Feeling like a runner

That "kick out of the gym" was a God's send to me. Or at least I always try and find a positive in anything that happens. I get to run more! I can add 3 extra mid-distance runs to my every week! And on top of it, I am finding out I can actually resemble a runner - when I go at night, I am already awaken versus 5:30 am and don't need a full 45 minutes (out of my 1hr morning run) to find a pattern to move my feet but only 30, and I still have over an hour to enjoy. I can feel my running stride - that I do have one, and not only those choppy short steps of an ultrarunning shuffle. It feels wonderful and keeps me smile...

Wed track went pretty darn near perfect too. Coach Lisa put me on 2 intervals: 1M and 2M. After that first mile I looked at the watch and said out loud: I suck! My mood plummeted down as I did the recovery lap. May be I got pissed. May be I warmed up in that crisp early morning cold air. May be Mike said something right in response to my complaint. But I went for 2M mad - and I mean M-A-D. After the first lap Mike said I am doing quarter’s pace. After second he warned me to slow down. After third he just shrugged his shoulders. Last 2 laps were bad, as in "I can't go more and want to stop" bad, but I made it through...27 seconds faster than last week's 2M interval. That was a good feeling:)


I got a couple of announcements. NUUN optimal hydration had picked 6 ultrarunners (myself including) to form a new Ultrarunning team. I had been using NUUN since they co-sponsored Montrail team, but it especially hit me on their importance when their main ambassador and a good friend of mine Matt Hart agreed to co-sponsor our PCT Mt. Hood race. People raved about this stuff! We had fewer cramping and dehydration on the course than in years prior! So I was compelled to use it more - so I did, and loved the taste and the outcome of salt balance. Try it, you may not have to pop salt tablets as much (or at all) again!
Since NUUN is not a Team per se but rather a sponsoring company, they allow others to jump in as long as those are not at competition for the product. My dear friend Lisa Bliss set me up with Drymax socks, and after getting something like a gazillion pairs, all of which are absolutely great on feet (about 10 varieties they have? I lost count in the pile...) while running (and sleeping). This weekend the trail version is taking a test on 28M run - but officially, I am co-sponsored by Drymax and thrilled about it! Go check 'em out, if they can solve my blisters, I will kill my 100 milers this year:)

Life's been wonderful to me. Little things (and not very little) fill me with happiness. Stephen had gotten three "A's" in a row in Spanish tests (consider he got "D's" the first 3 months of school) and finally had realized the benefits of studying and the powerful feeling of confidence going to school. In fact, this Friday he was supposed to go to Bend, OR for a boxing match, but it is the last day of semester, and he said he wants to take all his tests so he can get the best final grades! I was so very proud of his decision! We're having fun learning how to speak Spanish and what animals see better at night for Science project. Monika had invited me to join her Pilates classes, and I am sure I'll come out more sore than after the race - I remember it back from NY, it kicks but - and other small muscles! Oleg found an apartment to rent, it is beautiful and a steal for a price, it also has a pool and a sauna in a complex. Stephen booked swimming time, and I "applied" for some steaming as a prep for my summer races - heat training IS important! I found a condo a mere 2 miles away from the house we live in now, and made an offer today - it is very pretty, small, dead end street looking out to the woods, library across the street and a pool on premises. May be I, too, will do some swimming in summer? It was fun to get approved for a loan in all of 10 seconds - pays to be a good girl for 15 years:) My work finally produced a cool result - I was able to clone some H. and M. t-factors (had to cut full words for protection) into a vector, and now we'll be working with those. My boss is happy, so am I too. Talked to Alex on Tuesday - he caught up with all the tests for next level (I think it's "private") and sounds better every time, finally speaking of plans for when he comes back. I booked tickets for Bighorn 100 and getting edgy about ramping up - but first I need to run at least a race to figure out where I am. Old Pueblo 50M will be that race. Unlike Ronda, my training rarely show the shape I am in until I go to the first race, because I "kick into another gear" there. Hagg lake 50k will be my last training run before season begins...and it is only 5 weeks away. My friend David is setting up some business abroad, and sent me a link to pictures from Argentina - what beautiful waterfalls! I want to go travel, I want to visit the world, I want to see things and meet people! Oh, as Matt said on his blog, "i tried to become a normal person and have a normal job. but that didn't work." One day I will ditch it all and go bum around:)


And for the candy of a read - here is an article about Nikki Kimball Lisa Bliss linked in her email to ultra-community. A total inspiration of a person - and an athlete...