Girls Gone Wildwood

A pre-race view of the mountains This is the second year that Susan and I ran the Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 miler and the first time we ran a trail race more than once. Last year  when we ran Peterson, we had a great day and finished the race in ~7 hours, I expected that we would finish the race in the same amount of time this year. Sadly I was wrong and we finished the race 50 minutes slower than the previous year. I beat myself up over this for several weeks after the race.  The trail opens up to mountain views There were several reasons that we were slower this year. Last year we were training for Miwok 100k  and Peterson Ridge was our last long run before Miwok, so we were more trained up than we were last year. This year was also one of the hottest years on record for Peterson Ridge, which definitely had an affect on me. I also had been dealing with an injury  and had to take it easier than I would of liked for a few weeks. Oh, and the week befor...

Massive trillium Ann was out of town and I wanted to recover after the tough time we had the previous week at Peterson. My achilles was really been bothering me, and I was worried about how painful this run would feel. I snagged an old 18 mile route starting from the Leif trailhead at Thurman-- that's where I start when I'm feeling particularly lazy because it's the closest to my house, and it's always nice to end on that downhill. Headed somewhere off-trail 8-ft high stinging nettle selfie The first 6 miles or so were tough. I really didn't think I was going to make it. I listened to podcasts and tried to ignore the various pains and twinges all over my body. Soon, though, something magical happened. I noticed how amazing the light was this morning. I saw new plants unfurling-- signs of spring that made me smile, look around, and pay less attention to myself and the physical. Unfurling at the side of the trail Deep magenta trillium on a ...

We started just before dawn and got to watch the sun rise Sometimes you listen to the advice your coach gives you, sometimes you don't. This weekend was one of the times I didn't. Not that I think I know more than Ann Trason, but the weather was perfect and my husband and Susan's husband and son were all out of town, so we didn't have to be home by a certain time, which made it really hard not to run far. Ann Trason suggested that I run ~12 miles, since we are running Peterson Ridge 40 miler next weekend, but instead we ran 30 miles. Luckily I am feeling great the day after the run, now I just need to make sure I take it easy this week, so I don't over do.  Throwing away trash that was left on the trail  Portland from the Pittock Mansion  I did feel really guilty when Ann sent me an email asking me how far I ran and I had to admit I ran ~30 miles. I am the worst client ever (not really, but I feel like it). We modified this route a litt...

In a very unusual situation for us, we both made routes for this run. Usually when it's my turn, I create one around 11pm on Friday night before the run. So I was proud to create and send this on Friday afternoon.  Fiery sunrise But right after I sent it, I saw that Ann had just emailed me a route. Two for the price of one! We decided to use my route this time, and modify Ann's for next week's 30 miler. The sun peeking up to start to illuminate the trail This route has the distinction of never touching Leif Erikson, which is a nice change to avoid the rocky gravel and crowds. We started at 6am to get some time in the dark, using our headlamps. We were treated to an amazing, fiery sunrise, none of the expected rain, and a great run. Ann in the shelter on FL 5 Start at Wild Cherry/Dogwood trailhead  Dogwood to WW (8.47)-- .22 mi WW(8.47) to Morak (ww 10.65)-- 2.18 mi Morak (ww 10.65) to FL1-- .08 mi FL1 to WW (11.18)-- .33 mi WW (11.18) t...