How to PR a 100 mile trail run!

Matt ran the Burning River 100 miler in Cleveland, OH this weekend and PR'd the course by over 2 hours! This is how ...
1. Spend taper week in lake placid, ny in a tiny condo w/four kids, two of your closest friends and your crazy wife who is doing Ironman
2. Win the Kan Jam title w/your 13 year old son (neither of who had ever heard of Kan Jam!)
3. Spend your days in Lake Placid "cliff diving" when your afraid of heights and swimming in a river doesn't even make the top 100 list of things you like to do
4. Work as the admitting doctor at Crouse Hospital from 6pm -3am the night before you leave to go to Cleveland. Admit 16 patients in 9 hours!
5. Sleep for 3 hours and get up and drive to Cleveland-then packet pickup, hotel check-in, pre-race dinner with Ultarunning Matters friends.
6. Get up at 3 am for a 5am race start-run 100 miles-pr your best time by over 2hours-2008 (20:45) 2009 (21:51) 2010 (18:37). Sleep a few hours and then hop in you car and drive 5+ hours home.

So proud of you honey and what a great year to pr since this was the 100 mile trail National Championships!!!

Ironman Lake Placid 2010 Race Report

First of all let me just say that I hate writing race reports! I am not one to dwell on the details of a day-and I'm ready to put this one behind me and look forward. With that being said, I realize that there is much to be learned from each experience and so I will put it in writing so that I can look back and try and learn from my mistakes-of which there were many.
The Dreaded Swim
It is no big secret that I was really dreading the swim after my near death experience in Lake Coeur d'Alene last year. I wish I could get over it-I'm pissed that I was scared-but I was VERY SCARED. The photo above is me with my family right before the swim start. As I kissed them farewell it seriously took everything I had not to start crying. I had planned on going far right. In 08 I positioned myself right in the middle about 6 rows back and had no issues. I was so far right that I was actually standing in the shallow water. When the cannon went off-i stood for a few seconds and looked-there was lots of open water so I just dove in and started swimming. OUCH-WTF was that? My right toe was throbbing and I realized I had clipped a rock as I dove into the water. It felt like my toe was sliced right down the middle and I wondered if I should look-can't you just see me trying to look at my toe during an IM swim! The swim was very uneventful and VERY slow. I was 5 minutes slower than 08. I think I swam 3 miles! I was THE farthest swimmer to the outside the entire swim. A few times I got brave and ventured towards the line-i could feel the draft as I got closer-then I would get sandwiched between two guys and the panic would emerge. My wheezy breathing continued during the swim-I kept the panic at bay by counting as Mary and I discussed 1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4-suddenly I would realize i was up to like 90 something! Sometime during the second loop I got a nagging side stitch-this never happens to me on the swim. It really did not have an impact on my swim but did come back to haunt me on the run-more on that later. When I exited the water after my second loop I stripped the top half of my wetsuit and got on the mat-somehow noone saw me! I was yelling, "right here!" Finally someone yanked that baby off-props to the wetsuit strippers dealing all the pee that is inevitably pooled in those wetsuits-NASTY!

The Bike
I don't even know what to say about the bike. I have been riding like shit and that continued on the lake placid bike course. I felt great for the first 30 miles until the hills. While I like the revised out and back-I did not like the fact that this eliminated the nice break from the hills that the 14 mile out and back to hasleton provided. My nutrition was clearly not what it needed to be. I felt like I was on target but I never had to pee once on the bike. Coming back towards town on the second loop of the bike I actually started seeing stars. Being dizzy during the Ironman bike is not a good feeling-let me tell you. I quickly ate a powerbar and that helped. But as we all know-once you get behind on your nutrition it is often hard to get back on track. I just couldn't get comfortable in the aero position-I think I now know why-more on that later.

The Run
I grabbed my T2 bag and stopped at the port o potty. NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. I couldn't pee-not good. I quickly changed into my run shoes. I felt like shit-just completely depleted. I didn't want to run a freakn marathon-that is for damn sure. I headed down the first hill and saw my family. I stopped for a moment. I wanted to cry. My kids were screaming at me, "Go mommy-run!" Shit-I'm gonna have to run this god damn thing or my kids will think I'm a loser. Stick to the plan. Slow and easy for the first several miles. I got to the first aid station-COKE-hallelujah! Coke, Ice, and Cold Sponges! I felt like a new woman and started to pick up the pace-not alot-but I was starting to catch my groove. Eventually I stopped again to pee-my belly was feeling really bloated. NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. Really not good. I was drinking at every aid station-why was I not peeing? the nephrologist says DEHYDRATION! At about mile 21 the side stitch came back (again-the nephrologist says DEHYDRATION!). I've never had a side stitch that hurt that bad for that long. In fact-that exact spot is still sore 3 days later! I tried some breathing techniques I know and tried raising my arms over my head. Nothing was working-except slowing down-and even then it was still quite painful. Around mile 23 I saw my husband and he told me to press on the spot as hard as i could-it helped but I'm sure I looked a fool holding my side while running the last three miles. At around mile 25 I passed a girl w/a 42 on her calf. Honestly-I didn't really give a shit. I knew I would not be fighting for even a top 20 spot. If I would have been having a better day-I woulda made damn sure I was well ahead of her. I knew she was stalking me as we entered the oval. Then she said, "let's see what you got". Are you fucking kidding me? I wanted to tell her she could have 46th place and I'd take 47th! But then she bumped my shoulder-I have no idea if it was intentional- but I sprinted to the finish and she beat me to the line. I didn't even here Mike Reilly say my name-it didn't matter-I already knew I was an ironman! But I was damn glad this one was over!!

The Aftermath
So back in June I had a bad virus-sore throat, sinus deal. Took antibiotics, got better, then got sick again. Ever since I've had this nasty post nasal drip that has really bothered me while swimming-constantly trying to clear my throat etc. I realize now that this whole thing has progressed so slowly that it was really hard to pin point what the problem was. Even before Sunday I had noticed that I seemed to be short of breath just walking up a hill-I even mentioned it to BFF Melissa the day before IM. After the race I really noticed that this shortness of breath had increased. One of the perks to having a husband who is a doctor is that you can get seen quickly by other docs in town. I went and talked to a friend of ours who is a great diagnostician who thinks that I am probably experiencing asthma or reactive airway disease that was exacerbated by this virus. So I will see a pulmonologist next week for some pulmonary function tests-hopefully I can get this straightened out before Dirty girls 24 hour endurance run next Saturday. In the meantime my husband suggested that i try an albuterol treatment w/a nebulizer we have. OMG-instantly I could breathe. It was amazing. I didn't realize how much this was affecting my ability to really take a deep breath. I swam with Kristen for an hour this morning and felt better than I have in months. So I feel like I'm on track to getting my old self back and that has me excited to race again soon! Not sure what next year holds-my hubby really wants to do Badwater-the 135 mile trek through Death Valley. If he ends up doing that I will put Ironman on hold for a year and go share that amazing journey with the one I love! Thanks to all that have supported me along the way. I love this new team I am a part of and look forward to getting to know the Train-this team better. Thank You to Mary Eggers and Kristen Roe who is the greatest friend and training partner a wanna b like me could ever ask for!

The Fun is about to begin!!

Race day is almost here-soon it will Wednesday and we will be in route to Placid. Getting to this point has been a bumpy road. No doubt I have struggled alot this year-mostly mentally. Going back to work has taken a toll both mentally and physically. Working the grave yard shift is no joke. I've been seriously sleep deprived and I've paid a price. I've been sick-and I never get sick. I struggled the most this spring. Our household was INSANE w/three kids in three different locations on most nights, their mother training for ironman, and their dad training for ultras and maintaining a very busy nephrology practice. I worried alot-that all of this was somehow having a negative affect on the chillins. But you know what? They have parents who are doing what they love, following their dreams-that has to count for something. It has too. I truly believe we are better parents and happier people for doing so. I have faith this will trickle down. Nothing would give me more satisfaction and joy than to see my kids grow up to do what they are passionate about.

The photo is a picture of the ski jumps from the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. This is what I will see at about mile 20 on the run. This is where the shit either hits the fan or you keep your cool and cash in on a smartly paced ironman. This is where I'll be thinking about my kids the most. Telling myself that I have to prove to them that you can do anything if you want it bad enough. This is where I show them that their mom is no quitter. This is where I prepare to climb those ridiculous hills back to town where my family will be waiting (hopefully not too long!). This is where I try not to cry because I know if I do I will start hyperventilating. This is when I reflect on my day and remind myself there is no place I'd rather be at this moment in time-no matter how much it hurts. This is where I want to be.

This is what ultra is all about...the buckle

The big prize if you can run 75 miles in 24 hours!

Busy Bee!

I cannot even believe how busy I have been lately-it seems I barely have time to return a phone call lately! When I decided to go back to work last October-working nights seemed like a good idea-frankly it was my only option. Ian is only 8 and he needs his mom in the morning. They all do for that matter. However, I did not really consider what it would be like working nights in the summer-NIGHTMARE! For the most part I have been going for at least 24hours w/no sleep at least one day a week. The kids have swim practice in the morning from 9-12 so that is when I've been doing the bulk of my training. Let me tell you-it is amazing how the body and mind can adapt. Some mornings I'm just falling asleep at the wheel driving home from work. A couple of cups of starbucks later-I'm on my bike and suddenly feeling energized! On these days I do take an easy route on the bike-one w/little traffic and few turns because I know that the sleep deprivation has to take a toll.

So here I am-less than 2 weeks out from Ironman USA (lake placid) and 4 weeks out from my first 24 hour adventure-Dirty Girls 24 hour ultra in Ontario! Tonite I met w/the other runners who will be doing Dirty Girls. Three of us are doing the 24 hour and the other 2 are doing the 12 hour. We are very fortunate to have our local phenom-and world class ultrarunner-Jill Perry as our crew! Not too shabby! I am very excited for this new adventure-although I have to say I have not thought too much about it as all of my energy is tied up w/Lake Placid right now! I am just hoping that the base I have will be deep enough to carry me through 24 hours of running. And...that I am recovered enough just 2 weeks after ironman to pull it off!

As far as training goes I am just really hoping things come together on race day. I feel like I am always so tired lately that it is hard to judge where exactly my fitness is. I can say that I finally ditched the ISM Adamo road saddle that I have been fucking with for way too long. I got the terry butterfly and took my bike in and had another fitting. I rode a few hours the day after my long run (so there was no reason my legs should have been feeling good) and I felt the best I have felt in a long time on the bike. Ray only made a few minor adjustments but DANG it made a big difference. Thanks Ray!! While my legs were feeling great...my back was not. Last week I was doing a trail run w/Matt in the evening. Sun was setting and I shoulda taken my sunglasses off. I tripped on a root-didn't go down but it took about 6 steps to regain my footing. There was a lot of momentum and I really jarred my back. The next morning I was quite sore. It has been absolutely fine during swims, runs, and all other activities of daily living. However, when I am on the bike and aero it really hurts. I'm fine for an hour or so and then it just starts throbbing. So I'm heading to see my massage therapist and hoping it will be feeling better by LP. The sinus thing is not 100% but much better. I think I have my swimming mojo back. I'm doing a masters open water 2 mile swim in Canandaigua lake Saturday and very excited about that! Time for bed.

Inspirational Video - The Don't Quit Poem

Glass Half Empty

Usually I am a fairly positive person. Lately it seems, I am being followed by gloom and doom and I'm starting to wonder about the law of attraction and the role I might have in all of this negativity. This has been a shitty week-simply put. S.H.I.T.T. Y. It started on my ride tuesday when I got my first flat of the season and then almost got killed when I was flying down Sweet Road in my aero bars when a complete dumb ass who was driving towards me decides to completely cross the center line and drive straight towards me on the shoulder to retrieve her mail. It all happened very fast and honestly I don't think the douche bag (are you sensing the hostility/negativity??) ever saw me! I didn't even have a second to look over my shoulder i just swerved way out into the lane and luckily (see there is something positive in every situation!) there were no cars coming up on me. So really I should just be grateful that it all turned out ok but I am still festering inside and since I know where this lady lives I have considered (not really) knocking on her door and introducing myself as the mother of three that she almost killed on Tuesday. sigh...

So Wednesday came and I was looking forward to my first open water swim in Caz Lake w/Kristen. It is my favorite swimming hole and we haven't been able to swim there because they were treating the water w/some nasty chemical to try and kill the weeds. From the get go negative thoughts were creeping in. I felt like I was wheezing everytime I took a breath. We were swimming hard but honestly we were not pushing the envelope. At our turn around point (about 32 minutes into the swim) we stopped for a moment to fix our goggles. Immediately I felt a surge of panic and I seriously almost reached back and unzipped my wetsuit which I felt was completely strangling me and cutting off my air supply. This never happens to me in the water. I talked myself out of a panic attack and didn't say anything to KRoe. We continued swimming and the negative thoughts were there and I kept telling myself to keep swimming. I knew I would feel worse if i stopped. And then I did. Kristen stopped and asked if I was ok. I said, "no i'm freaking out". She was awesome and talked me down before I sprinted the 2-300 yards to shore. I don't know what has gotten into me. I feel like i'm losing my shit. I've always felt strong and confident and most importantly I love open water swimming. So I gotta get a grip. Had a great talk w/coach Mary. Feeling better about the swim anxiety and have a strategy for next time.

And so to top off a sucky week I am sick again. I thought I was starting w/allergies yesterday and now i have a full blown sore throat, cold, stuffy head...AGAIN! So I'm forcing myself to rest today even though i'm in that last month panic stage before Lake Placid and feel as though i should be spending every second training. I'm getting myself a cup of tea and I'm going to think only positive thoughts!!