Good Times and Goblins

Some lavender to violet graded fluffy clouds floated above the canyon framed Needle spires that glowed bright orange and red in the rising morning sun as I made my way to Devil's Kitchen yesterday morning. It was at this moment, as I effortlessly glided over rock ledges and through sandy bottoms that I might have been the happiest I have been in a long time. The day before, my "Needles family" and I put in an intense afternoon, working together in a heroic effort to get an elderly man from a remote trail in the park to St. Mary's Hospital. Turns out we were rewarded with news that he just might survive from an acute myocardial infarction that could have taken his life. When I reached this individual I realized that not only was I working with my fellow Rangers but with some physically capable trail runners that were wearing Vasque Golden Leaf shirts. It is possibly one of the best feelings in the world to work together in harmony with people you trust to accomplish something this substantial. But it was more than this instance that made me so happy. It was an accumulation of years of knowing what I wanted but not quite achieving it, coming to an end. Being a Park Ranger has been more rewarding than I expected, in more ways than I can count. I was meant to be in the canyons of the southwest, it brings out the best in me.
So I am headed to Goblin Valley State Park for a 50K this weekend. I am looking forward to reuniting with my “running family” for a day. 50K should seem simple compared to this past week.

Now This is Racing; Threepeat at Imogene

I'll admit that strategy in racing has never been my strong point. I've come to realize that it is one of those things that evolves with time; trial and error and learning from mistakes. They say the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake over and over and expecting different results each time. Well I'm happy to say that Imogene Pass Run this year was a turning point for me and proved that maybe I'm not insane.


After 12 days straight of work (lots of over time!) I was more than ready for Imogene, if nothing else for a mental break, destressing through physical exertion. Not knowing what my competition would be my plan was to relax and enjoy the commradery but still put forth a solid effort. After the gun I resisted the urge to attack the first climb with the guys and settled into a steady pace that I knew would be maintainable. Within the first mile though an unidentified female blew by me and took the lead. In the past I would have thrown it into overdrive and outright raced her, knowing I would blow up sooner or later, most likely settling for second place. Instead I decided to match her pace and keep her in sight, with the hopes she would herself blow up, it can be very stressful to be in the lead. She never slowed and in fact sped up. I watch as she passed guys left and right and then passed over the summit. At the summit I decided it was now or never, this was my chance. I let gravity do its job, successfully recovering from near falls here and there, and took the lead with about four miles to go. If there is one thing I've gained from snowshoeing it is the art of descending; and fast.

At the finish line I was excited to learn that the female that so impressed me was Stevie Kremer from Crested Butte. Gunnison and CB seem to represent well at this race...something in the air. Great job to Stevie's stellar climb up Imogene!!

Anyways I got to eat La Concina and spend some time with my mom, sister, and aunt; which made the weekend perfect. Oh and I did race on Friday as well. A series of smaller bike races against my awesome, 9 year old cousin. All I can say is the athletic world better watch out for him! Best of all he asked me Friday night as I collapsed from exhaustion "if you're a runner how come you are tired before I am?"

And the Winner Is...

I can't believe it has been over two weeks since Pikes Peak. Where has the summer gone? It always goes this way though, I wait all winter for summer to come and the next thing I know it's Fall again...and then it snows. But maybe it will be different this year since I will be in Canyonlands. So, up next is Imogene Pass Run. I LOVE this race. I suppose that is why I keep coming back to it, or maybe it is the ultimate post race pig out at La Concina de Luz, my all time favorite resturaunt. After eating my own cooking all summer I can hardly wait!

I haven't run much since Pikes, what I have been doing is backpacking. There is nothing quite like backpacking in the canyons, its like doing a 1,000 one leg squats with a 50 pound weight on your back. And then there is the sand and this year, quicksand. Alot like snow, the progress through sand/quicksand is slow and arduous, especially with a pack on. Ofcourse there is nothing like a swarm of blood thirsty, agressive mosiquitos to motivate you, as Brad and I discovered last night. Luckily my pack was about half the weight of his and I was able to somewhat out run the attack.
THE JOINT TRAIL


Which brings me to the winner of the Needles Backpacking Ultimate Challenge of the summer. As the unofficial judge I name Brad the winner with an outstanding 80lb. load carried through 12 miles of flash flooded Salt Creek. In a close second place was Andrew Bliss, who does take the cake for the greatest amount of buckets carried out of Salt Creek. And me in third, which I am content with considering I weigh a significant amount less than Andrew and...well Brad is just an animal there's no denying that. I can still out plank the both of them. I did get word from Tucson that Andrew is being the excellent, studious type now that school is in session. Hope you have a great semester Andrew, we do miss you here!

That's it for now from the Needles...

An Amazing Weekend

What an amazing weekend!! Seven years ago, urged by Jane, I entered the Pikes Peak Marathon. I wasn't a runner, I didn't consider myself a runner. I raced mountain bikes and loved it. I had the big quads and bulging forearms and was dead set on becoming a pro. Who knew that one race would change the course of everything. That year I had a miserable experience in the Pikes Peak Marathon. I didn't run much that summer, all my fitness came from mountain biking. I didn't think it would matter but I was sorely mistaken (literally). I made every mistake possible; took out way to hard, didn't fuel/hydrate, wore completely wrong shoes (this was the beginning of finding a shoe that I wouldn't lose every toenail with)...I walked, alot, and couldn't walk for the next week. Looking back now, it was this experience that fueled my running career. I had to prove that I could conquer Pikes Peak...I was entirely hooked on trail running.

In 2008 I did prove that I could conquer Pikes Peak by winning the marathon. I was extremely proud to join the ranks of Lyn Bjorklund, Angela Mudge, and most definetly Danelle Ballengee. But I knew then that I could do it faster and there was always that looming "double" that waited to be done. So when I heard that the Ascent was the World Mountain Running Challenge this year I bit the bullet and signed up for both.

The Ascent took me by suprise. The sheer number of people and the extreme amount of hype at the start forced me to spend alot of energy passing people in the first few miles...those people who feel they will win the race if they can post a sub six minute first mile. I went from 13th female to fourth by the finish and gave it everything I had. The last mile I could see fifth place closing in at a rapid pace and with an extreme grimmace on my face pushed through to the finish in 2:46. The amazing Brand Erholtz won and deservedly so! I wish I could say that I was excited for the marathon the next day but I spent all I had in the Ascent and wasn't confident I had what it would take. But once again I proved myself wrong. After the gun sounded on Sunday morning and my feet hit dirt there was no turning back. I found my stride and never once felt an urge to throw in the towel. I felt amazing; relaxed and smooth. At the turn around I knew, pending disaster, that the win was mine. And it was in 4:34, 5 minutes off my PR.

I never imagined I would be mingling with or even closely considered on the same level as Matt Carpenter. But yesterday I stood on top of the podium with the legend. I was honored to meet and have a conversation with the first lady to finish a marathon, the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1959. Her name is Arlene Peipper and is an inspiration to us all. A PPM veteran gave me a PPM hat from 1980 off his head and in return I signed my race bib for him. Experiences that will last a lifetime!

The AWESOME Bernie B. and I

Mind-Body Connection

First off a great big CONGRATS to Rebecca Rusch for ruling the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike race. New women's course record and many a man defeated! It's about time a woman made some commotion in Leadville seeing how Dave Wiens and Lance Armstrong have stolen the show the past couple years.

OK, enough of that. I remember reading a few years ago a book on the mind-body connection with running. Not until recently do I feel that I have really made this connection. In this book the author suggests that a runner cannot really be "in the zone" when distracted by things such as music, competition stress, traffic...so I experimented a bit this summer. I spent several days running with my music, which depending on my mood can provide inspiration. However spending several days running without my music I have come to realize that I truly cannot connect with my body to the same degree running with music as I can without. There really is nothing quite like feeling in tune with every muscle in your body, feeling each one contract and relax as you smoothly repeat leg stride after leg stride. I can feel the power orginate from my core and continue down through each leg. My arms flow unconciously in sync with each stride and it all comes together in perfect harmony. If you watch professional runners they seem to float effortlessly and eficiently even when posting sub 5 minute miles at mile 25 of a marathon. Perhaps it is a result of day after day of training their bodies, eventually they establish a completely relaxed flow. But there is no denying that alot of it is a natural talent that has been inherited through genetics. Some of us were not meant to be efficient runners and must work at it.

Anyways, can't believe Pikes is next week. Going for the double this year, something I have wanted to do for some time. Looking forward to seeing some long lost running pals!

That Extra Umph...

Once again the Speedgoat 50K threw a curve ball at me, but this time I was not defeated. You have to take someone like Karl Meltzer serious when he says that the race he is putting on is the toughest 50K in the country. I did not with my first attempt at the Speedgoat and paid dearly at mile 21 where I tucked my tail between my legs and called it a day. For two years I thought about what went wrong that day and my conclusion: to hard to early, not enough fuel, not enough fluids, and finally to hard on the downhill (all the no brainer mistakes for a seasoned trail runner). So I came prepared this year and it did pay off (literally, I received $500 for first place!!). However there was one slight "uh oh" that could have been detrimental if Karl were not such an awesome guy and Nick Pedatella had not been there to keep me motivated.

After pacing myself on the initial, heinous climb up to Hidden Peak and Mount Baldy I readied myself for the brutal downhill to Dutch Flat that outright destroyed me on my prior attempt. This year I came with stronger legs and a more sensible, relaxed approach that would have worked marvelously had myself and Nick not taken a wrong turn. Long story made short is our route to Dutch Flat was opposite of what we should have done, yet I believe the same distance. However, because of our carelessness we were asked to complete 3 penalty miles at Dutch Flat that dropped my position from sixth overall and first female to ~20th overall and second female. Despite the extra miles I felt peppy climbing out of Dutch Flat with Nick (fresh off a stellar Hardrock performance) by my side encouraging me and chose to see how hard I could push until I regained my lead. That I did at about mile 19 (22 for me). From there I went into survival mode and continue to choke down the fuel and fluids. I may never eat another Fig Newton in my life, but they did the trick. Thinking I was home free and able to coast in on the final 5 mile descent, I relaxed a bit and prepared myself for the rocky beating to the finish. Thankfully, I took on last glimpse above me as I entered the trees and saw Becky Wheeler (2nd place) a mere 3 switchbacks behind me. I dug deep one last time and hammered the downhill into the finish for the win, 35 miles and 6:34.

Word on the street is that Karl adjusted Nick and my times to reflect what he thought was fair. This puts me in 5th overall and 6:10, first female.

What can I say... this is an amazing race, and amazing people running it and in it! I love the trail running community, a great group of hardy souls with smiles across their sweaty, dusty faces. I can only speak for myself, but I do it to see what can be done. Just when you think you can go no more you find that extra drive that in the end provides a sense of accomplishment that can come from nothing else. Can't wait for PIKES!

PPA and PPM

Pikes Peak Ascent and Pikes Peak Marathon in a month! But first Speedgoat 50K, my nemesis from two years ago. PPA is the World Mountain Running Challenge this year, should be hefty competition!