in the tent - and he came out with some Immodium for me. Booo. But I still had fun? How could I not? My last lap, I dragged out my injured Wayne for the out-and-back. He watched as I dodged people, ran into Bubbles and Bass and begged for a champagne (which, upon hearing how much I ran, they quickly gave to me), blew kisses, hugged every runner I passed - and had a blast. How could I not? It's Burning Man, my favourite place on the planet.

Post race, my tummy took a while to calm down. I cheered on the runners, hung out, drank electrolyte drinks, danced, clutched my tummy, hugged everyone who finished. It was a party for all! My awesome campmates Yosvany and Effy made the party even livelier, spraying down runners w vinegar and water, serving drinks, dancing....oh how I love Burning Man.

Hope to see you next year.

Burning Man Ultramarathon VIDEOS

Duzer made this awesome video....Thanks, Duzer.

Best of Burning Man (besides the Burning Man Ultramarathon)

Each year, I have more fun in a different way. The art, the dancing, the friendships (new & old), the community, the culture, the spectacle. The ultra I'll touch upon later, but oh, what a week. My favourite week of the year.

At night, reaching for apples, but never getting them

The tophat

Dusty love

I am the "L" in believe.

Truth is beauty. Indeed.

The monkeys.

Me and Wayne after the monkey hut was finally set up. :) Notice the lack of things - early entry....

New friends, old friends - me, Beth, Gina at DeMentha (of course)

Beth abt to fall

El Pulpo Mechanico, of course

i love this boy so much

The car clearly states where we are - HQ of BRC 50k!

Me giving race instructions

At Distrikt, el Pulpo Mechanico

I'm in book heaven

Rachelle, Sponge Bob, and Me

The Man. This man isn't bad, unlike the one we ordinarily talk abt. 

Me, Wayne, Beth

Flaming skeeball. YES!

Flaming art

The man in day

The sacred temple

Kathy's Vulture Vortex

Wayne and I at Dementha...and Rod in the background

Me and my Dementha boys

Fireworks and the man

We are so freaking cute

The crew on burn night

Fire and love

Last night.

Chasing the Unicorns Marathon Race Report

Ray and I were looking for a fast marathon to run, and we picked Chasing the Unicorns. It was a flat, pretty course, along a towpath, with soft gravely footing (but not too gravely, so nice for running), nice views, friendly people. 

Unfortunately, there was too much going on for me - some stuff at home, prep for Burning Man (complete insanity - I left two days after getting home from the race), dealing with the after-effects of a concussion (headaches every day, difficulty concentrating, vertigo, dizziness, reduced training), prep for the Burning Man Ultramarathon, work was nuts...so it was really bad timing. My mind was all over the place, and sadly, my running was too.

I started out hard, sticking to 7:20-7:30 pace. I chatted, enjoyed the course. I rotated between 1st and 2nd place throughout the first 18  miles. Then my legs went dead and I slowed down. I felt pretty sad, but then finished. Upon finishing, my throbbing head and cramps in my uterus, coupled with a slower-than-desired time, left me sad. Oh well. Every race can't be THE RACE.

Six Hour Pajama Romp Race Report: Tired Legs from VT100, a Beer Break, and FUN!

Why not run a 6 hour race a week after running 100 miles?

Well, for starters, it is a very dumb idea. But I like dumb ideas, sometimes.

I decided I'd see what I felt like at the Six Hour Pajama Romp. Maybe I'd just run a few miles here and there, and then chill out, hang out on the sidelines. When Tony said he was going to come and crew Aaron Heath (who later won, yay), I was in. I packed up a cooler with some beer (Petrus Pale Ale) for Tony and hopped a ride w Ray to the ride.

We arrived later than we'd have liked, due to some transit issues of friends we were picking up at the train station, so I barely had enough time to pee, kind of organize my stuff and go. I started out faster than I expected; I was running w Shannon and we were running 7:30s, 7:40s. We were chatting, catching up, so it didn't feel awful. After an hour and a half, though, my legs felt tired. I decided to take my time and slow down. I ran some more, a little slower, enjoying the day, chatting with the other runners.

After a few hours, I was tired. Running a 6 hour a week after running a very hilly hundred is so dumb. I stopped, sat on the cooler next to Tony, had a little beer, and caught up with Tony. After 10 or 15 minutes or maybe more, I got up and ran again. Oh, drinking Petrus was much better....argh my legs.

I ran most of the rest, taking it easy on the hills instead of hammering. My stomach gave me grief, but luckily there were bathrooms (though the hunt for toilet paper was a concern multiple times) which I did use.

I finished, just under 34 miles. Not bad considering I ran 100 miles the week before...

With tired legs, I took a baby wipe bath - and then pulled on a dress and headed out to a bar for my friend's goodbye party.

My Disability Is None of Your Business

To be technical, I would not consider myself a person with a disability, though I do have asthma. But lately, I have had a temporary disability, that being tendinitis. I have De Quervain's Tendintis, which is a painful, slow-recovery tendintis that runs alongside the thumb down the inside of the wrist. Basically anytime I use my thumb or wrist, it hurts.

It's from over-use; typing too much at work. It hurts when I type, open a door, lift something, wash a dish, when someone squeezes my hand, when I clap, when I brush my hair - it hurts. Anti-inflammatories and a big black ugly brace help me.

I've been getting sick of strangers approaching me. Friends, I don't mind. They know me. But strangers? That's just...rude. I swallowed it and politely told everyone for the first month and a half...but then I started to snap.

A security guard in the airport came up to me as I was reading a book, waiting for my parents to arrive. "What happened to your hand?"

"I don't think that's really your business. Do you ask people in wheelchairs why they are in wheelchairs? Do you say, 'What's wrong with your legs?'"

He awkwardly backed away, muttering something. I was seething.

Why do people need to know? My friends might be curious and concerned, but strangers - that's not their business. They're not a part of my life.

My mother told me I should say something rather xxx rated, which would have been a little shocking even for me to say. But as my mother and I recently were purchasing things at Lord & Taylor, the cashier felt the need to inquire, "What happened?" Not - "Are you okay?" "Do you have pain holding that - should I rearrange this?" - but "I'm nosy and want to know what's going on." Probably she sees it as she's trying to make polite conversation.

"Oh," I said breezily, watching her layer tissue paper around the delicate lacy pastel green bra. "I punched someone in the face."

She seemed a little shocked. "Uh..."

I meant to say, "I'm kidding," but somehow didn't.

"Oh, he was a jerk, he deserved it."

My mom and I walked out of the store, giggling. Oh, but if they just kept to themselves...I really don't want to explain multiple times what is wrong with me, what I am doing about it, what the prognosis is. If there isn't a reason for asking, don't.

Vermont 100 Miler: Still My Favourite Race, and LOTS of Grilled Cheese (And Even More Hills)

This is my favourite 100 miler. Oh Vermont 100, how I love you!

Friendly volunteers, great race organization, kick-ass fun aid stations with great selection of food, oh-so-beautiful, tons of access points for your crew.

This is my favourite race.

But it's not easy.

The course is a combination of dirt roads, some gravel roads, jeep roads, trails, and a little paved roads. This year, lots of rain led to the new addition of LOTS OF MUD. UGH. Oh well. Keeps things interesting, right?

This year, I was really excited because I had two amazingly eager and awesome crew members/pacers. Kristen (K.P.) has run a bunch of 50ks and Shane has never run an ultra, but they both were eager to see me dry heave and cry. They were an amazing team and I barely had to do anything at an aid station if they were there. 

You have to show up the day before for medical check (They weigh you and take your blood pressure.) and go to the pre-race meeting. I was a bundle of nerves. Post-meeting, Kristen and I headed to a random restaurant where we ate dinner and joked around. I sorted through all of my stuff and then had trouble falling asleep at 8pm. I finally fell asleep close to 10pm...and woke up at 2am.

When I woke up and began to get ready, I realized I had no running socks...except for the ones in my drop bags, which, you know, I had dropped off the night before. I had cotton ones with little hearts I had slept in the night before...so I started with those. Oh crap. Bad idea on a course with lots of mud....ugh.....

You start at 4am on a grassy field out onto some windy dirt roads that make this New Yorker panic with how tiny and windy they are (for driving, that is; for running, so fun!). It was a good fun excited crowd, everyone chatting, catching up, still having fun. I had forgotten my headamp, so I borrowed my pacer's (Kristen's) and it either needed a new battery or was just pretty weak because it wasn't too helpful.

The course is beautiful - but hilly. The worst part is mile 31-62. That is SO hard. It was way harder than the 50miler I just ran. Just lots of punishing ups and downs. 

I ran out pretty hard - looking at my Garmin, I see my first mile was 7:42. Wow. Lots of 8ish minute miles in the beginning. I was having FUN. It was beautiful, there were nice runners, and oh, how I loved it.

Mile 22.5 I got to see K.P. My feet were already soaked and muddy and I ran with her to the car and then I sat in the driver's seat and changed my socks. Ahhhhh....much better but I already had a blister. Not being a big blister person, I attribute a lot of it to the socks. And oh yeah, all the mud there was no way I could avoid running through.

I ran on. It was pretty, fun, I chatted with lots of people. My nutrition felt pretty good. Mile 26.2, I shouted, "We just ran a marathon! YAY!" And of course, kept going. Because this is an ultramarathon and we're too stupid to stop at 26.2.

I surprised myself to see my 50k split as 5:34. Pretty good, actually. I was hauling ass up the mountains. Push, push, push. I ate gels, my chewy shot blocs, and drank water. It wasn't that hot - it was SO incredibly humid.

Stage Road Aid Station was mile 31.4 and Shane was there for the first time and amazingly was in the role. Him and K.P. ran around, fetching me ice for my coconut water, feeding me gels, cleaning and lubing up my feet as I changed socks and shoes. They both seemed cheerful and I was sad to not see them until Camp Ten Bear.

And then, crap, wait, SHANE, KP - take ME WITH YOU! THE NEXT 30 MILES SUCK, PLEASE, PLEASE, Oh....they left....oh crap...I have to run this.

You run down the road (stuffing pretzels in your face if you're me) and then you go up this steep muddy (There goes those clean shoes....) trail, and it gets steeper, and steeper, and oh crap, this sucks, it's hot, it's humid.....

But then - oh my god - the meadows....most runners call it "The Sound of Music Meadows." It really looks like. I began singing it and this guy joined it. It was this beautiful harmony and we began running together, singing various songs from The Sound of Music. Unfortunately, I began getting a weird stitch in my stomach from running too fast downhill so I slowed down and let the songs live on in my head.

I love the covered bridge. I was so happy and then I was even happier to see my friend Tammy, who had just run Badwater. I shoveled some chewies in my mouth and ran on. To an uphill for 2 miles. That sucks. That is horrible. 

The entire time I felt like I was going to vomit. Horrible. I swallowed tears and pushed up but it sucked, sucked, sucked. I couldn't eat.

The aid stations felt further apart than ever before - but there are 29 aid stations so I know I was just wimping out. But seriously - did they make this course 200 miles instead of 100? It felt double as long....

Finally, shortly after 43, I started feeling less horrendous. I wasn't ready to eat anything, but my tummy didn't feel like I was going to vomit everywhere.

Help, get me out of here, this hurts...

Camp Ten Bear. Oh, glorious. I weighed in - SAME WEIGHT. Let's celebrate with a grilled cheese sandwich, coconut water on ice. I changed my socks and headed out on a nice jaunt. Wait, hills, what, I thought we were done. WHAT?

I ran with Keith Straw. I ran with Ironpete. I ran with strangers, new friends and old. I sang aloud. I sang in my head. I struggled with the hills.

Mile 50. Sub 10 hours. Not bad, not bad.

They slightly changed the aid stations this year - Seven Sees was a new one for crew. It began raining, and then pouring as Pete and I ran into the aid station. I moaned, "I don't wanna run. I hate the rain." I changed my running skirt; my liner was causing some horrendous chafing.

I put on a rain jacket; I ran out with Otto, who was having tummy troubles, and Pete. The rain stopped. I ran into Margaritaville, which sadly had no cookies but which of course was playing Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville." Shane brought me my sewing bag by accident which I had left in the back seat of the car and I teased them, "Look at this fabric; could I use this in a 100 miler?" I needed KP's industrial strength hospital grade lube and Shane screamed, "Lube, get the lube!" and KP ran to the car. I changed my soaked socks and drank more coconut water and ran on.

I ran with Keith Straw a little as we pulled into the next aid station. I kept having to pee but actually had trouble peeing - it took FOREVER. (See the Ultra List for my question and the answers, ha!) And then...wait....yes....CAMP TEN BEAR AGAIN!

I got weighed in and oh crap....I lost three pounds. Not a big deal but I needed to make sure I ate and drank lots. "My, you're looking skinny, Cherie," KP told me as I began to fully change my humid sweat-and-rain-soaked outfit for a brand new outfit. I stuck my tongue out, ate more of the more gourmet delicious grilled cheese, pulled on my headlamp, and set out with Shane.

I didn't know Shane that well, but of course, in true ultra style, we began blabbing away like we were BFFs soon. He seemed really intrigued with everything, and we talked about running, school, friends, growing up. The time flew, although the miles did not. I had such painful blisters and my feet were so swollen. Despite having changed my shoes to a half size bigger, my feet were nearly bursting out. I begged some volunteers for Ibuprofin and it helped a bit.

Spirit of 76. Shane and I got to see the lighting of the paper bags on the steps. It was SO pretty. I began screaming at how it was my favourite ever aid station and I ate some grilled cheese.

We left and 89 felt really far. Bill's Barn. We ran through windy trails and while Shane was completely normal, I saw monkeys in the trees. I didn't tell him how many hallucinations because to be frank, I didn't want to freak him out and I was kind of freaked out. Run forward. Run. Run. On his first introduction to an ultra - "Oh yeah, man, she was on crazy drugs. No one could act like that." Ha, I wish. At an aid station, I begged for morphine but no one heard me.

Bill's. I weighed in and I weighed 3 pounds more than my original weight - which was 6 pounds more than less than 19 miles earlier....ummmmm...that's kind of a lot. I told KP when I left and she burst out laughing.

I changed my socks at Bill's, said goodbye to Shane and I got up. Everything looked fuzzy and black. "Kristen, I need to walk," I said, unable to see the world clearly. I felt like I was on some sort of weird drugs. "Sure, Cherie." We walked. "Oh, this is the field I hallucinated in last year. That was a nice hallucination." "Sure, Cherie." And I saw a ghost and I saw...

The hills...OMG. Down hurt like up. Why was I going SO slow? WHY? WHY? I had been on pace for sub-20 and wtf is wrong with me? Why was I dragging slow? I might not even make sub-24. Push ahead...push ahead...OMG my blisters...my feet....dry heaving....ugh...so tired...energy shot...chew a shot bloc....what am I doing out here? Why does this hurt so much? Oh, this is pretty...wow, this is scary....I have to pee, ugh, it takes so long to pee...look at these roots...try to not face-plant...I wonder if I'll get home in time for Margaret and Joe's party...wonder where my other friends are, like Carlos and Hiroshi and oh my god, I don't even know anyone else's name anymore...that girl with a, her name starts with a letter...uh....why does this...ugh, it hurts...it was so fun earlier...at least it's not hot or cold. Kristen kept talking, complaining, gossiping, talking, I don't care. She told me the story of a messed up relationship, I told her one. 

Polly's. OH MY GOD. Shane was there and it was so nice to see him. 4.1 miles to go. OMG. YES!

I hobbled away, K.P and I running to the finish. It took forever. It was actually more like 41 miles there. I saw the gallons of water with glow sticks lit up close to the finish. And the signs that said "1 mile to go" and "1/2 mile to go" - that as per tradition, KP kicked for me.

The finish line. The finish line. THE FINISH LINE! I crossed it, SO happy. Far from my goal time, but sub 24. Best of all, I had fun. I saw pretty spots of Vermont. I sang with strangers. I made new friends. I had a blast. And you know what? ONLY ONE MORE VERMONT 100 UNTIL I GET MY 500 MILE BUCKLE. (And six more until I get my 1,000 mile buckle...)

Shane and KP had so much fun they are already planning next year...and decided they are going to take on another pacer/crew. Those interested in applying must follow through with a rigorous application process. 

Postscript: After Shane brought me a grilled cheese sandwich, we all collapsed in the car...and our car got stuck in the muddy field. Shane tried to push out the car, dig out the car, use bales of hay. KP got stuck in knee high mud. I hallucinated in the back seat and dreamed of taking a shower. In the end, a tractor pulled us out. It was a surreal end to a bizarre day.

Last Annual Vol State

Who else is obsessively following the Last Annual Vol State? This is a run of approximately 314 miles across the state of Tennessee, with a few other states thrown in for fun.

Check out live updates on the map or Laz's spreadsheet...

Finger Lakes 50 Miler Race Report

The mud made it interesting. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know how to have fun.

I signed up for Finger Lakes Fifties because it's my friend Mary's 50 mile birthday party. Normally, I'd taper a bit more (maybe just do a 50k) two weeks before a 100 miler, but I really greatly prefer 50 milers to 50ks. So I ran the 50 miler.

The course is a 16.5 mile loop you do three times if you're running the 50miler, plus a "baby loop" of a half mile that of course felt like MUCH longer when you were doing it. The course was mostly runnable, with some hills that I ran a little bit too hard, but whatevs. Not exceptionally gorgeous, but pretty.

The course was not marked very well. Most trail runners know that you can easily zone out, and although I was paying very close attention, I panicked completely in one section b/c there was a long section with absolutely no ribbons or arrows, and I was convinced I was lost and was on the verge of hysterics when I finally saw an arrow. I also got lost and ran an extra mile or more, and I did it with a guy who finished third at Barkley last year. The only person to have ever finished Barkley third. And my friend Tara was behind me and made the same mistake. And one of my teammates got lost in the 25k and did it three times. ARGH. 

The aid stations were quite basic - nothing special, and ran out of things by my third loop. (I heard reports of volunteers not wanting to open new soda bottles for runners wanting Coke in later loops bc the race was "almost" over. Sad.) I'm of course spoiled by races like Vermont 50 and Vermont 100 and of course Burning Man 50k where people go out of their way to make exceptional aid stations. 

I got lost early on and I was so pissed. I was racing hard, hoping to have a decent race. I didn't know the course but my main goal was to race a solid race, ideally under 10 hours. It kind of killed to run 10:02.

I ran the first loop in 3 hours, not bad considering I spent a mile or more getting lost. The second loop I slowed down a tad, but ended up running 3:13ish. I came through the second woman - well, the first 50k woman won, and now I was the second woman through. If I stopped, I could've been automatically second woman (age group award) but I wanted to run the 50 miler. So I kept going.I was first for 50 miler. And it kicked me in the ass when I was passed at 44miles. ARGH. But second place isn't too bad...it's actually quite nice.

The last loop went to hell. The mud had dried up a bit, but the bugs were WORSE. I was covered with mud, and my eyes were apparently a destination vacation for the bugs of the Finger Lakes. It was awful. Wayne was pacing me and we kept stopping for him to squirt water in my eyes or trying to get a bug out. UGH. I didn't even look at my legs but when I stopped at the end, I noticed a big bug dance party on my muddy legs. Basically, I was absolutely sexy and should have scored a giant modeling contract post-race.

My caloric intake was a little low; I only had a few gels (Strawberry Banana Gu and Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel), some of the Clif Shot blocks (Tropical Punch) and ginger ale, when they had it. My tummy felt a little weird and perhaps I bonked due to calories?

The funnest part of the race was camping before and after. Well, honestly, if I ever did a race like this, I would be sure to have a real shower after (kind of gross to not....baby wipes and water only do so much). But it was nice to drink some yummy black cherry cider w some good friends, relax, hang out by our campsites. 

I'm not sure I'd be back....

Next up, Vermont 100 miler!

Moving Ahead?

Last week's rulings on DOMA and Prop 8 have given me so much hope. Sure, we get homophobic jerks speaking their hateful minds sometimes, but those two decisions were massive.

I had heard the Macklemore and Ryan song abt same sex marriage equality, but I didn't really think about the power - and the reach they were having. This is a hit song of equality. And for the hiphop community - which is so often full of hatred towards the LGBT community. It's hard to listen to so many of the talented lyricists when the words are rooted in hate.



As a teen, my best friend was gay. He still is. His parents resisted periodically, telling him he had to "find the right girl" and often insisting that I was his girlfriend. They didn't want to believe the truth. Now, they've accepted it.

But so many times, I told Mike I didn't want to get married if he couldn't. I'm happy to say, he now can in New York State. Not everywhere, and that's something we'll need to work on one step at a time. I saw the stupid immigration BS my friends had to go when his partner transferred him to the states - my friend's partner's company stepped up and helped out - nice when companies are the ones speaking out on the BS and helping the create change.

But we're not there yet. We're so far from equality. But this is a beautiful glimmer of hope. So while last week's tears were truly tears of joy, there are still of lot of tears of pain that will be happening moving forward, and I hope they are much more minimal than they have been in the past.