The Mountain Runners

Last night I got the opportunity to stay up past my bedtime (yawn!) to see a documentary called The Mountain Runners.

The film was shown at a local Trail Shoe store called Seven Hills. And I must say I'm excited to go back and get fitted for some actual trail running shoes soon. Goodness knows I can't continue running trails in my road shoes. I need more stability!

The story is about the first trail, or mountain race that happened on Mount Baker in 1911 and the men who conquered such a feat so long ago. It really was a pretty incredible story. The race included cars, trains, and, of course, running. While nowadays it's incredible to complete ultramarathons, I cant imagine how much more difficult it was back then. Without the help of proper nutrition or gear, the men who completed this race ran up Mount Baker, through snow and terrain that is quite unimaginable. It was a pretty inspiring movie, I must say. If you ever get the chance to see it, I'd recommend it!

Earlier in the day, I went to CrossFit (duh). We ended up deadlifting, which is not my favorite. Again, heavy things scare me. My coach, however, started pushing me, and I was challenged to work with a much higher weight than usual. I don't keep track of my PR's (I know, I know. I really need to start), so I'm not sure if it was a record for me or not. I certainly was proud of myself, however, for pushing past my comfort zone!

Our workout was a short, but sweet one. To get the most out of this workout, you have to push yourself as hard as you can while you are working. If you float through with giving it your all, it's not going to be much of a workout.

We did two 45 second intervals per round, always ending with a weighted sit up. And rested for 30 seconds between rounds.

It has been another long week, so I was happy to have a shorter workout today. Short and intense isn't usually my cup of tea, but today I was grateful for it! And now it is finally Friday! Have a great one!

Yoga Buzz

Yesterday, for the third time in two weeks, I made my way to my yoga mat.

One thing I've noticed recently about myself is that I have a hard time just sitting. I think on the surface, that is pretty obvious, but it's difficult for me to sit and notice how I'm feeling, what I'm thinking, etc. My love of running I think stems from a way to escape and usually my best runs are when I can just be out on the trail, leaving behind my concerns.

Lately yoga has been another outlet for me to do that. Except that instead of focusing on my surroundings and the beauty of the trail, I am concentrating on myself and inwardly focusing.

Yesterday's class was perfect. I am still sore sore from Monday's arm insanity workout (yes, that's what I've officially named it), so I went in to class ready to surrender and go into child's pose if I had to.

The class started out perfectly, with the teacher having us focus on our breathing. Throughout the class, she encouraged us to stay in the moment. Multiple times, she said,

"Just stay here, on your mat, in this room. If your mind wanders, direct your attention back to your breath".

I made this my intention for my practice. I was determined not to think about work, bills, running, lunch, appointments etc. Every time I found myself thinking outside of the room, I shifted my attention back to my breathing and the room.

This was such a great exercise for me, and was surprisingly just as challenging as a 50k or marathon!

Of course, within the first 30 minutes after class ended, several stressful situations popped up. I made the effort to breath and stay present, though, taking my yoga lessons with me to the real world! =)

Am I growing up or what?! Haha!

I got a fun new pose on my mat yesterday too! It's called 8 Angle, and I surprised myself by just going for it!

Source

I watched our instructor made her way into the pose and thought "no way am I going to be able to do that". I went through her sequence to get into the pose, however, and when I managed to actually lift my legs off the floor, I was ecstatic! I wish I could have gotten a picture of it!

Lesson of the day: You are more capable than you think you are!

Switching gears, we had a nice, long workout at Crossfit last night. Most people groan about long workouts, but these are the easiest kind for me. Once I get into a grove I just go!

The star of the show was the power clean. In power cleans, you start with the barbell hanging just above your knees. With a slight bend in the knees and hips back, you jerk yourself forward and throw the barbell up to your shoulders. This is actually one of my favorite barbell movements, and I stuck with 25 kilos for the workout, which was as follows:

40 cleans
40 burpees
40 cleans
40 toes to bar
40 cleans
40 wall ball
40 cleans
40 kettlebell swings
40 cleans
40 candlesticks
40 cleans
400 meter run

We worked with a partner and had to split up the reps into sets of 5 for each exercise. I got to work with my buddy Beth and we rocked it. She actually used 35 kilos for her cleans! We were the second group to finish, well before the 25 minute time cut-off!

New Goal: Press to Handstand

I have a new goal and it is to be able to do a press to handstand. What the heck is a press to handstand, you may ask?

Basically, it is straddling your legs from the floor, up to a full handstand. Little known fact: I was a gymnast in high school, actually the captain of the team my senior year, and this was always a skill I wanted to have but never took the time to get.

Handstands have become the new thing to practice at my Crossfit gym. Seriously, everyone has started working on them. Luckily, I am pretty good at handstands already, so I decided to take it one step further and learn the press to handstand.

I've been talking to a handstand "pro" at the gym (seriously, this guy is amazing!), and he has given me some ideas on how to work towards my goal.

Source

First, practice my press to headstand. I can do this fairly easily, but I am now working to do several strung together, barely touching my feet to the ground after each press up.

Second, L-sit leg lifts. I'll start by sitting with my legs straight out in front of me.

Engaging and pulling in my abs, I lift my straight legs off the ground and lower. It may sound easy, but it's definitely a lower ab killer!

Third, the stability ball jackknife.

Source

I start in a plank with my feet and shins on a stability ball. I slowly pull my hips up over my head, ending straight above my shoulders, and then slowly lower back to the plank. These are one of my favorite exercises in general. Such an ab killer!

Lastly, I do a handstand straddle down against a wall. I will do this one trying not to touch the wall, and going as slow as possible.

Source

So, what did I do with all this?

I made a circuit, of course!

I did this through 4 times and was definitely sweaty by the end! I added the jump rope in just for a little ab rest. I really enjoyed working through this circuit because the strength is so specific! I'm hoping to do this twice a week and hopefully add in some more exercises targeted for press to handstands.

2012 Running Report and Dead Arms

Recovery since the 25k has been going well. I took Sunday off from running and both Monday and today I have been randomly having great, speedy runs!

I credit my speediness to the several treadmill workouts I did last week.

Treadmill happy. The black spot on my
forehead is hair dye. 

I've talked about this before, but I can only run on the treadmill if I do some sort of speed workout. Usually, I will start around 6.5 speed level and keep bumping it up until I'm done. The longest I can usually stand the treadmill is 5 miles. I also like to mix in some fast 800s with a quarter mile recovery between. Sort of like Yasso 800's, but not 10 of them. I'll do anything to keep the boredom at bay on the treadmill!

I got an email from DailyMile the other day (follow me here if you so desire) recapping my 2012 training.

As you can see, I ran 1770 miles and averaged 43 miles per week. I logged a total of 515 workouts (that included Crossfit, yoga, ballet, etc.)! I have nothing really to compare that to, but it sure seems like a lot!

My highest mileage month was October, where I logged 219 miles. I'm pretty happy with all of those stats and will be excited to to see how I stack up next year!

In other news, today my arms are goners. Literally, they hurt just trying to dry my hair! I have no doubt the pain was inflicted last night at Crossfit. We did one of my favorite upper-body workouts.

The workout was called Every Minute on the Minute, or EMOM, as I like to say. Every minute we did pull-ups, push-ups and squats. The first minute, we started at 3 reps of each, the second minute, 4 reps of each. We continued in this fashion for 16 minutes.

When you failed, or didn't finish a round before the minute was up, you rest the remainder of the minute, cut your reps in half, and start again.

I started off doing the pull-ups unassisted, but after 3 rounds of that, I nearly died. That's an exaggeration  obviously, but I did have to pull out a band.

I've also been trying to work on my push-up technique, so I set myself up with an inclined bar that was on a rack. I made sure with each rep to keep my body straight and get my chest all the way down to the bar.

Woo, my arms are smoking today! And I also should mention we did 5 sets of 5 shoulder presses before all of that. Epic stuff!

Have a great Tuesday!

Tiger Mountain 25k Race Recap

15.5 miles on Tiger! Actually, this wasn't so much of a race as a fun-run for Seattle-area trail runners who are in-the-know. When I first signed up (actually there was no sign up, so maybe I should just say 'committed') for this race (fun run), my Tough Mudder team from CrossFit was all in. Some of our group weren't runners at all, so it was going to be quite a challenge for them, going from zero to 15 miles in a few months. Needless to say, there only ended up being 3 of the original 6 or 7 who had set out to train. Due to injuries, families, etc. most of our team dropped out. I even dropped down from the 50k to the 25k. Apparently we are all slackers or we are all over-training. Probably the latter for the majority of us!

Anyways, after deciding to do the 25k instead of the 50 early last week, I felt a huge relief. I had run the Tiger Mountain loop before, so I knew what I was getting myself into. After my less than stellar first 50k experience, I think I made the right decision in saying no to 9 hours on a mountain without any facilities. 4 hours I knew I could handle!

Good morning! It's early and dark, but I'm ready
and roaring to run up a mountain!

We started off at 7:30 am. The actual "race" start time was 8 am, but my group wanted to get a head start so we weren't stuck behind slower runners.

We started out as a five-some: Jess, Jim, Van, Matt and I. Van, Jess and, I think, Jim are all seasoned ultra marathon and trail runners, so I was slightly intimidated. I knew, however, that Jess would never have put me in a situation that I couldn't handle, so I wasn't too worried.

Being the amazingly smart person I am, I totally forgot to bring my headlamp. Actually, it didn't even cross my mind. I foolishly assumed it would be light when we started.

Blackness. 

We started off, and both Matt and I were lucky that everyone else had remembered lights, so they were able to shine enough light for us to run somewhat safely. Honestly I couldn't see much at all, and was terrified I was going to twist an ankle on a root or something, but I made it just fine. This was the first of several instances where I felt like I was holding everyone back.

It started getting light, luckily, soon after we started. Whew!

I wish I could tell you what trails we took, but I honestly can't remember for the life of me. I have the WORST sense of direction. And it only gets worse when I'm on a mountain. The only trail I remember taking was called the Poo Poo Point Trail, but I can't remember which part it was for the life of me.

What was great about this run was that runners had come out to "mark" it earlier in the week with holiday decorations including bows, ornaments and ribbons. It was a fun little surprise to see what we would find next. Sometimes the markers would be hanging on trees or branches, or just draped over a bush. Pretty original idea, that made the run that much more fun!

Purple ribbon! We're going the right way!

Pretty much straight off, we started heading up. And up and up and up. I LOVE uphills. They are SO much easier for me than downhill, where the loss of control is so uncomfortable for me.

Van taking the lead!

This was definitely the part of the trail that I was most comfortable with. I was following pretty closely behind the leader and was just enjoying my surroundings. This side of the mountain had lots of greenery and fallen leaves (still!), and the ground wasn't very technical. Probably why I enjoyed it so much.

Some neat arching branches. Gorgeous!

After climbing for several miles, my body started screaming at me a bit. Mostly my hamstrings and my back. I was pretty much cursing my Crossfit coach for having us row a 2k on Thursday. But we finally made it past the direct uphills!

Snow! (And Jess's elbow)

I think it was around mile 6 or 7 that we finally saw snow. I've mentioned before, but I become giddy when I see snow. This time was no different, so I obviously pulled out my camera.

Little did I know, because we saw snow almost the rest of the run. At this point, the snow was just along the side of the trail and we didn't have to run through any at all.

When you are running a trail, it is pretty imperative that you look where you are going. Even glancing up for a second can mean disaster. I made sure during this loop, though, to take my time and enjoy what was going on around me. I have the pleasure of living in such a beautiful part of the country and runs like this make me feel so grateful!

I remember thinking during the run how big the world is and how beautiful! I get caught up so much in day to day life and running on the trails helps me put my life in perspective. Your problems become so small and it's easy to escape your thoughts while you are out there. I feel like I can relate it to a yoga class where you are surrendering to and moving with your breath. Well, I always feel like my goal when I go to yoga is to get out of my head, but maybe that's just me! Anyway, while I was running on Saturday, I found myself able to let go a little and just be. T'was nice and just what I needed!

One thing I love about running on Tiger Mountain, this loop especially, is the diversity along the way. Seriously, every side of the mountain is different, so it's impossible to get bored.

Several miles after we first saw snow, it became apparent that it was only going to get worse. By worse, I mean the snow started covering the trail and we had to run (I say the term "run" loosely here) through 6-inch snow drifts.

Following Matt through the snow banks.

Eventually, Matt and I decided just to walk. It actually got pretty hysterical there for awhile. We would try to run and just get stuck or slide out. I couldn't help but burst out laughing. I wish someone had been taping us because it was seriously like Beevis and Butthead.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

We started heading back uphill again, this time in the snow. Along the way, we passed the "Christmas tree". The tree is adorned with ornaments that it has collected from years of this race. It also had some lights on it. Truly spectacular looking among the snowy scene we were traversing.

Up and up and up. Just the way I like it!

The snow-scene got slightly more hysterical as we kept going up. There were several times when I broke down because I was laughing so hard after getting stuck in a several foot deep snow drift.

Jess and I. All smiles!

I was still feeling great at mile 13! I was worried about my stomach, but it was still holding out and my body was saying "more, more, more!"

Below is a picture from one of my favorite parts of the trail. At this point, you are getting close to one of the summits and you have been traversing slightly up for awhile. You can look up and see sunlight streaming in through the trees while, if you look down, it looks like a dark abyss. It's almost like daylight and darkness in one place. Very cool. If only I could run with my DSLR so I could get a better picture of it!

We finally stepped out to one of the summits to find several feet deep of snow. At this point, we started heading downhill, and I was SO scared! If only I'd known how much worse it was going to get! I took it really slow (again, feeling like I was slowing down the crew). I was amazed as some of the guys started bounding (yes, literally bounding!) down the hill. What took them 30 seconds probably took me 10 minutes at least!

By this time, my feet were a sloppy mess! Luckily it wasn't cold at all, but stepping in all the snow had left my ankles a little chilly!

Jess is wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
I was wearing 3 layers and long pants. Haha!

We finally made it through the huge snow drifts and I found myself in a place slightly more terrifying: ice!

We headed even farther down the mountain in the snow, which had become almost a solid sheet of ice. I was walking at this point, just trying not to break my neck while others were skillfully sliding down the hill next to me. Several people tried to give me advice on running down the ice: leaning slightly forward, and using small, quick steps.

Nothing helped, though. I am already a slow downhill runner, but the ice made it impossible for me. I was just getting more and more frustrated at this point. Mostly at myself because I think it was my inability to lose control (life lesson, obviously) that I couldn't get down the stupid mountain.

The farther we went, the less icy it got, thank goodness. I was finally able to keep up a bit better. It was around this time that my stomach started cramping again. I was expecting this after my 50k several weekends ago, so I guess I was grateful it held out for this long.

The last few miles were tough. Between my stomach and my knee, which had randomly started hurting, I was just putting one foot in front of the other. Every time I took a step, I felt a sharp pain in my knee. Sometimes this happens when I am going downhill, so I knew it wasn't serious, just part of the game.

3:48 FTW! Garmin looses signal in the forest,
so it only caught 13.5 miles instead of the full 15.5

We finally made it back! Almost 4 hours later. To put that in perspective, last time I ran this loop, which was several months ago sans snow, I finished a little over 3 hours. Haha. Silly ice slowing me down!

Matt and I. Matt rocked his first long race!

I must be getting stronger because last time, my legs were such a mess after running this loop. This time, my legs were fine, minus the knee pain! Jess and Jim started gearing up to head back out for another loop, and I felt a slight twinge of jealousy, but knew I would have had a very hard time and my recovery would have taken most of the week. I know I made the right decision to stick with the 25k.

The group! Matt, me, Jess and Jim.

All in all, I had a great run! I was on a running high the first 12 miles, until we hit the ice and my body started showing signs of fatigue. I was very happy, even giddy, most of the time! I feel lucky to have found this trail running community, and can't wait for more and more trails!

Ready for Tiger and Some Workouts

So, tomorrow I will be running up Tiger Mountain for 15.5 miles. It's not the 50k I was planning on, but I think in my current mental state about running, 4 hours is going to be plenty!

Since I have already run this trail before, I know what to expect. Basically I am ready to run up, and down, and up and down the entire time. I used to shy away from hills. Even a small hill was a huge obstacle for me. Now, I crave them and most of my longer runs, if I'm not trail running, are spent searching for hills!

I am also expecting it to be cold and snowy up there. I've got a plan for my outfit, which is the more layers the better. Although I tend to warm up during the first hour, I also know I can start to get cold again and that there will be cold pockets on the mountain as well. I'm going to wear 2 layers plus a jacket, so hopefully I'll be good to go!

I also got a new hydration pack awhile ago, that is ready to rock tomorrow morning!

I love this one for several reasons. First, front pockets! My other pack had pockets on the actual pack, but I always had to take it off to access them, which was annoying if I didn't want to stop. Now, I can carry things right on the straps, so I will have easy access. The hydration bladder on this pack is also larger, coming in at 70 oz, which is 20 more than my other pack. In true idiotic fashion, I haven't had the chance to test the new pack it on a long run yet, but I have done several shorter runs with it. So I have faith it'll hold up just fine!

I'll be running with Ultra Marathon Jess, and several other friends as well. I'm super excited and am just hoping that my stomach wants to cooperate because 4 hours on a snowy mountain, fighting stomach problems is not going to make me very happy!

Although it's been a short week, I sure feel like it's dragged on forever! I've had some good runs, mostly thanks to the beautiful weather we had for a few days.

Beautiful sunrise at Discovery Park.

It's been very cold, but perfectly clear and sunny. I love those kinds of days! They always manage to put me in a good mood.

I've had some rough Crossfit workouts this week. Lots of rowing, which I always dread. I remember worrying last summer that I was going to dread Crossfit when the weather was bad and we didn't run much anymore. I was right. But at least I'm getting better at rowing!

Yesterday topped the cake when we had to do a 2000 meter row followed by a dumbbell complex. Ouch! My butt was so sore!

We did a workout that I really enjoyed on Wednesday evening. It was 5 rounds of the following:

300 meter row
7 deadlifts
10 pushups

Although I hated the rowing, I love it when there are so many rounds. While it always takes longer, the longer the workout is, the more I can reach the endurance level and just go at a steady pace. For me that is so much easier than short, super intense workouts.

And, lastly, here is a workout I gave to my HIIT class last night. If you give it a try, let me know! I did a version of this on my own this weekend and really enjoyed the variation.

2013 Race Schedule

Of course, now that it is 2013, I am excited to see how many races I can feasibly fit into my schedule. I love to race, if that isn't obvious. There is something about the excitement and adrenaline that gives me such a high! Needless to say, my 2013 race schedule is filling up fast!

As I look at my list, I can't help but notice how my racing style has changed just in the past year. I've gone from loving the half-marathon distance to full marathons. I've also acquired quite an intense crush on trail running, and find myself craving more time on mountains that I do on the roads. It's interesting how tastes can evolve. Even over just the course of a year. I'm excited to see what this year brings!

Without further ado, here are the runs that are taking up space on my race calendar presently:

Tiger Mountain 25k 
In case you were curious, I have dropped down from the 50k to the 25k for this race, which is coming up January 5. There are many reasons behind my decision to stick with 25k. First and foremost, I don't feel like I am trained for an intense trail 50k, which would be about 8 or 9 hours of intense climbing and descending. This is me trying to be smart and look forward to staying healthy the rest of the year. This is a very laid back race, without any support. I am running with Ultra Marathoner Jess and my friend Matt. It is sure to be freezing cold, snowy and lots of fun!

Lake Youngs Nuts Run
I am hoping to be able to do this race January 26, but I am also not sure I will be able to get off work that day. If I can get off, I will probably try to do 2 loops of Lake Youngs which is about 19 miles. Several friends will be running this, and it is a smaller race, so it's sure to be fun!

Birch Bay Marathon
I was going back and forth on whether or not to do this race because I didn't want to drive two hours north by myself and back again. I finally found a friend, though, who was willing to come and run the half marathon! I've heard the race is a giant loop, which I will be doing 2 of for the marathon. This will be a fun adventure because I've heard it is a beautiful course!

Lord Hill Trail Run
I have several friends who are running various distances for this race. I am planning to run, I am just not sure how far yet! Since it's a week after the Birch Bay Marathon, I am definitely not going to be completing the 50k, but I will probably either do the 20 mile or 10 mile run.

Eugene Marathon
I have no races scheduled after Lord Hill until the Eugene Marathon April 28! I am STOKED for this race. I am doing it with my favorite running buddies, but I also know a LOT of bloggers will also be at this race. It's sure to be fun and I've heard it is a great course. With the spirit of Prefontaine, a new PR may be in my future here!

Rock N Roll Seattle Marathon
And apparently I only run marathons now, because I also registered for the Rock n Roll Seattle Marathon on June 22. I've never run the full marathon course for the race before, but have completed the half the past several years. There are always a lot of people running this race and I know my favorite running buddies will be running, too!

So that's my race calendar for the next half year. I'm sure more races will be added, but for now, this looks like a good start! Three marathons by the end of June? I'll take it! Are you signed up for any of these or are there any races you are doing that aren't on my list?