If you have seen any of social media you are probably expecting this to be a post about how happy I am with my day at Desert Solstice. Well, it's not. I am really bummed and I keep trying to figure out where things went wrong and why wasn’t my crew telling me. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
On Wednesday night I decided to get a sub for Friday. Even though I only work in the afternoon for a few hours I wanted to just be able to relax. I love my students, but some days with them are not relaxing. Also, I knew Thursday was going to be a long day.
Thursday was Yud Tes Kislev. For those of you who are wondering what that means here is a quick explanation. Yud Tes Kislev is the anniversary of the release of the Alter Rebbe from prison in Russia. It is considered the New Year for Chassidism. This all happened in the late 1700’s.
It’s a really special day and we have all kinds of fun activities and a special lunch for the kids. I was at the school early to help with getting ready, the activities, serving lunch and cleaning up. After school I stayed to gets some work done before the dinner and celebration (Farbrengen for those of you in the know). By the time I left for home at 8pm I was exhausted. But I was super excited about having the day off on Friday.
When I woke up Friday it was 40 degree’s and windy. Since I had the whole day I decided to wait until it warmed up a bit before running. I had some things I needed to take care and decided to get those things done. Fun stuff like paying bills and replacing Sinjin’s broken phone. The phone took forever. I thought I was so smart. I tried to order and pick up at the store using chat on AT&T. After I did all the work by telling this person where all of the stores in Phoenix are located because evidently she can’t do that, she told me there were none of the phone I wanted. She tells me to order online and we will have in 2 to 3 days. Not true. The site says the phone won't ship until almost the end of December. I try calling the two target stores I regularly visit and neither has a mobile cell employee in until later in the day. I decide I will instead call the apple store at the Biltmore. A lovely lady says they have the phone and I can purchase online. All I have to do is go to the store to pick up the phone. Except somehow the phone keeps leaving my “shopping bag” and she can't figure it out so she advises I just go to the store. Which we did, but I could have just done that in the first place and not waste 2 hours at home.
We left the Apple store to go to REI. I never use gels, but just in case I decided I wanted one I thought I better buy a few. We also needed to get a few things from Target and an iPhone case for Sinjin. Guess what we left Target without buying. Yep, an iPhone case. At this point I am starving and have had a sip or two of water all morning. We went to pick up lunch and took it home to eat. After lunch I took a nap.
On Wednesday night I decided to get a sub for Friday. Even though I only work in the afternoon for a few hours I wanted to just be able to relax. I love my students, but some days with them are not relaxing. Also, I knew Thursday was going to be a long day.
Thursday was Yud Tes Kislev. For those of you who are wondering what that means here is a quick explanation. Yud Tes Kislev is the anniversary of the release of the Alter Rebbe from prison in Russia. It is considered the New Year for Chassidism. This all happened in the late 1700’s.
It’s a really special day and we have all kinds of fun activities and a special lunch for the kids. I was at the school early to help with getting ready, the activities, serving lunch and cleaning up. After school I stayed to gets some work done before the dinner and celebration (Farbrengen for those of you in the know). By the time I left for home at 8pm I was exhausted. But I was super excited about having the day off on Friday.
When I woke up Friday it was 40 degree’s and windy. Since I had the whole day I decided to wait until it warmed up a bit before running. I had some things I needed to take care and decided to get those things done. Fun stuff like paying bills and replacing Sinjin’s broken phone. The phone took forever. I thought I was so smart. I tried to order and pick up at the store using chat on AT&T. After I did all the work by telling this person where all of the stores in Phoenix are located because evidently she can’t do that, she told me there were none of the phone I wanted. She tells me to order online and we will have in 2 to 3 days. Not true. The site says the phone won't ship until almost the end of December. I try calling the two target stores I regularly visit and neither has a mobile cell employee in until later in the day. I decide I will instead call the apple store at the Biltmore. A lovely lady says they have the phone and I can purchase online. All I have to do is go to the store to pick up the phone. Except somehow the phone keeps leaving my “shopping bag” and she can't figure it out so she advises I just go to the store. Which we did, but I could have just done that in the first place and not waste 2 hours at home.
We left the Apple store to go to REI. I never use gels, but just in case I decided I wanted one I thought I better buy a few. We also needed to get a few things from Target and an iPhone case for Sinjin. Guess what we left Target without buying. Yep, an iPhone case. At this point I am starving and have had a sip or two of water all morning. We went to pick up lunch and took it home to eat. After lunch I took a nap.
I bought this thinking I might use it during the race. I didn't but I would like to give it a try.
When I got up I had to take Sinjin to buy an iPhone case. I get home and Norm and I sit down to go over the plan for race day. Better late than never. Norm wants me to open up the Payday bars I bought for the race. Good thing we did! They are hard as rocks! I look at the best by date and they expired 2 years ago. Good job Target! I tell Norm I am going to need him to be hard on me at the race. He is terrible at this and pretty much admits that he can't do it. Brandi will be there running my social media, but she says she can't do it. Enzo may or may not be at the race. He is usually the one I count on to tell me to stop being a wimp and get my shit together.
Very stale Payday bars. They expired in 2016!
Norm working on his part of the race. I run and he is in charge of numbers and math.
Things I might possibly consume during the race. Not the wine, that was for the night before jitters.
The athlete’s dinner at Desert Solstice is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s like a big family coming back together. I rally a group of people who are willing to be mean me if necessary during the race. I am a little concerned that people were a little too excited to sign up for this position.
The great part of being 10 minutes from the start is that I get plenty of time to sleep. I got up at 6am and had my coffee and some food. Because I was at home I decided to go with something I often eat. I had 2 rice and veggie cakes. I always struggle to choke down a cliff bar on some bus headed to a race start. This was much better. And I ate before I got nervous. I think that helped.
We packed up the bag and headed to the track. We set everything up and it was time for me to warm up. Usually I am the only one warming up. If you are running 100 miles or 24 hours you have plenty of time to warm up. I need to run fast right from the start. Camille Heron was already on the track warming up.
And before you know it, time to start. We take off and try to hang on to Zach Bitter. I had been told he would probably be running the pace I needed to run to start with. He was actually running faster, but it felt okay and running faster would mean might be able to break the 1 hour record that I wasn’t sure about breaking. I know 6:35 min/mile is comfortable and I should have stayed there instead of running too fast with him, but woulda, shoulda, coulda.
The great part of being 10 minutes from the start is that I get plenty of time to sleep. I got up at 6am and had my coffee and some food. Because I was at home I decided to go with something I often eat. I had 2 rice and veggie cakes. I always struggle to choke down a cliff bar on some bus headed to a race start. This was much better. And I ate before I got nervous. I think that helped.
We packed up the bag and headed to the track. We set everything up and it was time for me to warm up. Usually I am the only one warming up. If you are running 100 miles or 24 hours you have plenty of time to warm up. I need to run fast right from the start. Camille Heron was already on the track warming up.
And before you know it, time to start. We take off and try to hang on to Zach Bitter. I had been told he would probably be running the pace I needed to run to start with. He was actually running faster, but it felt okay and running faster would mean might be able to break the 1 hour record that I wasn’t sure about breaking. I know 6:35 min/mile is comfortable and I should have stayed there instead of running too fast with him, but woulda, shoulda, coulda.
Practicing my wistful look before the race. Photo credit: Jubilee Paige
Photo Credit: Jubilee Paige
When everything became a problem, I am not sure. I know mile 6 on my watch came up at a really strange place on the track. I wasn’t sure about mileage or pace. There is a board you can read, but I am moving too fast to be able to see it. I am feeling confused about everything. Am I running on pace or not? And for which records, the open or age group? Also, about this time my hamstring starts acting up. I can feel a sharp pain going from the top of my hamstring into my ass with every stride. I am trying to put it out of my head, but it is really uncomfortable. And the worry becomes, “how much of a problem is this?” The pain is much worse when I am rounding the track and it causes me to slow 10 to 20 seconds. Which means I now have to speed up on every straight away. Which by the way also does not feel great. I am pretty sure the pain is just from running in circles on a hard track. Something I did zero of leading up to this race.
I got really annoyed after going through the 15K mark because I had no idea that was what I was doing. Norm started communicating with me by writing things down and handing me pieces of paper. We had decided a head of time that would be easier than trying to talk. Unfortunately, half the time I had no idea what he was trying to tell me. Thankfully at some point he started counting down laps for me. That really helps me in this race. I like knowing 12 laps to the next record or whatever it is. At some point I stopped my watch without realizing and so my mileage is now super messed up.
I get through the 20-mile record and Norm convinces me to keep going for the 50K record. I had told him if I could get through 50K I would be really happy. My long runs have been non-existent. I wasn’t really sure I could run a 50K. I wasn’t thrilled about keeping going, but I just needed a fairly slow pace to break the age group record because I had been running so fast. Some guy seemed to be running a fast but comfortable pace, about 7:30 pace and so I latched on to him. I explained what I was trying to do but that I was suffering and would it be okay if I latch onto him. He was happy to help. Not only did he let me stay with him, but he chatted with me and encouraged me. He even took to counting down my laps for me. At one point Norm tells me I need to run 8:15 min/mile pace or faster. I think about this, but am confused. Earlier he told me I could like a 9min pace. Whatever, I keep plugging along. With a mile left I say a little prayer of thanks. One of the few I know in Hebrew. Even though I don't think G-d cares about my races or your football team or any sports at all, I am thankful that have made it this far today.
Earlier I had told Connie Gardner (OMG! Connie has a wikipedia page? That's cool!) I was done at 20 miles, but when I kept running she asked me what record I was going for and I tell her 50K age group. She asks me how old I am and I tell her 45. Later I would learn that it his her record that I am breaking. I feel bad when I learn this. I told my family I should send her a potted plant or something. What do you send someone when you break their record? Norms says, “It’s not like you can expect those records to stand forever.” I say, “but you kinda hope they will.”
So, back to the record. While chatting with the kind person who is helping me out I learn he is Isaiah Janzen. He’s like super talented and people have been talking about him and I have been reading blog posts abut him and here he is helping me out. I am blown away. I always feel like the person that somehow got past security. All these people are so talented and awesome. How did I get in here? As we near the finish I tell him thank you so much. There is no way I would have pulled this off without him. When I finish the 50K mark I am so happy. Norm and I celebrate a bit. Norm asks if I am going for the 50 mile age group record. On paper it sounds so easy, run fast and later run slow. It’s not easy. I feel like the answer is no, but I jog around the track and meet him at my crew table. We discuss it a bit and I do a few more laps. I even try to latch back on to Isaiah, but that isn’t happening. My ass is killing me. But also, I am feeling like someone has punched me in my stomach every time I try to run. I decided to call it a day.
Later I ask Norm why he told me to run under 8:15 pace? I thought I could run much slower. His reply, "Hayley and I came up with that. We thought it would be much cooler if you finished it under 4 hours."
The amazingly fun job of stop watch timing my splits.
50K record done! 3:57:18 (previous record was 4:38:06 set by Connie Gardner in 2012)
Back at the crew table I tell my family that I am done. Enzo says, “I would be mean to you, but I feel like you did really well today.” I explain to the people who ask that I would rather go home on a positive note. If I try for the 50-mile record and I don't make it that is all I will be able to think about.
We pack up. I tell Isaiah’s crew that I promised him I would come back to the track and help if he or they needed anything and leave them my phone number. We head to Shake Shack. Not vegan, not gluten free, not kosher but delicious! I refuse to share my fries. They should have got their own! An employee comes over and asks about my Babbitt’s Ranch bottle. I tell him I got it from a race I did. He asks me what we have been up to this morning and I tell him I just finished a track race and we explain Desert Solstice to him. I ask if he wants to hear me brag about myself and he says of course (did he have a choice?) I tell him I broke 8 American age group records and he is actually interested. He tells me how he just gave a copy of Born to Run to one of the staff members and he is on a streak of running a mile a day. He says he is going to get the special gift they give to people who break records and comes back with gift cards for burgers and shakes. He also gives me his card and says he would love to talk running with me sometime if I want. Do I want to talk running? Ha! The answer would be yes.
We pack up. I tell Isaiah’s crew that I promised him I would come back to the track and help if he or they needed anything and leave them my phone number. We head to Shake Shack. Not vegan, not gluten free, not kosher but delicious! I refuse to share my fries. They should have got their own! An employee comes over and asks about my Babbitt’s Ranch bottle. I tell him I got it from a race I did. He asks me what we have been up to this morning and I tell him I just finished a track race and we explain Desert Solstice to him. I ask if he wants to hear me brag about myself and he says of course (did he have a choice?) I tell him I broke 8 American age group records and he is actually interested. He tells me how he just gave a copy of Born to Run to one of the staff members and he is on a streak of running a mile a day. He says he is going to get the special gift they give to people who break records and comes back with gift cards for burgers and shakes. He also gives me his card and says he would love to talk running with me sometime if I want. Do I want to talk running? Ha! The answer would be yes.
Go visit Terry! 1. He is super nice! 2. He will talk running with you.
We also learn while eating that I broke a lot of record belonging to someone names Ruth Anderson and set in one day in 1977. We decide to see if Ruth is still alive. The article that comes up calls her a pioneer in ultra running in the first sentence. I feel honored and crappy all at the same time. I wish I could meet her but she passed away in 2016. Ruth was a bad ass! And it sounds like a really nice person. If any one knows her daughter I would love to reach out to her. I think Ruth and I would have had a lot in common. There is a race in her honor every year and I making plans to be there this year. It probably sounds odd, but for some reason it feels like something I should do.
We get home and I am not feeling great. It’s pretty common for my stomach to be upset after a race, especially if I was running fast. But it usually happens right away and gets better. This is getting worse. Eventually it becomes obvious I have some sort of stomach bug. My stomach is not getting better. I can’t decide if I want to fight the urge to puke or go with it. I ended up being sick all day Sunday too.
It all sounds great right? Except the stomach bug part, but the rest sounds great. Eight American age group records in one day! If you read my blog about Desert Solstice last year, you already know I really struggle with this age group thing. Like it somehow lessens the accomplishment. But also, I really thought I had some of the open records. I felt pretty good that I could break them unless something went wrong. I guess something did go wrong, but what? I spent all day Sunday laying in bed, trying not to puke, and wondering how I messed up those records. All I had to do was run 6:35 min/mile pace and I know I can do that. And why didn’t Norm yell at me to speed up or at least ask me kindly. What I didn't accomplish is eating at me so badly that I can't even enjoy what I did accomplish. Which means I have issues, but also is probably what keeps me competitive. It’s a double edge sword.
I am looking at a race in Auburn in January to possibly try again. A waste of my money probably over something is unimportant, but it’s a huge deal to me.
Here is all the info people usually want to know.
What did I wear: Oiselle Flyte shorts, sports bra from Target, Balega socks, Saucony Kinvara shoes.
What did I eat: Not much! If you read this every now and again you probably know I run pretty much everything as a depletion run because my stomach does not care to eat, particularly if I am running fast.
I had half a 10oz bottle of orange Skratch (2 packets). I ate half a tiny Reese’s peanut butter cup, but spit it out. A cup of Mountain Dew. Half a cheese quesadilla after mile 20 (I’m pretty sure I ate it before starting on the 50k).
There are a lot of people I have to thank. Thank you Charlie at Cadence Physical Therapy. Lots of people are happy to support when you are running well. But Charlie stuck with me when I was injured and not running well and even when I was injured and not running at all. He takes care of all the little physical problems that pop up and lets me cry on his shoulder when I really need some one to listen and understand. If you have an injury, he is the guy to see. There is no staff. He is the staff. He is the person who will treat you and work with you. Thank you to Mark Cosmos at iRun. Going to the store is like going to see your family, And again, he is one of those people that has supported me through thick and thin. I think i have cried more than a few times at iRun too. (A theme is emerging here.) Thank you to Aravaipa Running! I love being part of the time. Traveling to races and having people share their stories of love for Aravaipa is so fun! And thank you for having me back at Desert Solstice. It really is my favorite race of the year.
Thank you to all the competitors at Desert Solstice. It is an amazing group of people. You get this group of talented runners together and they create this supportive and amazing community. Some are going for the same thing, but some of us have different goals. But none of that matters. Everyone cheers for everyone. Zach Bitter is amazing. He is giving it his all and he still says words of encouragement every time he passes you! I have said this before, but Ed "The Jester" is the best! He will remember your name. He will encourage you, by name, EVERY LAP! If you are a race with Ed, count yourself lucky. And thank you to the volunteers who do whatever they can to make our day as perfect as possible.
Thanks to Hayley for putting up with my ego, my venting on our runs, and me making her run too fast when I start complaining. But thanks for being a really great friend! Thank you to Del for being my training partner and letting me talk obnoxiously about my puppy Hank! Thank you to Jubilee Paige (and Hayley) for the girl adventures! They keep me sane. And we need to plan another one soon!!! And thanks for the amazing pictures!
Thank you to Isaiah Janzen! I am not exaggerating when I say I don't think I would have pulled off the 50K with out him.
Of course, thank you to my family. My parents for never suggesting perhaps I should try to get a job that pays well and has benefits and not worry about running. Norm and the kids for dealing with being poor so I have more time to run and always supporting whatever crazy thing I want to do next. Extra big thanks to Norm for letting me curse and yell and being generally pissed off while he crews for me. Thank you for doing the math, running up down the field and making sure everyone knew when and what record was coming up next. I appreciate it more than I could say.
We get home and I am not feeling great. It’s pretty common for my stomach to be upset after a race, especially if I was running fast. But it usually happens right away and gets better. This is getting worse. Eventually it becomes obvious I have some sort of stomach bug. My stomach is not getting better. I can’t decide if I want to fight the urge to puke or go with it. I ended up being sick all day Sunday too.
It all sounds great right? Except the stomach bug part, but the rest sounds great. Eight American age group records in one day! If you read my blog about Desert Solstice last year, you already know I really struggle with this age group thing. Like it somehow lessens the accomplishment. But also, I really thought I had some of the open records. I felt pretty good that I could break them unless something went wrong. I guess something did go wrong, but what? I spent all day Sunday laying in bed, trying not to puke, and wondering how I messed up those records. All I had to do was run 6:35 min/mile pace and I know I can do that. And why didn’t Norm yell at me to speed up or at least ask me kindly. What I didn't accomplish is eating at me so badly that I can't even enjoy what I did accomplish. Which means I have issues, but also is probably what keeps me competitive. It’s a double edge sword.
I am looking at a race in Auburn in January to possibly try again. A waste of my money probably over something is unimportant, but it’s a huge deal to me.
Here is all the info people usually want to know.
What did I wear: Oiselle Flyte shorts, sports bra from Target, Balega socks, Saucony Kinvara shoes.
What did I eat: Not much! If you read this every now and again you probably know I run pretty much everything as a depletion run because my stomach does not care to eat, particularly if I am running fast.
I had half a 10oz bottle of orange Skratch (2 packets). I ate half a tiny Reese’s peanut butter cup, but spit it out. A cup of Mountain Dew. Half a cheese quesadilla after mile 20 (I’m pretty sure I ate it before starting on the 50k).
There are a lot of people I have to thank. Thank you Charlie at Cadence Physical Therapy. Lots of people are happy to support when you are running well. But Charlie stuck with me when I was injured and not running well and even when I was injured and not running at all. He takes care of all the little physical problems that pop up and lets me cry on his shoulder when I really need some one to listen and understand. If you have an injury, he is the guy to see. There is no staff. He is the staff. He is the person who will treat you and work with you. Thank you to Mark Cosmos at iRun. Going to the store is like going to see your family, And again, he is one of those people that has supported me through thick and thin. I think i have cried more than a few times at iRun too. (A theme is emerging here.) Thank you to Aravaipa Running! I love being part of the time. Traveling to races and having people share their stories of love for Aravaipa is so fun! And thank you for having me back at Desert Solstice. It really is my favorite race of the year.
Thank you to all the competitors at Desert Solstice. It is an amazing group of people. You get this group of talented runners together and they create this supportive and amazing community. Some are going for the same thing, but some of us have different goals. But none of that matters. Everyone cheers for everyone. Zach Bitter is amazing. He is giving it his all and he still says words of encouragement every time he passes you! I have said this before, but Ed "The Jester" is the best! He will remember your name. He will encourage you, by name, EVERY LAP! If you are a race with Ed, count yourself lucky. And thank you to the volunteers who do whatever they can to make our day as perfect as possible.
Thanks to Hayley for putting up with my ego, my venting on our runs, and me making her run too fast when I start complaining. But thanks for being a really great friend! Thank you to Del for being my training partner and letting me talk obnoxiously about my puppy Hank! Thank you to Jubilee Paige (and Hayley) for the girl adventures! They keep me sane. And we need to plan another one soon!!! And thanks for the amazing pictures!
Thank you to Isaiah Janzen! I am not exaggerating when I say I don't think I would have pulled off the 50K with out him.
Of course, thank you to my family. My parents for never suggesting perhaps I should try to get a job that pays well and has benefits and not worry about running. Norm and the kids for dealing with being poor so I have more time to run and always supporting whatever crazy thing I want to do next. Extra big thanks to Norm for letting me curse and yell and being generally pissed off while he crews for me. Thank you for doing the math, running up down the field and making sure everyone knew when and what record was coming up next. I appreciate it more than I could say.
