Oh no....HILLS!!!! :-O

So, I felt good Monday after my first LONG run and decided Yoga Monday night would help stretch me out. All I can say is OUCH!!!!!!! It hurt. Turns out the instructor really likes to focus on Quads. My quads do not like her. Maybe I'll stick to my other class from now on...with less Warrior II.

I'm trying to increase weekly mileage so I ran trails with another friend, Craig, last night. We did about 5-6 miles and thankfully he's kind of injured. Seems to be the only way I can keep up with my friends! (Don't I have any SLOW trail running friends? - Where are you?) :)

But, tonight is HILL practice with Marty. Yikes! Those of you who are local, then you know the NEVER-ENDING hill to the left of Valley Green Inn. Yup. Tonight's gonna hurt!
Here's a picture of some STRONG runners doing it. You get a sense of the vertical being that they are on hands and feet! I just might be crawling!

How many times do you think I can haul myself up this thing????? Votes?

Am I a Serious Runner? Let's find out!

I was afraid of how much my muscles might hurt Monday morning after Marty tried to kill me on Sunday's run! Surprisingly, I had no muscle pain! I feel good, which leads me to believe that I have the strength, but not the cardio yet to keep up with his death march pace! (Yup, I stole that term from Jose, who thinks we take him on death march hikes!). So far, so good. So, I go on the Ultra Race Website last night (hoping it's SOLD OUT) and take a look at he race ammenities! Here is what I saw!

Aidstations include: PBJ, Bananas, M&M's, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreos, Potatoes, Perogies and my favorite - Grilled Cheese!!! Julies says she does these races for the food and now I see why! Is it wrong that THIS is the reason I signed up? :)

Nevermind that THIS is one of the stations. Margaritaville! I'm hoping it's toward the end or I just might not finish the race!  Though as long as I put salt on my glass, it's really just replenishing my sodium, right? :O

So, looks like I AM doing this! Keep updated with this blog to follow how training goes!  :)

To run an ultra or not to run: Read on and tell me if I should go for this!

Goals- It’s always good to have them. So, when my dear kayak friend, Marty, mentions he is training for a 50K ultra trail race, my ears perk up.  I’ve never run a marathon, or heck, even a half-marathon, so errr….why not run 30+ miles? I consult my running partner, Julie, whose running shoes have seen more mileage than every car I’ve ever owned! She thinks I can do this, so with her encouragement, I warily agree to meet Marty for a training run this morning.

I am hesitant as Marty started his training back in April (and, let’s admit it, he is a machine!) and well….I’ve never really ‘trained’ for anything before.  So, here goes. I limit my wine intake at a neighborhood gathering Saturday night to one glass. Okay, it was really two or three, but who’s counting. I load up on cheese (because that’s good for carbs, right?) and get a decent night’s sleep.  He picks me up around 9AM and we drive to Delaware. This is a sigh of relief for me as there are less hills in White Clay Park then our local Wissahickon. As a Philly girl, I’m used to flat ground, but maybe, just maybe I’ll keep up. Yeah, not so much.

We are doing a 2 hour run (the most either of us have ever gone!). The first 5 minutes feel good. Yup, that’s about it. I quickly realize I’m in over my head! Marty thinks our pace is the same. He can’t see me behind him sucking air like a Hoover. At 30 minutes in, it’s time to eat a Gu for some carbs/energy (and to practice this intake) and I can’t seem to figure out how to get the damn Gu in my mouth, let alone, swallow it, while barely breathing since I'm already winded!

And, he seems to pick up his pace! Argh.  Around the 40 minute mark, I'm ready to plead ‘uncle’ and tell him I’ll meet him at the car. My ego won’t let this happen. I’m in shape, right? Nevermind the fact that I’m completely lost in this park! An hour into our run and I’m humbled.  Is it too early to cry? There’s lots of mountain bikers….maybe one will give me a ride? With some gentle pleading, Marty slows down and I stop seeing stars. I actually feel, dare I say it – GOOD – at this pace!  I’m used to ‘pushing’ through as I’ve started doing endurance hiking in the last year. Yup, who knew there was such a thing and I’m not really sure WHY I’m doing that either! But, it has taught me to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. With a little “I think I can”, I make it to the end of our run.  

My muscles feel okay, but I’m exhausted. I get home and take a Jacuzzi bath. I let the water out and am so tired that I contemplate taking a nap right there in the tub! This is worse than my college drinking days! And, it’s only our (my) first ‘training’ run! Will the training get harder? Or easier? Should I REALLY sign up for this race and commit to the training?  I have napped, eaten mac ‘n’ cheese because I needed comfort food (me and Oprah both!), and I can actually walk up and down the stairs. How about I wait to see how I feel tomorrow….THEN decide if I should do this race! Maybe it will be SOLD OUT by then!  J