- Recovery has been tough. It took me till Thursday to walk without any limp. Friday I could go down stairs with no gait change for my sore left calf. But Saturday's 5 or 6 mile road run, my first run since the race, did not feel good. Left calf hurt basically the whole time, quads felt strained the last few miles, just not a great run. Into the next week Monday didn't feel much better. Hiking up was ok, but the run down was not. Tuesday somehow though I didn't feel my calf at all really, but right hamstring was tight most of the way, too tight. Had a massage Wednesday that helped and Thursday I ran 5 mile on the treadmill between classes at the pool and nothing hurt, but that hamstring still felt a little tight. It's coming along, but definitely slower than other races. I attribute it to the constant rolling nature of the course, me consciously pushing through a calf that hurt during the race, the fast pace I held for most of the 50 miles, definitely a faster pace than in my 100k's last year since this course was more runnable than they were, yet still hilly so even more I asked from my body. Add some heat exhaustion (the gal that finished 10th mentioned in her post how bad I looked at mile 45, very pale and suffering) and probable dehydration and I just simply asked a lot of my body. I said I wanted to leave it all out there and be willing to have to recover for a while and have and am apparently accomplishing both. This week I will get back to more regular training
- I am very happy with my 8th place finish. Granted there were a fair amount of ladies that didn't show up for the race that were ranked ahead of me going in, I really wanted to see how I'd do against Rory Bosio for one, but I moved up places still and finished in front of ladies ranked ahead of me. No one passed me after mile 13, and the ladies that did before that I passed. I am overall happy with how I handled the race.
- I've been asked how to have a good, fast 50 mile race since Sonoma. I don't think there's any magic answer. Train well, rest well, eat well, sleep well, think well. Race smart. Be conservative the first half and don't get caught up in other people's races. Be happy out there and believe in yourself. Stay on top of nutrition and hydration and electrolytes. Set a watch timer if needed. Keep it simple - supplies, stops, race planning. Believe you can do what you want.
I am getting itchy for a triathlon, it's true. I feel like my running that I want to do this year, and I do want to focus on it, are kind of blocking out any time to race a tri. I don't even have to be well trained for it, I just want to fit a couple in if possible.
I mentioned a couple weeks/months ago I believe, a big change coming for me soon. It is not a baby, it is nursing school. I have been on a waiting list for 3 or so years and figured I'd see what life was like when it got here. Well, it got here and is really in my hands for the taking. If I don't say yes to it I'll have to apply to another program which means re-taking prereq classes to up my GPA and working more in the field for work experience to be chosen to attend a program. There are no more waiting lists in my state. Nursing in my blood, my mom has been a RN and Nurse Practitioner for 30 years and my sister an RN for almost 10 so I find it interesting, but I have never had a passion to be a nurse, never aspired to it as others have. I LOVE being at home with my kids and do not lack any sense of fulfillment being at home with them. Some women may and that's ok, but I am perfectly happy here. I have however always felt an inspiration to be prepared to support my family should the need ever arise. And so after much prayer and talk with my husband and others, I am going for it. 4 semesters, summer off and an associates RN degree. I start the end of August. My mom thinks I won't be able to train and compete like I do now which is somewhat true, but I'll still need and use it for stress relief.
And finally, the next big races on my agenda. Timp Trail Marathon on May 24th, a race I did last year that beat me down a bit. Muddy rainy conditions like the last few years I've done the half (you'd think I'd learn by now), but I know I could have done better regardless. I will race it but not 100%....because....I'm doing my first 100 mile race, the Bryce 100 June 14th. I'm ready to get this body 100% healthy again, get some more training in, and get down to this race! I waited till this year to do my first 100 to be sure I was healthy and prepared. 7 weeks! Counting down the days now!
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