Training for ????

Conversation of the day. A few minutes ago I was reading Karl Meltzer's running blog, and his explanation of his broken radius. Reading about the Speedgoat 50k and how tough of a course it is, of course got me interested. So I jokingly said to Jeff " I think I am going to run it, a week before Katcina Mosa ( a really tough 100K)! The Speedgoat has about 11,000 of elevation gain, Katcina has about 12,000 ft.  I said I thought it would be a great training run for..... he cuts me off " Everything is a training run for something! What are you training for that is not a training run!"

"But think about it, I could run the two back to back and it would be great training for Wasatch in September!" and then he ask " What is Wasatch a training run for?"..... "It is training for Hardrock!"...... " What is Hardrock training for?".... I think about it for a minute "Hell!!" I said!

So then of course I had to sign up for it, and my rational is that if I can do those two tough courses 7 days apart, I will be more ready to run Wasatch 100 and Bear 100 14 days apart! See, it is perfectly logical..haha

So my current "training" schedule for the year is as follows:

Squaw Peak June 5th
Hiking down in Grand-Staircase Escalante July 2-5
Pacing and Crewing Badwater July 11thish or around there
Speedgoat 50k July 31st
Katcina Mosa 100K August 7th
Wasatch 100 mile endurance run- September 10-11
Bear 100- September 24-25
Ogden Valley 50m Last weekend of October

and I am considering running a new 100K on Antelope Island in November if Jim Skaggs puts it on for sure.

Windy Pass

So today Jeff turned 36, 4 years away from 40. That is a little bit freaking me out cause I don't feel like we are getting older. In fact we are probably more active and extreme then we were when we got married. It has been almost 14 years ago that we met. Strange.

So yesterday we went to the Utah Symphony, and it was good, but damn, I hate sitting for long periods of time! So it felt like a message today to go for a 8.5 mile run up part of the Squaw Peak 50 course! We ran from the Big Springs parking lot up toward Windy Pass. I wanted to get a feel for how the snow was going to be this year. I was hearing report of anywhere from 5 to 10 miles! I wanted to go all the way up to the pass, but I was running out of time today, so we only got about 4.25 miles up from the parking lot, about 1.75 short of the top. We started up the snow fields, which were big and slick starting past Shingle Mill, and it was just going to take too long to get up and down it, for the amount of time we had before we needed to be back. Bummer :(

But the trail up to Shingle Mill, is wayyyy better then last year! It is mostly smooth, and not rutty, and not as rocky! It was nice. On the way back down Jeff almost ran into a big bull moose! That was exciting! Luckily we didn't pull a Meltzer and have a moose start running after us! Also I figured out how to make the SD card work in my GoPro Hero camera, a little micro running camera that I bought for R2R2R, but the SD card wouldn't work! Then I looked online and figured out how stupid I was! I was not pushing the card in far enough to lock it into place.

It takes OK pictures, but you have to be close and still to hear and see the video. But I am taking it on Squaw Peak with me next week! I felt encouraged that I did not get sick in the heat. Elena told me I am probably getting hyponatremic. I thought I only needed between 300-500 mg per hour, and it turns out that I really need about 971mg per hour. This probably is the cause of my energy problems, absorption problems, and I am dehydrating by retaining water but not utilizing it, which also is probably messing with my carb absorption. Today I took 6 Scaps (about 2000mg) and desolved them into a 72 once bladder. I did not get sick, I felt fine in the heat, and I was moving a lot faster up and down hills! And I did not replace carbs at a high rate, so I am thinking that electrolyte imbalance is my main problem. This would probably also explain why I get breathing problems and feel like I have fluid in my lungs during the last part of a lot of races. The fluid is storing in my tissues, which means in my lungs, and it is horrible!

So next week, to avoid any problems, I plan on carrying my 72 oz of water, and desolving Scaps into it. It seems to work well, and I think I absorb them better directly in my fluids! Elena is a genius! I hope this shows in my time for Squaw Peak! Today I was strong and felt like killing the course!

Snow On the Mountain

I am dead tired! I should be in bed, but I have too much work to do. I am panicking over how this month is going to work. 4 people due in the next 3 weeks, research to catch up on, programing and marketing material to get done, and I am hoping for a good time at Squaw Peak next weekend. The only problem is,,,,, THERE IS SNOW HALF WAY DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!!!! I don't care what some people think about people who use poles on courses! I am using poles from Little Valley to Big Springs! Seriously, Bozung hill is going to be like downhill skiing up a technical run! I am trying not to think about it. I am just going to move fast, and if I puke, I will puke up the hill and keep moving fast! I am determined to make under 14 hours this year! I want to do it so I am more confident about my ability to finish Wasatch and Bear this year! I don't want to be a wanna-be cool ultrarunner! I want to be a 100-mile respectible time, finisher.

I am working my ass off. I am training privately 2-times per week, going to boxing classes as much as I can during the week. This helps my speed in running believe it or not! I am upping my milage.

But this week I am frustrated, because I have too much to do. And have these clients who can't decide if they are in labor or not. It is not her fault, she is probably more frustrated. I am not the pregnant one! But man, I have so much to do, I am afraid of not being able to get it all done. It is causing me major anxiety issues this week.

I made an appointment to see Dr. Elizabeth Joy yesterday, I can't get in until June 30th because she is out of town, but she specializes in sports medicine and eating disorders. Even though I have been behavior free for a while, I still have some digestive issues from a long-term eating disorder. So I am going to go see if she can offer me any tips on increasing my performance level, gut absorption, and correct some energy issues as well.

If I would have been directed to Dr. Joy and Elena when I was really disordered, I might not have as many problems now! I am a bit resentful at not being told there were these resources when I was struggling a lot, when I had even asked about them! My first dietitian was a bitch, seriously. She hated that I ran, and told me that yoga was the only acceptable form of exercise for people recovering from eating disorders. Now I am as recovered I think as I could be, even though I think I will probably always fight the eating disordered thoughts when my anxiety level is high, but I am recovered enough to ingore them, I do not identify myself with an eating disorder, and i have better things in my life that make it not worth wasting time listening to ED thoughts. For me this is the definition of recovered. It does not mean I am totally free from the long term psychological effects and physical effects that may linger, but it does mean I don't have a lot to "gain" from wasting time on an eating disorder. Running is more important to me, and I respect and appreciate my bodies ability to run. So I want to take care of it the best I can, and not do further damage to my bones, GI tract, stomach, and other organs.  It already causes me to have more problems with energy, and having to be much more careful then most people around me to be particular on getting a high amount of calories, sodium, and carbs, at closer intervals, then I think I would other wise have. So this is why I am going to see Dr. Joy.

I wish I could see her before Squaw Peak, but Elena has been working with me more specifically on nutrition planning for specific courses. This is very helpful! It also reinforces the value of nutrition and taking care of my body in my head, and reinforces staying recovered.

One thing I noticed about the word recovered, is that people are sometimes too black and white with it. I have gone back and forth myself on whether I should say recovered, or in recovery. But lately, I have decided to say recovered, because I have so many things in my life that detour me from wanting to give in to ED thoughts or "cravings" that I can't really imagine going back to that life. Even if I were to have a slip-up at this point, I am open and honest enough with myself and others, that I really doubt I could be in a place to support myself having an eating disorder. So now, I say recovered, but I am still cautious about my thoughts, especially when my anxiety flares up, and I start panicking about everything in my head.

I really wish Oprah would focus on this shit, instead of people inside of their illness! Oprah, you suck!

Crazy Racing and Weather weekend

So I must say, 4 days in a classroom from 8-5 is mentally and physically and emotionally draining! Seriously, it was a good conference, just four days in a row was too much! Four days of talking about eating disorders, I got done Thursday night and didn't want to hear the word eating disorder again. I am over it now :) But I was tired! I had been having to get up and leave for Salt Lake at 5am every morning, I had gotten home everynight and was having to push to get our website up enough to look like a real business. And really, I was tired! Plus I have been having some major anxiety issues lately to keep in check.

So Friday morning, I got up to go to the Kidarelay. I had taken my old mountain bike to be tuned up, and Jeff picked it up on Monday, but I really have been so busy, that I couldn't throw in biking this week! So I just went down to Lincoln Beach and decided to go for it. I felt silly being the only person with a mountain bike on a road race, and I was definitely slower! But I just went with it, and all was well, until I got about 10 miles out on the first loop, and my chain broke! There I stood holding a broken bike chain in my hand, trying to decide what to do. My first thought, I am a better runner anyway, so maybe I should just run the 25 mile loop! But then an aid van came around, and Mahagony Thurston sent her road bike over for me to use. It was way easier to ride and make speed then on my mountain bike.

I did the first loop after being delayed for 30 minutes, took about a 30 minute break and then headed out on the second loop. This time I was feeling the lack of being on a bike. I don't think I have ridden a bike for about a year! No time to fit it in with running and boxing and grad school! But I made it around in a little less than 2 hours. I decided to take a break though, and went and took a nap for about an hour. It was obvious to me that I was drained from this week. I woke up feeling great, and headed out on a third loop and actually my butt didn't hurt as much the third loop. But then I got a text from someone thinking they were in labor, and the wind had really picked up the 3rd loop.

I had planned on going out a fourth loop to get over 100 miles in biking, but decided if I was going to possibly have to leave to a birth, I needed to rest a bit. So I slept for a couple of hours, and started the 12 hour running part.

The wind had really picked up by the time the run started at 8pm. It was a 3 mile out and back course that I would be running all night. But after the first 6-mile lap, I had to leave to get ready to go to a birth. First time I have had to leave in the middle of a race because of a birth possibility. As it turned out, things ended up dying down, and there was no birth. However, it was late enough that I decided I wouldn't get enough laps in for it to be worth the drive back to Lincoln Beach. Ended up being a good decision because the race was canceled in the middle of the night anyway due to the wind!

I decided that I would sleep a few hours, get up, and go run the Timp Trail marathon. I had signed up for it about 6-months ago, but thought I would miss it after I decided to do the Kidarelay. So I got up, and went out the door to a downpour! I decided to hit the startline anyway! I actually felt fine, I was just slow due to the biking I think. I could not run at my normal speed, but my legs did not hurt. However, it was a downpour at the startline, and then we hit snow about 2 miles up! I was still fine, but very wet. Then we hit the pipeline road up around Grizzly pass. It was a mudslide! I did OK, until the descent and then my gloves were no longer good enough, and my hands were freezing and getting frost bitten. I got to the aid at mile 6.55. I called Jeff and asked him to bring me some dry gloves. But then, I just decided, I felt like I had enough for the week!  A long conference, a lot of setting up business stress, the event the day before, little sleep. Physically I was fine, but I just didn't want to handle the cold today. If Squaw Peak is this bad, I will finish and not quit unless the race director pulls me off the course, but this was a training race, and I felt like I had enough training for the weekend! Squaw Peak is in two weeks, and I want to be fresh and recovered, and hit under 15 hours this year. That is going to take  a lot mental prep to hit under 15 I think! I really want to hit under 14, but there is a lot more snow this year, and I have a feeling Windy Pass will be a slower section then it was last year. I think I will carry poles from Little Valley to Big Springs!

So I guess you could call it a DNF, but It is because I just decided I had had enough, I needed to relax, I need to clean my house, I am going to the Art Ball with my brother Stephen tonight! I needed a little recovery space, and so I just didn't have the drive to torture myself in a downpour of snow and cold rain, and the slippery mud!

But my friend Brian Beckstead won the race, in 4:12! Amazing time considering the horrible trail conditions! I don't know how many people finished, but I know it was very cold and wet at the lower elevation, and it only climbed from there! I am imagining there was a high dropout rate!

I am getting excited for Squaw Peak in two weeks. That is one of my target races to do well at this year, and I don't have a big week before that, so I think I will be ready! I already am, I just had to pick my priorities this weekend. I didn't want to risk getting sick this weekend because I was so exhausted, but this is a great course, and it is in it's first year, so if they hold the race next year, I will be there, and hopefully the weather will be better! Wow! What a rotten weather weekend for races!

REALme New Website

http://www.realmelifetraining.com/

This is the new website for REALme Life Training, my new venture!

I am also working this summer on passing my NSCA test to become a certified personal trainer, and working with Tandi Shaeffer, Mauy Thai and MMA coach extraordinar, to learn all the details of movement, and how to train people while also researching using movement and exercise to help people with eating disorders develop a healthier relationship with body movement. Also I want to promote the philosophy that exercise is not primarily about weight-loss and fitness. While these could be a side benefit for some, there are many other reasons to have a healthy relationship with exercise. Exercise should be an enjoyable event, not a punishment! We should have positive experiences with our bodies!

That is what my program is about!

STOP Reality Shows from Exploiting Eating Disorder Patients

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124909977526403

Fighting, New Gear, and Red, White and Blue

So a few weeks ago my boxing gloves vanished! I think I left them at the gym and they got nabbed. It is a sad thing for a boxer to lose her gloves! You grow rather attached to them. They are like my security blanket!

So I had to buy new ones so I could train. I ended up with white gloves. At the end of my UVU schooling Jeff had bought me some headgear and shin guards so that I could spar and not just attend class. The headgear was too big for me, but I have been using it anyway. And then my son started switching from Jujistu to Muay Thai, and wanting to go to sparring classes as well. So he started sharing mine. He loves it when I sweat in it first!

But finally I am doing my third fight, and the headgear severely impacts my ability to see, cause it won't stay in place, so I bought a new Fairtex headgear that fits very nicely! And it is not as hot as the other one. The one in stock was blue.

Then I decided to complete my new set and get a pair of shin gaurds that are nicer, and then my son and I won't have to share gear, the ones in stock... red! I didn't plan it, but now I have a complete new set of red, white, and blue gear.

How patriotic of me eh!

I have been training like a ninja this month! I feel like I have reached a level of fitness that is higher than I have ever experienced. This should help my mental toughness for Wasatch and Bear. I have been personally training 2 times per week for boxing, and running longer runs closer together. I also started a weekly thing today. I really want to get faster, and do more speed work. So once a week  am going to start a self-timed 5K, and work toward getting my speed down. My first goal is to hit 21 min, and then 20 and then so on.

Today, without any speed work for months.... I hit a 23:40 5k. That is slow for some people, but I am a distance runner, and not so fast!

I am also entertaining the idea of becoming a personal trainer myself, in addition to the MSW degree I am working on. I am thinking I will do personal training 2 times per week, self-study, work with my brother who is an elite triathlon coach, and then I am going to work it into my treatment model for therapy for eating disorder treatment, lifestyle coaching, and other trauma or self-confidence issues.

Exposure therapy, done carefully, to take the power of exercise from the eating disorder, instead of telling the individual to avoid exercise. Of course they would have to be medically cleared, and this would be done carefully with psychotherapy, and a whole program, but that is what makes the new program I am working on different then many eating disorder treatment programs. Practical, real, and makes life not all about everything related to the ED! A person has to learn to re-identify themselves, and it is easier to do if he/she is not being told that everything that was part of their ED mindset must be lost, or given away, or avoided! Instead, working with people on redefining things like physical activity to learn to appreciate the body for what it can do, and gain joy and achievement through completing difficult goals helps a person find that definition of themselves, and positive self-concept in the process.

This will be exciting!

Dreadmill Running at Women's Expo at UVU for 9 hours

RUnning on a Dreamill: Jarom did 45 miles, Matt did 45, the combined women's team did 47, I did 38 on my own.