Burning River 100 Mile Crew Report

This is my second opportunity to crew for my husband, Jason and I can't begin to tell anyone how truly great an experience it really is. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has the means and ability to either crew or assist at an aid station. You see a whole different aspect of running and what it truly means to accomplish this great task.

It definitely helps that I feel like my crew is part of my family. Jesse is listed as my brother on Facebook so of course anything that's on the Internet MUST be true! I was sad that our former crew member, Mark, ditched us to run a marathon but we had our own adventures with a Stand In. I came up with this dorky idea when I first found out he couldn't make it. We had such a good time during the last race we crewed together so I found a way to include him. Insert, Barbie Ken.

I'm not much of a crafter so I came up with the worst bandanna ever donning Mark's name atop the Ken doll. I uploaded pictures to Jason's account along with captions but here are a few of my favorites!


We picked up a new crew member, Art. This was my second time meeting him. We donned him our token "serial killer" since Mark was our first (story from my husband's Mind the Duck's race report). We picked him up in Michigan and were on our way.

Many laughs were had in the car. I hoped we weren't offending Art too much since we tend to have a very juvenile type of humor but he seemed to fit right in.

We arrived in Ohio and checked into our hotel. I had way too much fun with "Stand-In Mark". I took many pictures of him along the way and got lots of stares. I probably embarrassed my own crew more than anything because I would stash him in my purse and take random pictures. The picture of Mark waiting in line at the hotel is probably my favorite. I was laughing so hard my hands were shaking while taking the picture. I was worried it would be too blurry but luckily it turned out.
We met up with others at a local bar & restaurant. Some were running the race, some crewing and some were other barefoot runners. It's so great to actually meet those people in person after talking to them online for so long. I met Shelley and her crew - her husband was running the next day. He completed this amazing feat! Rachel & her crew who were also from Michigan. Rachel is only 23 and finished strong. She is such a sweet and personable person so it was so much fun being able to see her come into aid stations and help out in any way possible. We also met Johnny-O who was working two of the aid stations. Thanks for helping our stops go by so smoothly! We also saw him again at the finish line.

Everyone was excited about our upcoming adventure so we left the restaurant in hopes to rest up before the race. We ended up drinking too many beers and staying up later than we meant to. I myself, blame "Stand-In Mark" and his bad influence ways : )

Unfortunately, 3:30 a.m. came way too quickly. I slept like a rock, probably an alcohol induced rock. Not the smarted pre-race plan we could have come up with. Everyone got up and we were on our way to the start line. After crewing last time I got the idea of coming up with "Crew Shirts". Luckily, I got a discount from our school store. Jason said it was helpful because he could always pick us out of the crowd. I said I liked his kilt, one because it was pretty darn sexy but also because you could always spot him....at least until it became dark.

The beginning of the race started at Squire's Castle, which we visited the day before in the light of day (picture below). At the start (5:00 a.m.) it was still dark out. I love the atmosphere of ultras. There is such a camaraderie. Everyone is working together towards a common goal instead of people competing against one another. A great example of this was at the finish line we watched finishers coming in. Two guys came in the exact same time with smiles on their faces. There was no vying for one guy to finish ahead of the other just a shared happiness that they had both completed their goal.

After the start of the race, we headed to the first aid station. Just prior to the race, Jason purchased a GPS system and programmed all the aid station coordinates into. This is the single, best investment we have ever made. It made getting to each aid station so easy. All we had to do was punch in Covered Bridge Aid Station and followed the directions.

This crew experience was a little different from the first time since this race was a point to point race (one start and one finish) and the other race was 6 loops around the same course. There were pros and cons to each type of race. I felt like we had more time between aid stations which was handy if we wanted to hunt down food, take a nap or find oil for the car - thanks mechanic Jesse! Some of the cons would be finding the actual station which wasn't a problem with our GPS and estimating the times Jason would arrive (one we almost missed!).

The first aid station or two it usually takes a little while to get a rhythm down but honestly it was really easy. We divided tasks the day before which helped tremendously. We went over the assignments on the car ride again and it all went pretty smoothly.

Prior to the race, Jason gave each crew member a list of his demands....um er I mean, requirements : ) On the first two aid station lists was a trip to McDonald's to pick up a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. Those addresses were also programmed into the GPS so it was a matter of a few right & left turns and we were there. Unfortunately, the McDonald's wasn't open until 7:00 a.m. and it was only 5:30 a.m. There was no way we could wait for it to be open and get the sandwich to Jason in time so we made an executive decision......Speedway it is! They didn't have any breakfast sandwiches so we decided to try the tornados which were stuffed with sausage, egg and cheese in some crunchy unknown outer shell. It turns out Jason didn't want them and opted for Slim Fast instead. Jesse was the lucky eater of the tornados, which he said weren't too bad.
Our first aid station we set up shop and waited for Jason to come in. While waiting, we saw 3 college aged kids standing around wearing running clothes. We chatted with them for a bit until a runner approached them. They chatted with him and we didn't think anything of it. Then one of the kids asked him "So, do you think you could run these things without your mustache?" He was a very heavily mustachioed man and without hesitating said "No". After the runner left, I threw in "It's probably like his Kryptonite. If you shave off the 'stache his running abilities are gone". We kind of laughed and started talking again.

They asked us if we were at the start of the race and said yes and they said they didn't see the start of the race. I realized they were only watching the race and not actually crewing for anyone. Jesse asked them if the mustachioed man was who part of his group and they said no which made it even that much more funny that they randomly asked him about his mustache. Needless to say, the ultra atmosphere is a much different running atmosphere.

There wasn't a whole lot that Jason needed at the first few aid stations. Other than hydrating, refilling his S-caps, Gu and lube. Downside to wearing a kilt....you need privacy when lubing up. he got creative with facing walls, trees and using a hat as a cover up.

Some of the behind the scenes things you see are also quite amazing. You see runners coming in strong, lots of vomiting - there was a stretch of bike path near the end that I called Vomit Trails because every other step you could see where someone had recently vomited. You knew it came from runners because you could see all the staples at the aid stations....ramen noodles, chips, sandwich materials.

There was one particular guy that really stuck with me. It was at the Covered Bridge aid station at mile 80. His physical physique was what I would nickname "The Adonis". He was tall and muscular but lean at the same time. He staggered out and sat down on a chair. His significant other brought him a grilled cheese sandwich. Keep in mind this was around 2:30 a.m. and he had been running for 21.5 hours so his mind was probably in a whole other place.

He tried eating the sandwich but immediately threw up. He asked if the sandwich had pepperoni in it. I'm guessing he didn't want pepperoni. Maybe at this point he was seeing things. I know that has happened with Jason and my experience was to roll with it. I once pretended to kill bees because he thought they were swarming around him. No use arguing with someone who's hallucinating, right?

I sensed tension between the two. She got mad and said "I think I know what the hell pepperoni look like" and stormed off. After she left he started to sob. It was the saddest sound I have ever heard. This poor man was broken down and probably at one of the lowest points. When she got back he was asking about cut off times because he wanted to make sure if he started out on the next loop that he had the possibility of making the cut off time. The aid station volunteer gave him the times and told him to rest for a few minutes and think about it.

He continued to sob and his significant other seemed irritated. I'm sure she had good intentions but my heart went out to him. She went on to say "You ran more miles today than you have ever run before. Hotel check out time is 11. If we leave now we have time to shower and get back home. What do you want to do?" He still wasn't sure if he wanted to quit or not. His head was down and he continued to quietly cry.

At some point, she went to the aid station and pulled him out. I have never before attempted to run this far and cannot say if this man should have stopped or not. I was very tempted to ask him if he would like a pacer so he could at least give it a try. If he got pulled because of times, at least he gave it his all. If my Vibram's had been right next to me I probably would have at least offered. He did not appear to have any pacers and this is only based on my limited experience but I think that would have helped him out tremendously. It just saddened me to think he might have had it in him to go further.

At the Station Bridge Road aid station we thought we had timed it out exactly (or close) to when Jason would be arriving. It turns out he was a little faster than we anticipated. At this particular aid station it was the farthest away we parked from the actual aid station. We were walking up to the bridge where we planned on setting up shop. Shelley and her crewing were waving at us. I thought "Wow, these guys are so friendly. How nice of them to want to share a spot" and started walking to them. It turns out they were waving frantically because Jason was coming! Ooops! Mad dash to the bridge.

When he came in he asked where his Injinjis (toe socks) were and his huarache sandals were. The only problem is he never told me he where they were. Unfortunately, they were still in the car which was about 3/4 of a mile away. Since Jesse was the fastest runner we gave him the keys and he sprinted to the car. Jason told him the socks were in the black bag and the sandals were in another bag. A few minutes later Jesse came back with 2 really big bags. He said "I couldn't find the sandals so I just brought both bags".

Turns out Jason meant to say they were in the large Rubbermaid tub. Oops #2....um, Jesse....do you mind sprinting again? Jason's feet were a little on the rough side after having to walk the last 2.5 miles over very large and very sharp rocks. I knew we were taking up too much aid station time but luckily like I said Jesse is a very fast runner! Finally, he got both socks & sandals and was off!
At Pine Hollow aid station, we saw one of the most strange requests I have seen during an ultra. There was a man, dressed head to toe in what appeared to be a white compression suit with black shorts on the outside. At first I thought he was trying to appear to be a super-hero but I think it was all functional in some way. There are so many different ways that people dress for ultras and I can't tell you what that might help other than it was supposed to be very hot and it would have reflected light. The strange part was when he came and sat down. One of his crew members brought the usual stuff...water, food, lube and bug spray. The last can she pulled out was Axe Body spray. I can honestly say I have never seen anyone put on body spray during an ultra. I guess it's also nice to try and smell nice for your fellow runner : )

I paced Jason two times during the race. The first time was around mile 54.5. I was his first pacer. The first part (approximately 4 miles) was on some pretty gnarly trails. There were some very steep inclines and declines. We crossed a small stream over rocks and had some zig zag turns. During this time Jason was laughing and talking with me. We go to the aid station where he fielded many kilt questions. It's funny that people notice his kilt and ignore his feet when he's wearing it.

The second half of the loop (approximately 4-5 miles) was a low for Jason. I've seen him during his low's before at Hallucination so I tried the usual things...make sure he eats, drinks and pees. I can always tell because he'll stop talking and (I'm guessing) is focusing on getting through this point. I always feel like I should do something more but I kept on running/walking with him to the next aid station. I talked about him afterwards to see if there was anything I should have done differently but he said that's exactly what I should have done. I'm pretty good at knowing what motivates him but if there is anything I could do to improve I wanted to know for next time.

From here Jesse paced him. They are two peas in a pod so I knew he would have an easier time of bringing him out of his funk. They share the same goofy sense of humor and make references to obscure tv shows.....it works for them : ) At this point it was getting dark and Jesse paced him for the rest of the night sessions. Art and I made it to every aid station after that. At the next aid station I saw Jason at he was looking better so I very happy about that.

At this point there was little talking and lots of cat naps. I wanted to sleep whenever I could because I would be driving home the next day. At mile 93 (the second to last aid station) I paced Jason until the end of the race. The next 3 miles to the aid station is what I dubbed Vomit Trails. We walked the entire time and were in the home stretch!

The last stretch was all Jason needed to complete his goal of finishing Burning River. We started out by walking but I really wanted to see if I could get him to pick up his pace. I knew if I told him to do it...not ask but tell in a firm manner he would be more likely to try it. So that's what I did. I told him "Let's run to the next cone"...there were various orange cones set up along the way to mark the course about 1/4 of a mile apart. The first cone we started at was on the left. The second cone was on the right hand side of the road and even farther up was a third cone.

When we got to the second cone Jason asked "This cone?" To which I replied 'No, the other cone". Evasive measures were needed at this point : ) When we got to the next cone I asked if he thought he had another cone in him. He said "I'm tired" to which I replied "But you like hills. Let's keep running". That's when he started running and didn't finish until he crossed the finish line!

We picked up Jesse & Art about a mile from the finish line and we all ran in together with Jason. I couldn't believe how fast he was running. I had to catch my breath running up a hill just before the finish. He looked back at his Garmin and said he sprinted at a 6:45/mile pace!!! No wonder I was out of breath. He never ceases to amaze me. Here this guy ran 100 miles (finish is actually 101.1 miles) and he's smoking me!

It was truly an awe-inspiring finish. I was so proud of him for accomplishing his goal. Throughout the whole race, pacing, crewing and getting supplies he was always a gentleman. Not once did he yell or complain even at his lowest points. He was his gracious self that he always is and I loved being able to share this experience with him.

I cannot wait until our next racing adventure! And again, to anyone who has the chance to crew or provide aid station at an ultra, especially 100 miles, it's a whole different animal and gives you an experience of a lifetime.

Oh those toes!

Thursday was going to be my long run on trails day. We decided to try a new trail system which was a little further away. Kids were taken care of for the day so we had plenty of time. Alot of people were raving about this trail system so we wanted to check it out ourselves and also throw in a little variety since we've been running the same places lately. By we, I mean my husband Jason and I.

There was an 11 mile loop I was ready to complete and if all went well I would run a second loop. I was feeling pretty good and even had a few new organic bars to try out during my run. Since I've cut soy and some other things from my diet I'm trying to find new foods to fuel me during the run. I used to like Cliff Bars but most of them have soy in them.

We got to the trail system, read the map and we were off. The nice thing about this trail system is it has many shortcuts and loops that take you back to the start. This ended up being a good thing after mile 1.

I was enjoying the lush scenery. This trail system was much greener, had more rocks and more roots than the other trails we've run. I'm not sure if I was just my clumsy self or if I just wasn't looking down as much as I should have but while wearing my Vibram's I hit a tree root. I've done this before and thought ok, I'll shake it off. But unfortunately, this wasn't shaking off. It was a different kind of pain and lasting longer than normal.

I tried to walk but ended up limping. I stopped to examine my pinky toe on my right foot. I've broken toes before. When I was 15 I was playing a game of dodge ball and ran right into a brick building. Again, I'm not the most coordinated person. When I broke toes then there was immediate swelling to the point where it looked like I had a golf ball on the top of my foot. This time I had swelling but not to that extent so I was hopeful it wasn't broken and wouldn't sideline my training efforts.

I figured it was probably a sprain. When I hit the tree root, I could physically feel my toe being separated from it's #4 toe-mate. It was bent in an unnatural way so I knew I did something bad. I tried to walk in socks but figured what the hell? I've been a little timid about running barefoot on the trails so what do I have to lose?

Oddly, walking hurt more than running. I ran when I could which ended up being a mile back to our car. The only time I found I couldn't run was when the terrain was really rocky. Once I stopped, I felt the throbbing in my foot. Sadly, I thought about running more but thought there's a fine line between stupidity and common sense and I'm not always good about knowing which is which.

I decided to go to the nearest gas station and ice my foot. Once I was off my foot it seemed to hurt even more. I was a little panicky because I'm training for a trail marathon and only managed to run 2 miles and with the possibility of a broken toe I wasn't sure what that would mean for my impending race.

My plan was to stay off of my feet for 2 days and then try to run. I would ice it whenever I could and see what happened. Other than dodging my kids attempts at stepping on my feet, it worked pretty well. You don't realize how little your kids watch where they're going until you have an injured toe and do NOT want them to step on it.

After day 2 I decided since it felt so good to run barefoot on the trails (and I wasn't sure if I could even squeeze my toes into my Vibram's) I would try doing a little barefoot hill-work. There is a spot by the beach called 5 Mile Hill that I thought would be perfect to try out.

It starts by running up a sand hill, then downhill on asphalt, around a loop, back up asphalt and finally back down the sand hill. I had to walk up and down the sand hill because I was worried about further damaging my toe but all in all it felt really good. It was overcast and rainy and it felt so good compared to how hot our days have recently been. It's so much fun to splash through the puddles during a run!

I still don't know if my toe is broken or just injured. I can't bend it but that might be because it bent so far backwards initially. I didn't want to waste the time and money on finding out since they don't do anything other than possibly tape them up. I did have my friend, who is a nurse, look at them and she thought just taping them would be fine. Great for me because I dislike going to the doctor!

I have found that over the last 3 days I've been much more sleepy and have taken cat naps during the day. It's amazing how the body can heal itself with sleep. I managed to get in a 5 mile trail run today. It was very slooow and I ran the last mile barefoot but I'm hoping to at least maintain some mileage. I'm going to rest for a few more days before trying to run again. I suffered from some leg pain which I know is due to bad form and compensating for my injured toe.

Lastly, I have decided to do something probably pretty stupid but I don't always follow conventional advice. Knowing how I react to pressure I'm going to go with it. My "brilliant" idea since I haven't been getting my long runs accomplished for various reasons is to sign up for a marathon before my marathon.

I told you it sounded stupid but I do have a rationale for it. The first marathon I am going to sign up for would be mostly roads. I won't put any pressure on myself to be fast but it will hold me more accountable. I would view it more as a training run than anything else.

I think one of the main issues I have been having is a lack of confidence. This way I won't put pressure on myself for the trail marathon if I complete this one first. I'm hoping I will gain some of my confidence back. I work better under pressure and will procrastinate if given the choice so my theory is this will ensure I follow through with plans and instead of second guessing myself I will just do it.

I kind of got this idea from my (bad influence) husband when he ran this same marathon last year. BEFORE the race started he ran half the course and ended up with a little over 40 miles which he used as his training run for his 100 mile race.

It could be the most brilliant thing I've done or the most stupid....let's hope for the best!

Love those hills!

Today my husband and I were meeting a fellow runner to run hill repeats...or so I thought. The person we were meeting just finished his first 100 mile race which just happened to be Western States. We met Roger by chance. While we were listening to the Western States lottery being drawn last December I noticed someone named Roger from Grand Rapids, Michigan had just been selected. I commented to my husband I wonder if he has a Facebook page, we put in a friend request and have formed an electronic friendship since.

My husband was very disappointed his name wasn't drawn but it would have been pretty tough for him to complete this year due to family commitments & timing. I hope next year his name is drawn!

Roger's Western State's pacer, Brandon, was also going to run hill repeats with us so it was a really great chance to talk to them about their whole experience there. I wanted to ask him to bring the buckle for us to see but didn't know if that sounded to stalkerish/groupie-ish. The fact that he finished any 100 mile race is cool enough but that Western States was his first was really cool. We talked about the terrain (Jason wanted to see if would be something that could possibly be done barefoot), how he was feeling, blisters, hydration and other fun running lingo.

We had actually met Roger before during the a winter trail run but this is the first time we actually had a conversation. I should preface that he is also an Ironman finisher and actively places 1st or 2nd in triathalons and duathalons. I mention this because Roger is FAST! But I figured running hills is at everyone's pace so no real pressure.

We were doing hill repeats at a local ski resort. Obviously, there is no snow on the ground now but it makes for a great place to get in hill work. The hills are long and at a great elevation. We started heading in that direction when they said "Ready?" and we realized they were headed for the trail (which is a 5 mile loop I have run previously with Jason). I had a water bottle but I had on Vibram's I normally dont' wear for running but I wear for short workouts. I drink Nuun and try to hydrate a little more before running and hadn't done any of that.

We told them "We thought we were only doing hill repeats" and there was some confusion. Our plan was to have our long run on Thursday so I was worried about running today. I told Jason let's run it. In reality, I'm a girl who when around boys feels the need to keep up. I get way more competitive with boys and am non-competitive with women. I think it's because I have 2 older brothers who would always tell me "Girls can't do that" so even though nothing was said to me I still have that thought in the back of my head.

So we were off for a 5 mile trail run. I figured if nothing else this would be good training since I didn't do my normal pre-running routine. Roger was first, then Brandon, me and Jason. Jason is always sweet for running with me even though he could have easily kept up with those guys.

When we first took off I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I couldn't breathe and it reminded me of my attempts at running after giving birth. Man, these guys were fast. They were talking to me about North Country Trail marathon I am signed up for because Brandon will be running the 50 miler (his first ultra). I tried to cough out some words but I couldn't talk. I finally stopped for a few seconds and caught my breath.

They got a few steps ahead of me but I caught up. They started out at an 8:30 pace which on roads is tough for me much less on trails. They slowed their pace down to 10:00 and I was keeping up! I kept up for the first half of the trail and slowly fell back. I could hear them talking in front of me so I figured they couldn't be too far ahead.

There were a few times I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep the pace but I took a drink and kept on running. At the end of the trail, they were only a minute or so ahead of me. I finished with an average pace of 10:30 which I was very pleased with. This particular trail has lots of various terrain, rocks, sand and hills.

In my head of course I was keeping up with a Western States & Iron-man finisher & a triathlon & duathalon winner - you know, I don't want to brag or anything : ) In reality, he finished WS a little over a month ago, just placed 2nd overall in a duathalon last Saturday, rode bikes Sunday, swam Monday and did track work on Tuesday. His legs weren't so fresh but when I retell this story nobody needs to know those small details. I was happy to somewhat keep up with these guys.

After the run, we ran 3 hill repeats. Jason was barefoot the whole time and I took off my shoes for the hill work. Brandon also threw caution to the wind and did all 3 hill repeats barefoot! These hills are pretty steep and long. For 3 hill repeats our total distance was 1.5 miles.

It was a great, unexpected workout. It reminds me that I need to push myself when I think I can't do something and that I'm an obvious sucker for peer pressure. I didn't want those boys thinking I couldn't handle those hills & run. I'm hoping it works out to run with these guys in the future and that I can push myself even further!

Trial & Error

I was a little bummed that last Thursday's run was so tough but after the same route on Sunday I'm feeling much more confident. There were a few things I did differently and still some question marks but I feel like I'm headed in the right direction.

Quite plainly, thyroids or lack of thyroids sucks but I could be dealing with a lot worse things. My struggle is I'm never sure if it's my adjustment of medication or various other factors when it comes to how I'm feeling. It's only been around 7 weeks since I had my thyroid removed and typically it takes 2-3 months so I need to be more patient. I'll be getting my blood drawn this week to determine if I need any adjusting.

Some of the things that I think contributed to my run going much better on Sunday is hydration. Looking back, I don't think I was properly hydrated. I LOVE water and feel like I drink a ton but when it's hot and you're outside playing, working out or drinking coffee you don't realize just how much you really need. So this Saturday I made sure I drank water throughout the day and before bed.

The other factor that I think helped was getting a double dose of my thyroid meds. Once a week, I double the dose and while I can't confirm it yet until I get my bloodwork but I do think it helped. I'm sure they still need some tweaking.

The last factor is I have cut out soy from my diet. I was raised a vegetarian and really like soy-based products, especially since I don't eat beef or pork it's been a good source of protein for me. After much research, I found that soy-based products can interfere with the absorption of thyroid medications so I decided to cut them out and see how I felt. I have also been dealing with some hair loss which may or may not be related. I'm seeing a dermatologist on Wednesday to get their expertise about that subject.

The other factor that I would be remiss if I didn't mention is my hubby was testing out his SportKilt during this run. I have to say, it was damn sexy! It takes a man with confidence to wear a kilt while out running. It's funny because people don't even notice he's barefoot, they only noticed the kilt. While he was waiting for me to finish the stairs, he had someone asking him questions about it.



So far, I've been feeling much better. Again, at this point I'm not sure how everything is related but Sunday's run was very encouraging. I ran 8 miles which included a 3/4 mile loop of stairs. I worried about climbing the stairs at first but my husband convinced me it was a better idea than saving them until the end and shhh! He was right. The beginning of the run I felt really sluggish but those stairs kicked my butt in gear.

It's strange how it seems to take my legs a good mile or two to get warmed up. For some reason it took me a while to make that connection. I want to stop in the beginning but now I tell myself...give it 2 miles and see how you feel. So far, I haven't wanted to stop after 2 so it's been a really good motivator.

I've been really lucky this summer to have my niece available to babysit my kids when my husband and I want to run. She just graduated and is so good with the kids. They love having her over and practically push me out the door. It's nice not feeling guilty for getting some "me" time. When she comes over my daughter now asks me "Mom, are you going to go for a run or out for a date?"

At the end of 8 miles I felt good and wished I had more time to extend the run. My next long run is scheduled for this Thursday and I'm confident I will complete it!

No Excuses

My 16 mile run did not happen. I made it 8 miles before I called it a day. I'm a no excuses kind of person. I don't like when others will say they can't do something if they've never tried or have excuses like I'm too busy, I have kids, etc. I think you can prioritize doing the things you want to do so it saddens me that I didn't complete my goal.

I'm not going to beat myself up over it. While I'm disappointed I'm going to cut myself some slack and listen to my body. Could I have pushed it and went on? Yes, but I wasn't feeling like that would have been my smartest option. I think I'm still adjusting to my meds and fatigue sets in more quickly than it did before my surgery.

I still think there's time to get in my long runs before the race I'm signed up for. I worry that I'm making an excuse but I'm trying to look at my situation objectively. I think I can be very hard on myself at times so instead of doing that this time I'm going to accept that I need a little more time to adjust.

I'm accomplishing so many of my summer goals already and doing more than I ever have before physically. I'm also lucky that I have a great husband who always lifts my spirits when I start to get down. He's my soft place to land and I appreciate that greatly!

On a side note my oldest daughter lost her second front tooth. She is too adorable for words!

Preparation for a Trail Marathon

I have 7 weeks until my first trail marathon in Manistee State Forest. To say I'm nervous would be an understatement. Before having my thyroid surgery I was much more confident but somewhere after my surgery I've lost it. I've been able to run and even had a PR in a 15k race post-surgery but I can't help but feel like I am not able to complete a long run as of late. So far I haven't run more than 10 miles continuously.

I'm cross training more than I ever have before, I'm doing more hill work and speed work but I'm still feeling that lack of confidence. The last few times I've set out to run longer distances I've had time, weather or fatigue issues. So to combat that, I've decided to map out the next 7 weeks and stick to an actual training schedule.

Mind you, it's all made up by me and not an official schedule or anything but just putting it in writing has helped tremendously. This Thursday I am going to run 16-20 miles on the trails. I will not leave that trail system until I have completed my goal. I feel the only way to get my confidence back is to set my goal and achieve it. I don't care if it's the slowest 16-20 mile in history but I am going to finish it whether it's raining, whether their are evil deer flies buzzing around or whether I feel tired.

I've run at some pretty low levels before and feel like I'm really making good headway with my cross training so there is no reason other than my own mental lack of toughness when it comes to finishing this run. The biggest confidence boost I can give myself is pushing myself to complete this run!

Trails, Cross Training & Rambling

Watching video posts of Western States and seeing the beautiful terrain and breathtaking views got me thinking of running trails. I am glad we have some good local trail systems but when I see what else is out there it makes me long for better running trails.

I love running trails even though it's so much tougher for me. I love the quietness, seeing the occasional deer, coyote and other fellow runners or hikers. The other added benefit is being shaded. I hate wearing sun screen and haven't come up with a good alternative as of yet to replace it so running in the shade of the woods without the hot sun blaring down is a great alternative.

My husband and I ran about 7 miles on the trails but I wanted a little bit more. I wanted to take advantage of every bit of grandma babysitting time available. We had about 20 minutes so we took a turn down the trails we hadn't been down before that led down the beach out onto Lake Michigan.

Before getting to the beach there was a loop of stairs. It was unexpected but I was up for the challenge. My husband tried to convince me he didn't know that the stairs existed but as long as he's been running these trails before me I'm thinking he was putting on a pretty good poker face. I actually like running up stairs and this loop provided an excellent way to practice stair work.

I can remember a time when just walking up stairs was difficult and put me out of breath. It's amazing to me that I ran almost the whole (I'm guessing here) 1/4 or 1/2 mile loop without getting winded enough to stop. When we got to the top of the stairs we had a gorgeous view of the beach below. It was such a nice little treat to have this view just outside of our regular train run. Knowing it is there, we will have to take advantage of it more often.

I have been doing a lot more cross training this year (and earlier) than I ever had which I know has made the hills and stairs less strenuous. Since my husband and I are both teachers we have a difficult time motivating ourselves to get to the gym or do exercises at home. I'm good about running all year, but I'm happy with being able to be a little more disciplined throughout the winter.

My transition to running barefoot has been much slower than I thought it would be. I always run in VFF's but since I've been running more trails, I am not brave enough to run it barefoot yet. I have the world's best role model when it comes to that (my husband) and am constantly amazed at the terrain in which he can run. If it's not a smoother type of terrain, I have a hard time being able to run it barefoot. I suppose one of these days I'll just do it and see what it feels like instead of worrying about it without trying it. I'm so clumsy that I think I get myself more worked up about something than I should.

Speaking of clumsy...one of the other cross training things I'm doing is an outside bootcamp with my running partner, Sharon. It's a group of 12 ladies and the first day we tested out our abilities like sprinting, how many pushups we could do and so on. The instructor also throws in some fun games like linking up with another person and playing tag. I was linked up with Sharon and she's done the class before (the previous 8 weeks) and mentioned that we ran together.

That put pressure on me to look like I knew what I was doing while running. I had on my new pink Vibram's so I stood out. The premise of the game is one pair of linked ladies has to tag all of the other linked ladies. Once you're tagged, you have to do jumping jacks. Sharon and I were the last to get tagged. We're both competitive so we were strategizing on how we would run and where we would go.

Once we saw them coming for us, we took off. About 5 steps later I hit the floor. My feet fell out from under me and I was down! I nearly peed my pants from laughing at myself. Some runner :D In my defense, we were running on hilly terrain and fresh cut grass. Never mind that nobody else fell...shhh! Luckily, I'm used to being clumsy and looking like a fool so it doesn't bother me. I liked that Sharon took off without me in an attempt to not get tagged. We had a good laugh about it the next day on our morning run.

I think my new addiction when it comes to cross training is swimming. I took my kids to the pool the other day and kept looking at the lanes and thinking...hmmm..I wonder if I could sneak over there for a few laps. I'm happy my swimming partner wants to continue swimming in the fall with me. It's nice to share a lane with someone you know and to keep each other motivated. She told me of a program to get discounted swimming lessons since the pool we swim at, I am an alumni. I know I need to work on my technique and it would be great to have a professional give me tips.

I've made a few changes to my diet recently. I'm going to try going dairy and egg free and see if that helps my overall health, weight and running. So far it's been a much easier transition than I thought it would be. I love cheese but have found some other good substitutes to eat so I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would. My next race, a trail marathon, isn't until the end of August but I will be helping pace my hubby at Burning River at the end of July!

Below and above are a few pictures from our run. Jason was having fun running on the rocks!