Yo Momma huh?

This was the day I'd been training for since December 2011.  Back in November I was still on my post-marathon high when I was surfing the internet for races and stumbled upon this little gem called "50s For Yo Momma Ultra Trail Run".  Sight unseen I registered, because for the price I couldn't pass it up!  And I somehow talked my friend Jeanine into signing up as well.

In December I met the race director, Rob, at the trail for my first training run.  Talk about a shock to the system.  I was completely unprepared for the terrain.  I had done a 4-mile trail run at Alum Creek back in 2009, but that trail was almost completely flat.  The Hargus Lake course is a 5.2 mile loop around the lake with steep hill after steep hill.  While the majority of the steep hills were short, there were a couple of very long ones.  And multiple creeks to cross, a few of which had no logs or cinder blocks to jump on.  You were either Superman who could leap wide creeks in a single bound or you just ran through them.  And since I am clearly no Superman, I ended up with wet feet.  There was also mud.  Lots and lots of mud.  I can run a half marathon in about 3 hours.  On my first training run I did 2 loops around the lake for a total of 10.4 miles.  It took me 3 1/2 hours!  I realized at that moment how much training I was really going to have to do.

I spent the next 4 months building my mileage, including getting up at an obscene hour on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to run with Jeanine (I am NOT a morning person), running the Carmel Marathon 3 weeks before Yo Momma, and once a month I would drive to the trail and run it.  Each time I had every intention of adding 1 more loop, and each time I would get 1 loop done and then say to myself "I don't feel like going again.  I'll do an extra loop next time."  Come race day the most times I'd been around the lake was twice and that had been the first time I'd gone down there back in December.  The entire week before race day my only thought was, "I really do NOT want to do this race on Saturday."  I truly had no desire to run it.  And if I can be entirely honest, if not for the fact that I had talked Jeanine into registering for this thing and my friend, Maite, hadn't flown all the way from Miami, FL to cheer me on, I totally would have bagged it.  That is how much I was not looking forward to it.  Which has never happened to me with a race before! 

Race morning dawns!  Packet pick-up was from 5:30 a.m. - 6:15 a.m. so we were up at 4:00 to start getting ready!  Stephanie and Keith met Maite and me down there, and boy was Stephanie prepared, lol.  They had a canopy, chairs, coolers of food, water, Gatorade and various other types of fuel in case I needed it.  And to top it off, she had shirts made!!  My nickname/username/email/pretty much everything is "fzyfrog" which everyone shortens to "fzy", so my crew was "Team Fzy" which I LOVED!

Before the race started we were given instructions to make sure that our bib was visible as we crossed the start/finish area so they could record our number of laps.  I wanted to be as "minimalist" as possible before starting so I didn't wear my fuel belt like usual (there was an aid station at mile 3 1/2 as well as at the start/finish line), but rather just my Spi-belt with my phone so I could #1. Have music and #2. Call someone if I needed help.  I'm a pretty clumsy person and the terrain out there is uneven at best.  I had tripped, but luckily not fallen, each time I'd been out there so I knew the chances of me falling on race day were high, lol.  At 6:30, the 50-milers started.  The rest of us stood around cheering them on as they took off!  At 6:45 it was my (and the rest of the 50Ker's) turn to head out.  Even before I started the race my goal was to finish in under 13 hours (time limit for both races was 14 hours).  While 13 hours may seem high to most people, I was gauging this based on how fast I'd run a loop previously.  My fastest loop time was 1 1/2 hours, slowest was 1 hour 45 minutes.  I knew I'd stop in between loops to fuel up and rest for a minute so I wanted to give myself 2 hours for each loop because I knew by the end I'd slow way down.

I felt really good out there the first loop.  I'm a run/walker who typically does a 3:1 1/2 minute interval.  My plan on race day, however, was to run as often as I could and only walk when I had to, with no set interval limit because of the terrain and hills.  I ended up run/walking with a couple of gentlemen from northern Ohio.  We talked and joked and were just having a good time and enjoying the scenery.  As I came up the short hill to the start/finish area I yelled out my bib number for some reason, "one-sixty-six" and it sort of became my "thing" lol.  Then, I headed over to our "area" and grabbed some water.
   

After a quick water break, I headed out for loop #2.  I still felt ok, but noticed I slowed down a tiny bit.  Which was fine, considering I still had so far to go.  Because I was so slow I did my best to actually stop and move off the path, if possible, whenever I heard runners behind me.  I certainly wasn't going to win the race, and I knew the people passing me were trying for a much faster time than me so I didn't want to get in anyone's way of that.  So, about mile 4 1/2 of loop 2, I thought I heard someone behind me.  I looked over my shoulder and no sooner did I see the person when I tripped over something and went flying.  I landed on my side and partially on my back.  I got up, dusted myself off and kept going.  Luckily we were out of the wooded area and more in the open on the grassy path along the side of the lake, and I was fine aside from some minor abrasions on my shoulder blade and leg.  I close in on the start/finish line and yell out my bib number.

  
At the last creek crossing I didn't have the energy to strategize how to cross it without getting my feet wet so I just ran through it, lol.  Luckily, I had come prepared with 5 extra pairs of socks and another pair of running shoes.  So I sat down to rest, changed into dry socks, ate some chips and drank some Gatorade.  I also put on my fuel belt, because even though there was another aid station, I was getting thirsty before I hit it.  It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to finish loop 2.  After resting for about 5-10 minutes I headed out for loop 3.

Loop 3 was slow to say the least.  I tripped multiple times and here is what parts of the trail looked like.

 









Check out those smiles...Fake it, 'til ya make it, right?

What's with all the hands on the hip shots too?  Is that supposed to help in some way, lol?







And again, more honesty here... If I had done this race alone, like I do a lot of races, after loop 3, I would have been done.  I was miserable.  Thank God there was pizza back at the start/finish line after this loop!!  And as I'm heading up that hill, I yell out "one-sixty-six", which has everyone clapping and laughing!  By the way, that was the BEST piece of pizza I've ever eaten, lol.  Of course, as the race director's wife said, "Lynde, if you'd eaten a saltine, that would have been the BEST cracker you'd ever eaten".  And you know what?  She would have been right, lol. 

After resting for about 15 minutes while eating my pizza and chips and drinking Gatorade, I was ready for loop 4. By now, it was taking me close to 2 hours to finish a loop.  I looked at my watch and said I'd be back around 2:30.  I was at about mile 2 of loop 4 when I heard people behind me.  I stepped over to the side to get out of the way when someone yelled out "One-sixty-six??"  I start laughing and was like "Yep, one-sixty-six!!"  They passed me with a "way to go!", "you're doing great" and various other encouragements.  And let me tell you...all of those other runners were the nicest, most encouraging and supportive people I have ever encountered at a race.  I don't remember a single person who passed me that didn't say something encouraging to me (and several people passed me more than once!!).  It certainly offered a boost when I really just wanted to sit down and cry because my feet hurt so bad.  So, to every single one of those people, I say THANK YOU!  I am so proud to have been part of a race with such amazing and outstanding people!

And I finished loop 4 - "One-sixty-six".  At the end of loop 4, one of Stephanie's co-workers and her husband were waiting at our crew tent and I was introduced to them.  I remember everyone talking to me asking me if there was anything I needed and all I remember was my continuous response being "I don't know.  Don't make me think.  My brain hurts too much to think right now".  After that they just offered me a few things and I took them, lol.  I was pretty out of it.  So much so, in fact, that later on Stephanie told me that her co-worker had texted her after they left asking if I was ok, lol.   And I was... eventually.

Before I before I began loop 5, Maite asked me if I wanted her to go with me.  Of course, I said "YES!"  Loop 5 involved no running whatsoever.  We walked the entire thing. 

<--- Down, down, down



UP, up, up --->
















Maite ---->






I got to mile 3 of loop 5 and I remembered suddenly feeling very light headed and actually thought I was going to pass out.  Which, of course, then caused a mild panic attack and my heart to start racing.  I took some slow deep breaths, slowed down my walk and kept telling myself, "Just get to the aid station, just get to the aid station".  I made it to the aid station and asked if there was a chair I could sit down in.  They didn't have a chair, but I ended up sitting down on their ice cooler.  I grabbed some chips and pretty much any other food I could find along with some watered down drink called Heed.   I sat there for a good 5-10 minutes before I felt like I could get up and keep going.  I hit the trail and met up with Maite where she had turned around to come back and check on me.  She used my phone to text back to "camp" and ask Stephanie if she could make me a turkey and cheese sandwich.  Finally, I see the start/finish line.  "One-sixty-six!!!"

By the picture you can tell that I clearly felt better, lol.  And actually, I did.  I tore into that turkey sandwich like I was never going to eat again.  And it was the BEST turkey sandwich I've ever eaten.  Truly :D  After I ate, I changed into dry socks again (the first loop ended up being the only time I didn't change them!), rested for a good 15 minutes, drank lots of Gatorade and water, grabbed some chips and a cookie and Maite and I set out for the last and final loop!!  Judging by the time we had 2 hours and 24 minutes to complete loop 6 in order for me to finish in my goal time of less than 13 hours.  In fact, it would have been 12:59.  Nothing like cutting it close, right?  We walked to the dam and I told Maite I wanted to try and run across it and then we'd walk again.  We made it across the dam and then went back to walking.  We ended up having to slow down the walk a little, because I started feeling light-headed again.  But, once we slowed down I felt fine.  I got to a few flat places where I felt like I could slow jog and be ok.  So I jogged here and there.  We hit the "big" stairs (67 stairs big!) and I slowly made it up.  We crossed 1 creek and I made it up the hill on the other side of it.  We went down the giant hill, crossed another creek and made it up the "Up, Up, Up, Up" hill on the other side.  We made it to the aid station where I grabbed some peanut M&Ms and kept going.  I jogged again in a couple of flat spots.  There were still people who were running the 50 miler that were passing me, including "Bill" who passed me 4 times and had a huge smile on his face and encouraging words for me each time.  Finally, I saw the bait shop and boat dock and knew the finish line was only about 1/4 mile away.  By now, I was getting so excited!  I started jogging.  I didn't want my bib covered when I crossed that finish line (got to think of those photo ops, lol), so I handed Maite my fuel belt and Spi-belt to carry for me.  And suddenly, THERE IT WAS!  THE FINISH LINE!  I picked up my pace and yelled, "ONE. SIXTY. SIX!!!!!!!!!"

It wasn't pretty, but I did it!!  Official time - 12:43:17!  I beat my goal by 17 minutes!!  I was the very last 50K finisher.  And you know what, I was beyond alright with that.  Because out of the 93 people who did register, 17 people didn't even show up for the race and 9 people weren't able to finish.  And there, at the finish line, cheering me on every step of the way, were my friends Stephanie, Keith, Maite and Jeanine, none of whom I would have ever been able to finish this race without!!!!

FINISHERS!!!!

Here's a pic of Jeanine, the race director, Rob, and me.

  Like I said, it wasn't pretty, but the feeling I had after I crossed that finish line is unmatchable!  It was over, I accomplished something I'd never thought to accomplish, and I was never going to do it again!  I felt so good knowing...

Oh, and I'm registering for this race next year, lol.

You signed up for WHAT????

It's been 6 months since I've blogged, and a lot of things have happened since then.  In my last blog in October I had just completed my first marathon, the Nationwide Columbus Marathon, with a time of 6:25:15.  I had also been on my weight loss journey since July, 2008.  Since 2008 I had lost approximately 75 lbs.  I don't have the exact number because I didn't know my exact weight when I began.  I do know that I was in a size 24 jeans and a size 22 top.  The day after my marathon I weighed 188 lbs. and was wearing a size 16 jean and mostly XL shirts, with a few larges thrown in.  At only 5' 3", that is still about 55 lbs overweight.

About a month after my marathon I was scanning the internet looking at races and came across a race called 50s For Yo Momma.  I chuckled at the name and clicked on the link to read the description.  50s For Yo Momma is a 50K and 50 mile trail run at Hargus Lake in Circleville on May 12, 2012.  I looked at the pictures and thought to myself that this looked like a great challenge.  And for only a $35 registration fee, who could resist?  So, I took up the challenge of the 50K.  I emailed the race director, Rob, and told him I'd just completed my first marathon, didn't know anything about trail runs and asked him how I should train for one.  Oh, and I told him I was a little crazy!  Rob graciously replied back and offered to meet me out on the trail anytime and run the course with me.  We scheduled a training run for the middle of December.

Fast forward through November and into Thanksgiving.  I made it through Thanksgiving with about a 5 lb weight gain.  Then on December 1 I set a goal to give up sweets until Christmas Day and to be down to 183 lbs.  And anyone who knows me knows that this is probably the worst torture I could inflict on myself.  I also decided that I was going to run the Carmel (IN) Marathon in April 2012.  So, not only was I going to train for the first time over winter, but I was training for a marathon in April and an ultra marathon 3 weeks after that.  See, I told you I was crazy.

In the middle of December, I drove to Circleville and met Rob at Hargus Lake.  The course is a 5.2 mile loop around the lake.  We set out and I ended up with a huge shock to the system.  This trail run.... No freaking joke.  I'm pretty sure this was the hardest 5.2 miles I'd ever run.  EVER.  We ran through inches deep mud, across a couple small creeks, up some of the steepest hills, and up a staircase consisting of 67 stairs.  And come May, I get to do that 6 TIMES!!!  We finished one loop which took us (me) so long that Rob wasn't even able to do a whole second loop with me because he had to go to work.  He ran about a mile of a second loop with me and then he split off and I completed the rest alone.  In the woods.  In the middle of nowhere.  By myself.  Needless to say I was a little creeped out, but I finished.  It took me over 3 1/2 hours to run 10.4 miles.  I can run a half marathon faster than that.  And all I kept thinking was, "I'm never going to be able to finish this race."  I've since gone down there twice and still haven't made it around more than 1 1/2 times.  This Saturday is a scheduled training run down there, and my goal is to make it around 3 times.

By now, it's Christmas and I have managed to succeed with no sweets!  And in an office where everyone brings Christmas cookies this was a huge challenge.  But I did it.  And by Christmas Eve, I was down to 183 lbs.  Of course, I then proceeded to gain 8 lbs over the Christmas holiday because all the sweets I had ignored between Dec 1 and Dec 25 I made up for - tenfold.  But, I enjoyed the holiday with my family.

 In January, I flew to Miami and ran the ING Miami Half Marathon with my friend Maite.  My goal was to PR.  However, I had forgotten what it was like to train in the heat.  And on race day, it was HOT!  I had a miserable race and finished in 3:03:18.  My slowest half marathon since becoming a run/walker in May 2011.  Then began my serious training for those two big races in the Spring.  And my eating needed to get back under control.  I had been continuously yo-yo-ing up and down those 5-8 lbs since Thanksgiving.

I currently work both full time and go to school.  My school schedule changed after the first of the year and 2 weeks before I went to Miami I adopted a puppy.  If anyone ever tells you that having a puppy is like having a baby... believe them!

So between the new puppy and my school schedule my week day runs were suffering.  I asked around to see if anyone wanted to run in the mornings.  Luckily I have a friend who is a morning person who jumped on it.  This also happened to be the same friend I somehow talked into also signing up for Yo Momma!!  So, beginning in February Jeanine and I (along with my new puppy, Penny) started running 5 miles at 6:15am Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I am not a morning person so this was a struggle for me.  Then, I'd get my long run in on Saturday.  Luckily, Jeanine and I were also able to get a couple of 21-25 mile runs in.  Since February, I've put in a lot of training miles.  And I got my eating a bit more under control and got down to 178 lbs.  I had also signed up for the RunCbus 10 miler on April 15, which I also ran last year.  The course is extremely hilly and challenging to those of us who hate hills.  My goal was to finish in less than 2:20:00.  I finished in 2:24:03, which was 10 minutes faster than I ran it last year.  Not the greatest time, but I was satisfied.

As I was getting ready for my marathon in Indianapolis this past weekend, I needed to go through my closet and pull out all the clothes that didn't fit me anymore and take them with me to give to a couple of friends.  After cleaning out my closet I realized I needed some more jeans and summer tops.  So I took the dreaded shopping trip.  I am not a fan of shopping usually because I have a hard time finding jeans that fit me.  I am built smaller in the middle and lots bigger in the behind area.  So jeans that fit my rear and hips gap a lot in the waist.  I easily get frustrated while shopping so I wasn't holding out for a good trip.  I went to JC Penney because I like a lot of their clothes.  I ended up trying on some jeans that were labeled "curvy fit".  By the time I had finished trying on jeans I left with a pair of 12s and a pair of 10s.  10s!!!!!  I don't think I've ever in my entire life worn a size 10.  Needless to say, I was pretty stoked.  I also left with 5 shirts (Mediums and Larges).   And I bought a dress in a size 12! (not the greatest pic)

Now, it's marathon weekend.  I drove to Indianapolis on Friday for the Expo.  Saturday morning I was up at 5:30 am getting ready.  I was nervous about the race, and yet I wasn't.  I was nervous in that I didn't feel I had trained as well as I had for Columbus.  And I really wanted to finish close to 6:00:00.  Yes, that would have been a 25 minute improvement which seems like an aggressive goal, but I tend to set aggressive goals.


One nice thing about this race was that one of the coaches from MIT (Marathoner in Training) was doing the half marathon.  We had coordinated that we would start together.  So, as I get to the start line, I found Dana about 45 seconds before the gun goes off.  We wished each other luck and set off.  I had decided to try a 2:1 run-walk interval for this race to see if I could maintain it the entire way (I typically do a 3:1-1/2 run-walk interval and by mile 18 I'm running closer to a 2:1 interval anyway).  The course is relatively flat with a couple of short rolling hills.  I chose this race because of that, and the fact that I had done the half marathon in 2011 where I tried run-walk for the first time and ended up taking 21 minutes off my best half marathon time.  I felt really good until about mile 22.  I definitely started slowing down a lot by then.  But for the most part I continued to keep up the 2:1 run-walk interval.  There were plenty of aid stations on the course and though there wasn't any real "cheering" from people along the course, the volunteers at each station were great!  And the oranges at the second to last aid station were a wonderful treat!  The only down side to the entire race was how cold and windy it was.  I had some major windburn before it was all done.  The sun tried to peak out about mile 24 but it didn't last more than 30 seconds.  By mile 25 I was so ready to be done.  There was a group of 3 ladies in front of me that I tried catching up to.  I got pretty close, but they pulled away the last 3/4 of a mile.  I was too tapped out.  But, I crossed the finish line in 6:15:40, which was almost 10 minutes faster than my first marathon in October!  It wasn't the 6:00:00 I wanted, but the 10 min PR made me pretty happy!

And now, it's my final 3 weeks before THE RACE!!  50s For Yo Momma.  I have no idea what the next weeks will bring regarding training.  But one thing I do know is that I have to finish this race.  Whether it's running, walking or crawling.  A huge motivation for me is that my friend Maite is flying up from Miami, FL to cheer me on.  My friend and running buddy, Stephanie, and her husband, Keith, are crewing for me.  Wow, I'm running a race where I need a "crew"!!  Stephanie is a great support!  During my marathon on Saturday I would get periodic text messages from her saying things like "You're my hero" and "You totally got this!  Just keep putting one foot in front of the other".  They helped more than she will ever know, and for that, Stephanie, I thank you!  For now, I'm going to focus on my training over these next 3 weeks and come May 12, we'll see what happens.