You Can't Win Then All

After a miserable attempt at a 100 in Florida last May, The Keys 100,the ROAD KILL 100, as I have named it, due to all the traffic which you encounter the entire length of the Florida Leys, with no safety signs or markings put out by the incompetent RD, I decided to give Florida one more chance, opting for a 100 miler outside of Jacksonville, on an old, unimproved rails to trails path.

Having run on just about every survace imaginable on this planet with the 100+ ultras I have done, I thought, "piece of cake!" Flat, out and backs, and not all the horrible traffic that I encountered at Road Kill.

Indeed, the RD of the Iron Horse was first class all way. A retired Marine, he truly cared about the runners. Unfortunately for me, the well water they served didn't agree with me. No problem, I paid a volunteer a few bucks to get me some water from a gas station, and although slightly weakened from not keeping anything in or down for 30 miles, I began to feel better. Until the cramps started, forcing me to slow my pace, making it impossible to maintain a fast enough pace to stay warm. After 2 hours of uncontrollable shivering, I made the tough choice to call it quits at 75 miles. I hate DNFing a race, but sometimes it's best to stay safe and save your strength for another race. On to the next race....

Although I didn't take any pictures, and have vowed NEVER to return to Florida again, here is a token picture of my beloved cat, Pricess, feeling like her mommy after a DNF.

Sedona Marathon 2009

Having run dozens of marathons, and upwards of 100 ultra marathons, I can say with confidence that the Sedona Marathon, in beautiful Sedona, AZ, is the best organized marathon I have ever run. Never having won a marathon before, I wasn't expecting to win, but I did want to set a PR, which was 3:43. Being an out and back course, it soon became visibly apparent to me that I was in third. Which was fine with me, given that I train soley for ultramarathons. Even when I caught up with the second place female, I didn't plan on winning. But life doesn't always go according to plan. With less than a mile to go, my husband, who had come along with me, yelled out that I was just 20 seocnds behind the first place woman. Could it be possible for me to win a marathon?! With $1400 dollars in air fare prize money, plus hundreds of dollars in restaurant and spa treatments at stake, I kicked it in, and ended up winning by just seconds. The woman in front of me was tough! I honor her for making me work for that overall win, and for her grace and class at the finish line. Although not a course record, I did manage to set a PR, winning in a time of 3:35:52, 1st female, and 17th overall. A huge thank you to all the amazing volunteers who helped make this race a safe and successful victory!

Nice Kitty!

After running the Avalon 50 and Calico Ghost Town 50km back to back, it was time for some much needed R&R. Here's a great picture of her and her mommy sharing some "huggy-buggy time" and one of her helping me pack for a race. This weekend it is off to beautiful Sedona, AZ, where I will be running the Sedona Marathon as a final long training run for an upcoming 100 miler later this month.