When I started planning my race calendar for this year, I knew that I wanted to try Sky Racing again. It had been a disaster previously, but that was because I was trying to race injured. In the process, I fell in love with running up mountains. Running up is my strength, but running downhill is not. I knew I was going to have to put a lot of physical and mental work into improving my downhill running. I took great advice from a lot of different people and went from being awful to being okay.
Because I teach on Saturdays at GateWay community college during the school year, it can be difficult to get a Saturday race on the schedule. I knew I was going to run Flagstaff Sky Race. I had to miss Audi Power of Four last year due to the car accident and I really wanted to run that race. Broken Arrow seemed a perfect fit. We loved Truckee and Lake Tahoe after visiting last year when I paced Caroline Boller at Western States. I signed up for Broken Arrow before there was a course map or really any information at all.
Training went well. I was feeling strong and ready for this race. Mostly… In the past, some people have commented that mountains aren’t my strength and I shouldn’t be doing these races. Sometimes those voices in the back of my head motivate me and sometimes they make me doubt myself. But after a strong last run at Mt. Ord, I was feeling like I could perform well. My goal was to be in the top 5 and finish under 7 hours. Then the updates started coming and I started getting nervous.
I don’t train or run in trail shoes. I train in Saucony Kinvara and race in New Balance Vazee Pace. After seeing some pictures of the course and hearing about snow, I started to wonder if trail shoes would be better. Mark Cosmas at iRun got together to go over some options and I settled on the Vazee Summit Trail shoe. I will be honest, I don’t love the trail shoe as much as the Vazee Pace, but in the end it was probably a good choice. Then more mention of snow on the course. I have a pack that I sometimes use for long runs, but I would rather run with 2 bottles than a pack. The aid stations were close together at Broken Arrow and my plan had been one bottle, but this no longer seemed like a good idea. I wanted a light weight pack that would let me be hands free. Once again, iRun came to the rescue and I bought a Salomon Sense lab pack.
Because I teach on Saturdays at GateWay community college during the school year, it can be difficult to get a Saturday race on the schedule. I knew I was going to run Flagstaff Sky Race. I had to miss Audi Power of Four last year due to the car accident and I really wanted to run that race. Broken Arrow seemed a perfect fit. We loved Truckee and Lake Tahoe after visiting last year when I paced Caroline Boller at Western States. I signed up for Broken Arrow before there was a course map or really any information at all.
Training went well. I was feeling strong and ready for this race. Mostly… In the past, some people have commented that mountains aren’t my strength and I shouldn’t be doing these races. Sometimes those voices in the back of my head motivate me and sometimes they make me doubt myself. But after a strong last run at Mt. Ord, I was feeling like I could perform well. My goal was to be in the top 5 and finish under 7 hours. Then the updates started coming and I started getting nervous.
I don’t train or run in trail shoes. I train in Saucony Kinvara and race in New Balance Vazee Pace. After seeing some pictures of the course and hearing about snow, I started to wonder if trail shoes would be better. Mark Cosmas at iRun got together to go over some options and I settled on the Vazee Summit Trail shoe. I will be honest, I don’t love the trail shoe as much as the Vazee Pace, but in the end it was probably a good choice. Then more mention of snow on the course. I have a pack that I sometimes use for long runs, but I would rather run with 2 bottles than a pack. The aid stations were close together at Broken Arrow and my plan had been one bottle, but this no longer seemed like a good idea. I wanted a light weight pack that would let me be hands free. Once again, iRun came to the rescue and I bought a Salomon Sense lab pack.
 Vazee Summit |  Salomon Sense Lab pack. I loved it, but it rubbed my neck and I look like I have hickies. Also, the rubbing was pretty painful during the race. |
The view from our back porch.
We rented a condo steps from Olympic Village. It was awesome! We arrived late Thursday night, giving me Friday and Saturday to relax. The views were awesome! And the proximity to village was perfect for everyone. Norm (my husband) and Enzo (my son) were working for Run Steep Get High so being close to village was great for everyone.
On Saturday morning it was cold and rainy! So happy that Sunday was sunny and clear.
Making taper fun with my family.
At the Athlete’s meeting on Saturday afternoon there was talk of snow, and snow, and more snow. The course had been redesigned a few days before because of the amount of snow still on the mountain. All this talk of snow fields was making me really nervous. I have run one race in the snow and that was using Kahtoola microspikes. I had the option of using them in this race, but I wasn’t going to be taking them off and on constantly. I knew my training was solid, but the snow running was making me nervous. I was a little nervous about getting lost. The maps looked like a kid a taken a crayon and did some scribbling. Luckily, I felt better after the meeting.
Race day I walked from my condo to start line at 5:30am. The whole scene was super chill. We started up a wide road, but quickly turned on single track. In retrospect I wish I had started closer to the front. Doubting my abilities, I positioned myself further back then I really wanted. Through out the day, I would let this doubt of my ability as compared to the other women cause me to walk when I should have been running. When the other women walked, I walked, even though in my head I would be thinking, “I could easily run this, I should be running.” But I had this fear of looking stupid and it held me back.
At the first snow field there was a girl with a broken arm in front of me. We both were tentative. She says, “I can’t fall on this arm” and then boom! Down she went. She was clearly in pain. “Are you okay? Do you need a medic?” (I am not sure where I thought I would get a medic…) She said she was okay and on I went. I was worried about her. I was shocked and happy to see her cross the finish line later. She said she just slowed down and took it easy.
Those snow fields were my down fall. I got better at it, but I said a curse word every time I saw one. Early in the race I came to a big one and just stood there. Steep down for a long time in a snow field. Two girls came up behind me. There was some cursing all around and then we found a way to stay on course but go around the field. Rocks, branches and some extra mileage, but we made it down. I did a lot of sliding on my ass. But sometimes it was scary. The wrong slide and you were going to end up hurt in a bad way.
Oh yeah, and there was an avalanche! A group of us in single file line and I hear a boom off to my right. Being from Arizona, I think “who is shooting out here?” Then I hear someone yell “Avalanche!” Are you freaking kidding me? I look to my right and there are huge rocks flying down the hill. This is a guaranteed way to get you to move faster across a snow field.
At 45 minutes I ate some Annie’s gummies, but not the whole pack. I was moving fast and didn't want to get slowed down with trying to get the whole package down. But after that, my nutrition went south. I had been running 2.5 hours when I thought to eat again. I had been so busy trying to navigate snow fields that I forgot to eat. I got an almond butter packet down and immediately my stomach was unhappy. Really unhappy. After that, I didn’t get much food down. I think I probably had about 500 calories all day. I was basically getting by on swigs of coke at aid stations. I did get 1 square of a shot block down at one point. I don't recommend 8 hours of mountain racing on 500 calories.
On top of not being able to eat, I was having some trouble with my left eye. My peripheral vision was hard to see. It was like looking through water or an old window. I talked with an EMT at an aid station. She cleared me to continue, but told me if it got worse I would need to drop. It also happened to be an aid station where my husband was filming for Run Steep Get High. We had been told that he could not talk to me or I would be disqualified, but I knew he had heard parts of my conversation. I explained the situation to the lady and asked her to let him know after I left that I was okay. Norm told me later that she did let him know. The vision problem came and went, but by the next aid station it had cleared up. When I came into the aid station they were waiting for me to make sure my vision was okay and I could continue on.
Things were going okay, I mean aside from what I thought was altitude sickness and not eating and then I came to a dead end with yellow markers going both left and right. Huh? I stood there confused and hoping I would figure it out. Luckily for me, Meredith Edwards looked over her shoulder and realized I was confused. Thank G-d she told me where to go! After the race I thanked her and she gave me a huge hug. What a nice person! Right after this another girl caught up with me. We stayed together for a while and then she took off. I regret it now, but I did not make an effort to keep up with her. I was exhausted and really felt like I had no fight left.
I finished in 7:55:52 and was the 11th female. In retrospect, knowing that I let top 10 slip out of my hands, I am pissed that I didn’t put up a fight. But also, I wasn’t eating so I feel like 11th place for a flatlander is pretty good. It was without a doubt, the hardest race I have ever done. Two days out, I also feel good that the only thing that is sore and hurts is my right hand because I fell on it pretty hard.
Tomorrow it’s back to training, but also back to traveling. We are headed to the beach for 4 days. We will be back in Phoenix for a day or two, then off to Oklahoma for 10 days or so before heading to Colorado. It’s going to be hard to get the vert I need, but we are excited for the beach and spending time with my parents. I will get 4 solid weeks of training in Colorado before my next race.
Race day I walked from my condo to start line at 5:30am. The whole scene was super chill. We started up a wide road, but quickly turned on single track. In retrospect I wish I had started closer to the front. Doubting my abilities, I positioned myself further back then I really wanted. Through out the day, I would let this doubt of my ability as compared to the other women cause me to walk when I should have been running. When the other women walked, I walked, even though in my head I would be thinking, “I could easily run this, I should be running.” But I had this fear of looking stupid and it held me back.
At the first snow field there was a girl with a broken arm in front of me. We both were tentative. She says, “I can’t fall on this arm” and then boom! Down she went. She was clearly in pain. “Are you okay? Do you need a medic?” (I am not sure where I thought I would get a medic…) She said she was okay and on I went. I was worried about her. I was shocked and happy to see her cross the finish line later. She said she just slowed down and took it easy.
Those snow fields were my down fall. I got better at it, but I said a curse word every time I saw one. Early in the race I came to a big one and just stood there. Steep down for a long time in a snow field. Two girls came up behind me. There was some cursing all around and then we found a way to stay on course but go around the field. Rocks, branches and some extra mileage, but we made it down. I did a lot of sliding on my ass. But sometimes it was scary. The wrong slide and you were going to end up hurt in a bad way.
Oh yeah, and there was an avalanche! A group of us in single file line and I hear a boom off to my right. Being from Arizona, I think “who is shooting out here?” Then I hear someone yell “Avalanche!” Are you freaking kidding me? I look to my right and there are huge rocks flying down the hill. This is a guaranteed way to get you to move faster across a snow field.
At 45 minutes I ate some Annie’s gummies, but not the whole pack. I was moving fast and didn't want to get slowed down with trying to get the whole package down. But after that, my nutrition went south. I had been running 2.5 hours when I thought to eat again. I had been so busy trying to navigate snow fields that I forgot to eat. I got an almond butter packet down and immediately my stomach was unhappy. Really unhappy. After that, I didn’t get much food down. I think I probably had about 500 calories all day. I was basically getting by on swigs of coke at aid stations. I did get 1 square of a shot block down at one point. I don't recommend 8 hours of mountain racing on 500 calories.
On top of not being able to eat, I was having some trouble with my left eye. My peripheral vision was hard to see. It was like looking through water or an old window. I talked with an EMT at an aid station. She cleared me to continue, but told me if it got worse I would need to drop. It also happened to be an aid station where my husband was filming for Run Steep Get High. We had been told that he could not talk to me or I would be disqualified, but I knew he had heard parts of my conversation. I explained the situation to the lady and asked her to let him know after I left that I was okay. Norm told me later that she did let him know. The vision problem came and went, but by the next aid station it had cleared up. When I came into the aid station they were waiting for me to make sure my vision was okay and I could continue on.
Things were going okay, I mean aside from what I thought was altitude sickness and not eating and then I came to a dead end with yellow markers going both left and right. Huh? I stood there confused and hoping I would figure it out. Luckily for me, Meredith Edwards looked over her shoulder and realized I was confused. Thank G-d she told me where to go! After the race I thanked her and she gave me a huge hug. What a nice person! Right after this another girl caught up with me. We stayed together for a while and then she took off. I regret it now, but I did not make an effort to keep up with her. I was exhausted and really felt like I had no fight left.
I finished in 7:55:52 and was the 11th female. In retrospect, knowing that I let top 10 slip out of my hands, I am pissed that I didn’t put up a fight. But also, I wasn’t eating so I feel like 11th place for a flatlander is pretty good. It was without a doubt, the hardest race I have ever done. Two days out, I also feel good that the only thing that is sore and hurts is my right hand because I fell on it pretty hard.
Tomorrow it’s back to training, but also back to traveling. We are headed to the beach for 4 days. We will be back in Phoenix for a day or two, then off to Oklahoma for 10 days or so before heading to Colorado. It’s going to be hard to get the vert I need, but we are excited for the beach and spending time with my parents. I will get 4 solid weeks of training in Colorado before my next race.
 My Balega socks did not survive. |  This was the worst part of the race. Two days later, I still can't use my hand. |
 More views from my condo, also I ran up this mountain. And down. |  Yep, ran up there too. |
Run Steep Get High busy at work in my condo.
A huge thank you to iRun shop for all the help! Thank you to Charlie at Cadence Physical Therapy for keeping me running. When I tweaked my hamstring a few weeks before the race he made sure I was still able to race. Thanks to Squirrels Nut Butter! This is the most amazing anti-chafe salve I have found yet! And of course, thank you to Aravaipa Running for all the support and the opportunity to train with my amazing teammates.
Thank you to Broken Arrow for an amazing race! It was a well organized event and I can't wait to come back next year!
Thank you to Broken Arrow for an amazing race! It was a well organized event and I can't wait to come back next year!
