Carl Touchstone 50km and 50 Miler

There's something about the way southern men talk that keep drawing me to this great race I discovered in 2007. Anyone who talks with a southern accent can pace me any day!

At any rate, I decided to give the Carl Touchstone 50 another go, this time with my husband Tim, who ran the 50km ,as his first ultra. The women's field was tough, and I didn't think I would finish as strong as I did in 07, and with hotter temperatures in the mid 80's with humidity to match, this course definetly ate its young fast, as nearly a third of those who signed up for the 50 miler opted to wimp out and do the 50km. Can't say I blame them, as I wasn't sure I coud even come in under 9 hours.

After nearly ten years of living in the desert, I was looking forward to the greenery of the course. Unfortunaly the forest service had other plans, and had done a controled burn, forcing the RD to change the course. The new course had numerous mud bogs, and stream crossings, slowing times even further. But one things stands out in my mind about this years race more than anything else: THE WOMEN KICKED ASS! I was 13th overall, and half of the top ten places went to women.

My husband, who quickly found out that runnng ultras is MUCH easier than being married to me, won his first ultra, coming in ahead of the second place guy by over 20 minutes. I am so proud of him. Coming in 6th woman, it's time to work cut back on the Little Debbies and get serious for the LT100.

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.

More 2008 Christmas Memories...................

Although long past, 2008 Christmas was one of my happiest memories of the year, along with completing the Death Valley Double Crossing of 292 miles in a record time. Here are some more Christmas pictures. Badwater and Double Crossing pictures are soon to come..........

Happy New Year!!!!!

Happy New Year everyone! What a year it has been already. After my tradition of running in the new year with my husband, we soon found ourselves in the desert once again, this time in Henderson, NV, to run the Run With An Angel 50 Miler.

Run With an Angel is a very hilly course that takes you alongside Lake Mead, and into some fabulous desert scenery. If you've ever lived in the desert, you know it can be windy too, but fortunately this course is out and back, so if luck is by your side, you will only have to run into the wind once.

I wasn't sure what to expect at this year's race, given I'd not logged in the miles during the previous weeks, spending them in the icy northwest with family, eating way too many Christmas cookies. I wasn't in the mood to compete, and was about 7 minutes slower than last year at the turnaround point, putting me at fourth place woman. Apparently the rest and good home cooked food paid off, and my competitive instinct kicked in; I was able to finish about 30 minutes faster than last year, setting a PR of 7:48:13, coming in first place overall woman, and seventh overall. A HUGE thank you to my husband Tim, who efficiently and patiently crewed for me the entire way, and drove us both safely back to New Mexico in one nasty snowstorm.

Getting Ready For Santa!!!!

It's been a busy last couple of weeks! I got to help crew a man who ran/walked across the United States for a week in Arizona, set a PR at the High Desert 50km in Ridgecrest, CA, and have been busy wrapping presents, baking goodies, and getting ready to travel for the holidays. But Princess and I thought we'd share a few pictures of us together. She LOVES Christmas!