North Face Endurace Challenge: The Musical

If it ain't rough it isn't fun, fun.

I sang this little Lady Gaga line, when my new bonded-for-life-best friend Dani fell into a stream at mile 5. And it all started there. I met Dani at 8:00 the night before the race (we were supposed to meet at 7-7:30, but I was late, as usual) and we made our way to our mutual friend Brian's friend Jeff's place to sleep there. Despite the four of us really not knowing each other, the camaraderie of all of us running a 50-mile course the next day had us talking until past 10:00. No one slept well, and it was at 11:30 when it really hit me how long 50 miles is. I was terrified.

After 3 hours of sleep, I got up to shower and shave my legs. I like to shave fresh race morning to minimize chafing, but I will never do this again for a trail run. After being covered in bug spray, dirt, sweat, dirty pieces of ice, submerged in streams, smacked with grass and weeds lining the course, covered in sunscreen, and for 11.5 hours, I have really bad razor burn/rash/infection and its stingy. I bought a giant tube of antibiotic soothing ointment for them Saturday.

Me & Jeff

Back to race morning, I love having friends at a race and this was the perfect course for it since its out, three 7ish mile laps, and then back toward the finish. I got to pass my friends a lot and gain/give encouragement. At 5am the race started and it was already in the low 70s with 80% humidity. I had several Hammer gels, my handheld waterbottle, and a light waist pack with salt tablets, tissues, and some extra food.

Dani and I started running together, and talked about everything we could think of. We kept a steady pace, walked uphills, and took it easy. We had a ton of fun. We both love Glee and so started talking Glee, leading to Lady Gaga (its amazing, you only have to talk about her to get your pace up! You don't even need Bad Romance blasting through earbuds to get energy).

I took my first (and only!) fall around mile 7.5.  So far, my average is a fall per 10 miles when trail running. So, I stood up and said "oh well, one down and four to go!" My stomach was funny feeling and I took my first ever poop in the woods. I was very glad I had tissues in my little pack. I was hydrating super well and eating a little at every aid station. I wanted to go out easy, since all that mattered was finishing in under 13 hours today.

The course was meticulously marked. There were two dead birds on the trail and I pointed out the "road kill" since "Wardian must have just blasted through here." (If you don't know who Mike Wardian is, google him. Right now.)

The first 14 miles flew by and all of a sudden we've been out for three hours. Dani and I were constantly laughing and singing, and throwing out awesome Glee quotes (did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?) and we got to the Great Falls aid station to find that Brian already lapped us. "Whatever" Dani says "he can worry about getting a good time. We're having so much more fun."

At Great Falls aid station

I ended up not using about 89.6% of the things in my drop bags, but I loved the dried fruit and the Imodium and crystallized ginger saved my life. Ultrarunners are truly amazing people. When you passed someone they'd tell you how great you looked instead of being pissed about getting chicked. On the loops, there were out and back sections, and Dani and I tried to cheer on everyone. We had started singing Disney songs, and totally forgot that this was not ok on busy sections. We were singing some I'll Make a Man Out of You on the swamp trail, and when we came up on more runners and stopped singing, they asked us to please continue. (A Girl Worth Fighting For was another fun one from Mulan, except I had the beef, pork, chicken... yum part in my head for another two hours).

Now, I can't sing. And when I'm running, its probably 10 times worse. But I'm used to running with an iPod, and I was having way too much fun to stop. We hit Mile 25 and started singing Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer.  We even took each other's hand at take my hand, and we'll make it I swear (oh yeah, there were dance moves involved too).  I figured these were all strangers until I got a comment on Daily Mile that Orla enjoyed this particular rendition.

The volunteers thought we were crazy. One group asked us if we were on drugs. "Shhh... don't tell anyone!" Something other than salt was definitely in those tablets I got from Jeff. We were outside the bathrooms and when Dani ran in to use one (yes, there was one part with actual toilets!), she asked me to hold her 1/2 eaten potato. I did so and waited diligently for her return: a sign of true love (slash some awesome teamwork). When I made fun of her for eating a potato while running, she decided she didn't want it anymore and threw it into the woods and instead, it hit a tree and broke into pieces--most of which came right back at us. I think we stood there holding our stomachs from laughing so hard for about 45 seconds while brushing off pieces of potato. That gets taken off my time, right?

Smiling at mile 27(ish) 

Mike Wardian passed us twice, and I never imagined I'd be singing showtunes while this happened. The second time we started a little "Mike! Mike! Mike!" chant and he waved back at us. We had way too much energy. There was nothing else I'd rather do all day than run trails at this point. I was putting forth minimal effort, and as it got hotter the humidity lowered and the sun was really hot in some places, but we were mostly in the blessed shade. I was putting ice in my hat at aid stations and it was pure heaven to have ice water dripping out of my hat instead of sweat. Around Mile 33, I stopped for a big toilet break and told Dani to go ahead. This was my last one for the day (thank goodness), and from there on out I was on my own.

I immediately missed the companionship and so I took out Lady Lola (my awesome new iPod) and threw on the quick playlist I made up while I finished my last lap. It was great to head back to the start after Great Falls, and I felt so great with a ton of energy. I was ready to kill the last 15 miles in just over 2 hours and finish in 10.

Ha!

A couple miles in, my right foot started to ache. The bad ache, that mimicked the one that was bugging my left foot a month ago. I took it a little slower, and just enjoyed the hills at Riverbend. These are fun since they do down and then shoot right back up, so you gain some momentum to half run up them. There were a lot of people walking and limping at this point, and I tried to encourage them all. One guy was leaning up against a tree and when I asked if he was ok, his only response was "Its just these hills" and I said "Yeah, they're fun aren't they?!" They're rooty, and a little rocky, and steep. They started to bug my knees on the downhills and by the early 40s I was no longer running down them and so tried to start running up them.

At Mile 40(ish) my dull ache caused a sharp pain with one step and I stopped running immediately. Bad pain bad pain bad pain (why don't runners get safewords when the trail is beating our feet?). I decided to take a good half mile walk break and tried to determine if I could finish the race walking within 13 hours. After I started running again, it was fine for the rest of the race. Within a mile I had a really bad ankle roll-in. Since I was alone on the trail I just shouted a whole bunch of curse words and trekked on. I came upon a runner and his pacer within a minute and realized they could probably hear me. I told them I was ok. I was still walking and it meant I would start running again. After that break, I started running, and kept going till the finish. I was out of water, and had no idea where the next station was. When I finally came upon it, it was like heaven. I chugged water, sucked down gels, and knew I was so close to the finish.

I never thought I wouldn't finish, but I really had to dig deep. 11 hours on your feet is tough! At one point I stepped in mud so deep I had a good inch caked me to my foot. Luckily, there was a stream within a mile. The trails were pretty muddy! I just watched the miles build on my Garmin and when I hit that last aid station before the two mile loop, I saw that there was 4.1 to go. A lot of the loop was on asphalt (which sucked) but I saw Jeff and Dani on the way out and that lifted my spirits. A lot of this section was also in the open and it was about 90 degrees at this point. I sucked down water (with nuun tablets) like my life depended on it and just did not stop running. I would not let myself walk this close. I could finish before 11.5 hours if I kept running.

Coming through that last aid station and knowing there was 1.7 miles left before I was an ultrarunner was really emotional. I may have had to keep down tears.  I was appreciating the trail, the heat, the fatigue, and I didn't want to stop just yet (Why not a 100k today!? Kidding.)  I had a guy right next to me and U2's Beautiful Day was blasting through my right ear. Our little conversation went something like this:

"This trail is really beautiful."

"It was beautiful 10 hours ago."

"Ha! But really, when you're at that point where your body is totally spent, yet still moving along. There isn't any effort, just that easy cradle movement, and the sun is coming through the trees up ahead." I gestured ahead and gave a long, happy sigh. "I just love running."

Long pause and then he looks over with a smile.

"Me too."

"Well of course, what else would you be doing out here?!"

We came through to the finish together, and I pulled in front of him with my fastest mile split of the race. I had a ton of energy still and while that meant I should have ran harder (that, and I wasn't sore the day after... and I'm still not sore), my point was to have fun and finish. I wanted to revert back to that place where I went for distance instead of time and had fun with running and signing up for an ultra helped. That, and knowing I had more to give makes me more confident about tackling a 100.

My friend Jody finished the marathon right before me, and so I'm on his finish footage in the purple hat. I think the part with his kids running up to finish with him almost makes me cry!

Once again, the twitter support was overwhelming and a huge thanks to: all the volunteers, every runner who gave me encouraging words, Jeff for a room nearby and a drive to the start, Dani for keeping me laughing, Brian for making me sign up for the 50 mile instead of the 50k, Dani's friend Nick for driving me home, Rick for taking pictures, Tyler for the Espom salt bath and beer, and finally to my feet for not falling off after 11.5 hours.

  Dani & the best sign ever

Ultramarathoners!

Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run

Volunteering
In preparation for Grindstone 100 in October, my friend Brian and I signed up to work the Roosevelt aid station at the MMT 100 race. It was in the same area, same distance, and we needed the volunteer hours to qualify. I was hoping to learn as much as I could about ultramarathoning, but I got way more from the experience than I feel like I gave.

The Roosevelt aid station was the first aid station a pacer could join, and so there were a ton of experienced ultrarunners hanging out. I met so many awesome people and talked with guys who have done several 100 milers. The runners were coming in slowly at first, and they all looked so great! I didn't understand it! We were the aid station at mile 63, and these guys looked like they were at mile 12. The first runner was a whole 45 minutes ahead of the second. Then finally these guys arrived, and I thought "that's what mile 63 should look like"

image from MMT facebook photos

As the night started, the runners looked worse and worse. Since we were so close to the start line, many dropped at our station. We had hot soup, sandwiches, potatoes, fruits, desserts, etc. When runners came in, I would fill up their packs, help them get food, help administer first aid, and send then on their way. It was a blast! Then, a guy came in saying he had a rough time with his toe. I said I would do what I could to help. He took off his shoes and socks and...

I was dumbfounded. I had no idea how to handle this.  Another volunteer went to get our aid station captain. This had happened at mile 19. Nineteen! And he continued running on it until mile 63! It was insane to hear his story.  I got him ice, and he wanted to go on! Our aid station captain told him he needed to wait to be taken to a hospital, and he hung out icing it at the aid station. He definitely won the award for most bad ass runner that day.

I really had a blast. We were on our feet most of the time. I got eaten alive once the bugs really came out. It was so inspiring to see all the runners pour in, looking tired and some very sick, and then watching them pull themselves together and get back out there. The crew members were so awesome, and it was a blast to hang out and meet new people.

The Massanutten run
As 3 a.m. came around, our aid station started closing up. Brian and I decided we would go run some of the course, to see how it feels to run at night, in the mountains, with little sleep. I had on almost 3 layers, I was so cold, and I made the bad decision to keep my jacket on. We were both in street shoes, with a few water bottles, and completely unprepared for this crazy rocky course.

It was rough. We did the nearly 6 mile stretch from our aid station to the next and by the time I got there I wanted to curl up in a ball and quit. It took us nearly 1:34 to get to the aid station. From there, we could go up the course's biggest climb, or head back to the car for a 11 mile loop. I was so sweaty from having my jacket on, and was almost out of water. It had been my first run in the dark, and I tripped over some rocks, banging up my hip and chest pretty badly (still hurts... ouch).  My calf was tight, my shoes were not built for those rocks, and I wanted to go on, but I voted to head back to the car. I finally got to feel what running up a mountain is like--and I will have nightmares about it until October.

This was great in that I learned a few things from Brian re- trail running. For example, when you run downhill, you need to keep your body over your legs, which builds up speed and helps gravity pull you down. But, on rocky trails you can't run that fast because of the footing, and so my knees were killing me after running downhill. Brian told me to lift up my knees more and stagger my steps and it really helped!

Brian is such a great runner. He treks uphill faster than I run on flats. I keep forgetting he's a guy and so that's kind of ok. Its probably a good thing, he makes me run faster, but it also makes me feel like I'm slow and out of shape. What was funny is that after we got up the next hill, we were on a road for 3 miles and somehow got 8:49, 8:26, and 8:14 splits. I felt comfortable again getting back onto a road.  When we got into the car, we both felt pretty good and so decided Brian would drive back to DC right away instead of taking a nap. I just wanted to get off my feet. I was feeling like the biggest failure ever.

I realized I'd signed up for a whole different level of trail running. These mountains were serious. I needed to live to do hill training. I needed to do more work in higher heart rate zones. I needed strength training. I needed to get in more and more miles than I've ever done before. I felt awful as we drove back into DC. Surely, I sucked at running and had no idea what I was doing.

Riverbend Park run
On the way home I saw the Great Falls exit, and joked that we should put in some miles on the race course. Before I could say I was kidding, we were on the exit and Brian looked for Riverbend Park, where the course hills are. Awesome. I felt like this was the worst idea ever. I was exhausted and wanted to get home to bed. Once I got to the bathroom, washed my face, filled up my water bottle, and got onto the trail, it was an instant runner's high. I felt amazing (even though I tripped again).

We had a blast, tearing up the hills that looked so tiny compared to our last climb.  When we got to a field, I joked that we should frolic through it, and so we started skipping on the trail. All my confidence came back. We did an extra 11.5 miles and I felt more ready than ever for my upcoming 50-miler. I couldn't stop laughing. It was a great reminder that I love running.

Back to back

I know, I know... I have yet to do a Boston race "review" talking about how awesome it was. But, honestly, I'm not really over it yet. Gimme some more time before I can speak fondly about the experience. Yes, I'm aware its been more than 20 days, but every time I run I regret so much about it. Getting over a bad race is no fun.

Since Boston, I had to take a week off to recover and that Saturday did a 15 mile trail run with my friend Brian. It was our first time meeting up in person, and I recognize that meeting someone you met over the internet for the first time by hanging out alone in the woods is not very smart. However, we got e-mail addresses from a mutual friend, so I was pretty sure he was cool. He was, in fact, and the run went really well. I was finally able to move without grimacing from pain, and I was sore once again the day after. We're running both the NF 50-miler and Grindstone 100--we should become good friends.

Then, I had a foot stress injury, and needed to take a few days off. I meant to do a long run in Western (not upstate) New York while I was visiting the weekend of May 1st, but I got lost and couldn't find the trail. Yes, I got lost with a GPS. Don't judge.

Last week, I did two mid-length runs while my sister was visiting, and then had a great weekend which really upped my confidence. I did back to back 20 mile runs (ok, 19.3 and 19.55) and they both went really well. The second one went better than the first, and I just still felt so strong and fresh. 39 miles in one weekend! Whoa!

Also, I didn't really take time to recover. After my first 20 miles, I got home, put my feet up, drank a smoothie, and then got ready, made french toast, and then went around with my sister visiting monuments and such. We did a lot of walking. Once we ate dinner and took a bus home I passed out in bed and got a little less than 8 hours of sleep. My legs were dead and I doubted I could do another long run in the morning.

I woke up early feeling so refreshed. I ate a quick breakfast and got out before 8am, to give me more time since I hit the trails. I ran out to the C&O towpath, crossed the chain bridge, had fun on some trails (played fetch with a dog) and then headed back on the super rocky trail. The really rocky mile took only 23 minutes this time (a 5 min PR), but no one else was out so I could do it more quickly. The trail to asphalt transition was tough on my feet (especially in my MT 100s) but I was amazed with how fresh my legs felt, and how well I could handle the rocks already 12 miles into my run.

After, I didn't sit down until getting to the metro an hour or so after (and another mile walking), walked around the Holocaust Museum for 2.5 hours, and didn't really sit until 7pm. Lots of time on my feet this weekend, and I'm so surprised my body isn't completely drained. My legs are feeling a little stiff, but some swimming tonight, stretching, and foam rolling will do me well. My race is less than a month away! I can't wait till I can call myself an ultramarathoner!

Race report: Boston Marathon

 image from Boston Globe

All day, people have been asking me "how did it go?" and my reply has been "awful."

It wasn't that my performance was awful, or that I'm not happy with my time and my huge accomplishment of running the Boston Marathon. I've never had a bad race. I've never hated running so much.  I've never been so tempted to quit in my life. "It was so hard" was what I said the first time I saw my parents at the finish line. My Dad's reply was "of course it was."

I'll start with the bad, and then end up raving about how great the event was in my next post. It was clearly meticulously planned, the crowd support was insanely amazing, and I've never been a part of such a big running event!

First, it was a tough journey to the start. Not the whole qualifying stuff, the hotel shuttle line, to the bus line, to the bus ride, to the race start, to the porta-potty line (wow I had to pee), and then finally getting to my start corral. While walking I actually thought the words "I really don't feel like running today." NOT what you want to be thinking at the start of the Boston Marathon!

I had to start talking myself through the race at Mile Three. That is unheard of in my books. I thought the 5k sign was the five mile sign. I always spend the first three miles of my run just adapting, so I thought I just needed to get into my groove. I tried to put as little effort into the run as possible. I just pushed forward and let gravity do its work.

At Mile 8 I really started to feel it. I felt just tired and my legs felt dead. My hips were hurting already but I just focused on keeping my pace up. I was waiting for my runner's high, an endorphin rush, my usual adrenaline rush, a second wave... anything! But nothing! I knew I was in trouble and I was really getting to the point where I was not enjoying myself at all.

I'm surprised I kept my pace up. At half-marathon I was around 1:40 and that's pretty surprising. I was holding on to hope and just waiting for the downhills to end. My quads really started cramping. This got unbearable at Mile 14. The song "Eat you up" came onto my iPod and I felt like it was the course serenading my quads. And I still had 12 miles to go.

Miles 15-19 are a blur. I kept my pace under 8:00 until Mile 16--don't know how I did that. I was actually ready for the hills at Newton because I wanted to get off the downhills. My quads were screaming. My energy was at zero. I hit "the wall," which pissed me off, damn it! I liked to think I didn't have one! The last water stop at 19, I finished my water off to the side and just stood there. A girl in the crowd told me "Six miles to go! Keep going!" and I remembered that this whole marathon-thing started with a 6 mile run in 2006, and so I started running again, choking to keep tears down, and focused on making every mile.

Seven more miles after reaching that point of exhaustion is awful. Just no fun at all. I tried reminding myself so many times that I love doing this. I'm a runner. I love running. I actually seriously doubted that I could finish the race. But, I had a jacket, hoodie, and a t-shirt I wanted to wear with pride. I knew every mile I pushed myself would come back to make me stronger and better during the-race-that-shall-not-be-named. I stopped drinking water because I knew if I stopped I wouldn't start again.

I kept up my pace pretty well until Mile 23. And every time my watch beeped, I was surprised to see my pace. How was I doing this?! A toenail started bothering me and once heartbreak hill passed and we had all downhill running to go, I was reduced to a mix of running and limping. My quads were dead and my foot was killing me. Every mile after 22 was hard as hell. It was hard to have the strong happy runners passing me because I've always been one of those! I hated the weak finish, and yet I was proud of every mile marker I passed because I was working so hard to get there.

At Mile 25, I was able to pick it up for a moment, until being reduced back to my shuffle. But hell, when I turned to see the finish line, my quads were fresh feeling and I took off. I ran as hard as I could and I've never been so proud to cross a finish line. And, I reached my real goal: I gave it all I had. By the time I finally made it to the space blankets I was shivering and choking down tears again. I was spent. Getting that finishers medal felt amazing--I don't think its ever meant to me as much as it did today. I've never thought that I might not finish a race before.

A few months ago, I doubted I could run a marathon by mid-April. I had to work through an injury and rebuild my miles again while taking it easy on my legs. I ran 32 miles two weeks ago and a marathon two weeks before that. My taper included getting so sick, I couldn't run for a week. Hell, I did freakin awesome under the circumstances! I ran the Boston Marathon today! My goal for the past 9 months! I'd rather give birth than do it again, but I finished, I never stopped running and I worked through a lot of pain. I feel great about the race, no matter how awful it was (that's my word for the day).

Thanks to everyone who inspired me, who supported me, and the overwhelming amount of texts, e-mails, and twitter shout-outs yesterday meant more than you could ever imagine. And thanks to my parents who made it out to see me run! They were right by the finish line and got to see the elite men finish--how cool is that!?

This is it!

Two days away from the Boston Marathon.

In the week leading up to MCM, I was insane with anxiety. But, I realized that it was just another long run and only step one to my actual goal: Boston 2010.

It's really hard to believe that its here. There are very few things that I've worked this long for at 22 years old. Its hard to remember running the Baltimore Half Marathon in Fall 2008, and hitting that 8:00 pace and realizing that if I worked hard, maybe I could qualify for Boston--something I never imagined I would do. I thought about trying the Spring of 2009, but decided to wait until MCM in October.  In May 2009 I started training, and found that 8:00 pace hard.

Marathons are all about the training. Every runner sees the actual race as the Victory Lap--the 26.2 mile run that tops 500-1,000 miles of training. And on Monday, I feel like its finally my victory lap. After two marathons, countless long runs, three injuries, and 11 months of training, this is it! This is the big one! This has been my goal since May of last year. Its been my computer screen background, my phone background, my motivation for every run, swim, spin and strength workout. The reason I didn't go out so many Saturday nights; why I got nothing but cold running gear for Christmas; and why, for some reason, my race pace has gone from 8:23 min/mi to 7:17 min/mi. I've learned how to challenge my body, to stop underestimating it, and that its possible to overwork it. I actually started to take running seriously.

I've been sick all week, but finally recovering from a bad head cold. And no matter what happens on Monday, no matter what time shows up on the clock--I made it. I set a goal for myself and I got there. And really, that's all the matters. The finish line has been my phone background for 9 months now, and I can't wait to cross it.

Good luck to all the other runners on Monday. I'm bib # 9546 if anyone wants to track me online or by text/e-mail.

Playlist necessities

I'm not going to post my Boston Marathon playlist, since there are way too many embarrassing songs. But for anyone looking for some new additions or ideas, or need a power song, here are some playlist necessities:

I Made it Kevin Rudolf- when just getting to the start line was a huge accomplishment
Its My Time Fabulous- LOVE THIS SONG
Sexy Bitch David Guetta- "they say she needs to slow down, the baddest thing around town"
Living on a Prayer Bon Jovi- At 13.1... ooohhh we're halfway there
You can do it Ice Cube- ...put yo ass into it. This is my hill song.
Eat you up BoA- a new find today and I think I like it...
The War Angels&Airwaves- I love the "why won't you tell me that its almost over" at mile 20 or so...
Halo/Walking on Sunshine Glee cast- This is my fav song to come onto my playlist mid-run. Its just so upbeat and happy! The walking on sunshine part is just perfect for reminding me that I love running. I swear if you put it on you'll get a solid two minutes of awesome running in with a smile on your face!
Baby Got Back Sir Mixalot- No explanation needed.
Remember the Name Fort Minor- Best pump-up song
Run this Town Jay-Z, Rhianna, and Kanye- Again, no explanation needed when "run" is in the song
Don't go Breaking my Heart Elton John- for right before I should be hitting heartbreak hill
Heartbreaker Mariah Carey- for Heartbreak hill
Lose Yourself Eminem- gets me all competitive feeling
Move Along All-American Rejects- Got me through mile 23 at MCM
Alice Avril Lavigne- Great song for the end of the race
Bombs Over Baghdad Outkast- Once, I held <6:00 pace to this whole song. Its magical. 

How to catch a runner

Step one: find a trail

Step two: leave behind a tangled, near invisible fishing line

Step three: watch as they run, get caught in it, and not realize its wrapped around their legs until they fall over.

Success!

Last weekend (yeah, this is a little late), on a beautiful Spring day, I wanted to spend a lot of time outside. I planned on a 20 mile trail run, and then running back to my place if I felt like it.

First, I was running along on a trail (in the "woods") and turn to find a giant, black and gray, super-hairy, huge (did I say giant yet?) dog. Alone, just standing on the trail. I honestly thought it was a wolf. There was no one else around. So, I stood completely still and for a good 20 seconds, was scared to death. I was in between climbing a tree and jumping into the Potomac, when the dog's owners finally turned the corner.

Then, the fishing line accident happened. And, I discovered why I only ran 4 miles an hour last week, as I actually watched my splits, they went: 8:53, 10:57, 13:42, 27:16. One mile in nearly 1/2 hour!! There is a ton of rock climbing and its just not runnable. This time I got stuck behind a family and they weren't very speedy. It was annoying since I was on the clock.

I really like trail running, except I get lost every 10 minutes and it totally kills my rhythm. But, its ok when that leads me to hot boys who can give me directions (twice). The Potomac Heritage trail is really confusing and at one point goes through a neighborhood.  I got lost, gave up, turned around and hit the C&O Canal towpath after 9 miles on the trails.

The towpath was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and I finally got into a great rhythm. Thing is, I ran out of water, and luckily there was a park with Gatorade, and I chugged 1/2, poured the rest into my fuel pack. I had made corn tortillas with black beans for the run, and was glad to see how well my body handled food.

So, I kept running, and running, and realized at mile 14 I ought to turn around and head home. Then, on my way home, I decided to do a lap around Haine's Point to see the Cherry Blossoms. At mile 28 my feet finally started to hurt, but I was still 3-4 miles from home. I walked through the massive amount of tourists for 1/2 mile and then ran home, giving me about 32 miles in 5:48!!

This is what happens when you threaten me with a taper!

In light of all this, and after finding trail running friends to convince me, I moved up to the 50 mile run in June! So excited! And, I'm really looking forward to the Boston Marathon--11 days away! I'm taking it easyish this week and then next week I'll rest more. I decided to try and PR at Boston. If I die out at mile 20, then I die out. The goal is to have fun and not be able to walk the next morning :)