Happy 2017! I took some time off from Sunday Lately posts, but I’m back and celebrating a wonderful new year with my Blogger Tribe peeps. Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe where everyone is welcome to pop a tent and share some S’mores. Come camp with us on Facebook:
Picking out all my winter running clothes, since the belt on my treadmill shit the bed this weekend. I don’t know when I’m going to be able to catch up on Empire now!
Telling off the haters who snark on all the “Resolutioners” at the gym. Be supportive, be encouraging, and dang it, be a friend to someone who is making an attempt to start on their fitness journey!
Debating on what my “word” will be this year. Last year it was “community” and the year before it was “completion.” Do I keep the C going? 😛
Mixing eggnog with coffee… anyone else try this? YUM!
The Pitbull New Years Revolution show has become a new favorite — particularly after last night’s steady stream of classic hip-hop artists. I woke up humming “Joy & Pain” by Rob Base. Side note: I was totally weirded out by how much Coolio’s voice has changed!
This has been a pretty full year of running! I started off the year thinking that I would be playing roller derby again (even trying out and making our A-level travel team in Pittsburgh), and then we made a fairly quick and sudden move to Iowa (less than 2 months to visit, shop houses, get job offers, and actually relocate) kind of threw havoc into all areas of my life — particularly my marathon training (I ended up not completing training for the Pittsburgh marathon).
But the year started off with some highlights and ended with some amazing experiences — with, naturally, some awful things in-between. If I’m counting correctly, I did 16 races this year. Still standing at only 1 marathon since 2015 but my half marathon tally grew to 9. Let’s reflect, shall we?
Best Mileage Month: 101.74 miles in November — my 1st 100 Mile Monthly Challenge!
Worst Mileage Month: Only 14.6 miles in June. Woof.
By the way, my total mileage for 2016 was 512.97!
New States Run in 2016: Florida, Iowa, Nebraska
Furthest Race I Traveled to — and My First Multi-Day Challenge Race: Gasparilla (Florida) [recaps here: Gasparilla Day #1 (15k and 5k) and Day #2 of the Ultra Challenge (half marathon and 8k)]
Worst Race Experience:Dam to Dam — I was completely and totally unprepared for this race and swore it off for my lifetime because I’ve never felt so awful. Though now that I’ve had some distance, I’m willing to eat my words and run it again.
Best Run (not a Race): One that sticks out for me – when I returned to Pittsburgh over the summer. I unleashed a lot of emotions on that run; it was cathartic and bittersweet and a nice reprieve from the super humid summer.
Worst Run: UGH, basically any of my tempo long runs from the summer during my IMT Half Marathon training. I don’t think I finished any of them to plan.
Worst Piece of Running Gear: Nathan hydration belt. It doesn’t work well on my body shape for running (wayyyyyy too much bounce and movement); though I may end up using it for hiking and trail-skating.
Best Piece of Advice I Received this Year: Though it’s spoken often in running circles to “run the mile you’re in,” this was really drilled in with my coach over the summer with focusing on the current moment and not thinking ahead. That’s something that has held me back a lot, and it’s been refreshing to just trust my body that it knows what to do and what I can handle AT THAT MOMENT.
Best Thing I Learned: Running by feel or effort level
Favorite Picture from a Race or Run this Year (TIE!):
the week(s):
We celebrated an early holiday last week with a big Christmas dinner and champagne and exchanging of gifts at home. It was nice to get some time to ourselves and have fun with the cats before the chaos of traveling. I was able to visit with most of my family while I was in Ohio for a few days — and greatly enjoyed the extra PTO days.
Have a Happy New Year — and I hope there is spiked eggnog or bottles of champagne in your immediate future. 😉
seven things, seven(ish) days:
1. My mom gave us a vintage bowl and drink glasses set to make Tom & Jerry’s. I cannot wait for future holidays to serve these!!!
2. One of our cats had to get a tooth pulled this week. She’s OK but I was a nervous wreck since she was at the vet for almost the entire day. 🙁
3. I never realized until this week how many animals have a sound that is similar to a woman screaming bloody murder. Plenty of youtube videos out there too, if you’re wanting to go down that rabbit hole.
4. An older article but a goodie: The Spiritual Life of the Long Distance Runner
5. Why this guy quit his job to run 59 marathons {via The Muse}
6. Willpower to achieve goals is overhyped, so say psychologists. Re: self-control: “It’s no different than any other decision making.” And looks like the ego depletion theory has been debunked. {via Vox}
7. The impact of running on the brain. NEAT! {via PsyPost}
With winter officially arriving, it’s been fun to look back on my Fall and (early) Winter race seasons. While I’m taking a couple weeks off this winter (which I’m in the midst of recovery right now) — Fall was fun, just as I trained for.
Since September, I’ve completed 9 races — 4 of those half marathons and 6 with close to 100% humidity. While the extended summer temps was a bear for outdoor races, I also started trail running, culminating into my most difficult (but most awesome!) race to date. Many of these races I intend to repeat in 2017, and overall I had positive experiences at each — you know, despite all that humidity.
The Hitchcock Experience‘s inaugural event created by the Greater Omaha Area Trail Runners (G.O.A.T.z) opened up last year with 50- and 100-mile distances; this year, a 13.1 distance was added. I found out about this race through the local trail running groups and knew immediately that I needed to add to my winter schedule. Hitchcock was my 9th half marathon distance, my 4th trail race and my last race of 2016.
Flat Mel: SO MUCH GEAR!
There’s a reason that the word “experience” is in this event — it’s much more than a trail race. I experienced many moments throughout; least of which were:
Unabashed fits of joy.
One of our pre-race emails included that phrase, which is spot-on and absolutely sums up my personal experience with Hitchcock. I’ve felt many emotions during my races — particularly in completing my first marathon — but this race transformed everything that’s fun about trail running into something that deeply affected my soul. Can you find yourself in the Loess Hills? It’s quite possible that I did just that.
I knew going in that Hitchcock would be my most challenging race thus far. For starters, throw out everything you might think about Iowa: IT IS NOT FLAT.
Elevation change for the half marathon is just under 6,000 ft.
Location: The Hitchcock Experience takes place entirely within the Hitchcock Nature Center — located north of Council Bluffs — and its adjoining private property. The nature center exists to develop and foster appreciation and understanding of the Loess Hills as a globally significant landform through land management, environmental education and low-impact recreation.
Registration and Cost: Because the half was capped at only 50 runners, I stayed up until midnight when registration opened up on September 2 (at exactly 12:01am). I even set an alarm to make sure that I didn’t fall asleep. The race cost $65 (+fees for online registration).
Packet Pick-Up: I had to leave work early the day before the race to pick up my bib in Omaha — which is two hours away. Packet pick-up was held at Canfield’s Sporting Goods from 2-6pm OR you could do pick up on race day at 4am (uhhhhh, no). It wasn’t obvious where the pick-up was once you entered the store (it was in the shoe section at the back), so I had to ask an employee (who didn’t understand why I was there at first either). I love that the bib is event specific, featuring an awesome nighttime picture of the course from last year’s race.
Swag: We received a branded cinch race bag with a long-sleeved cotton shirt, extra reflective keepsake bib, Hitchcock patch and sticker, and finisher medals! (100-mile finishers under the time limit get a belt buckle, as is tradition with ultra distances.)
Weather: Having a race in December, you’re almost guaranteed SOME level of winter weather; the race started in the low 20s. But as we were running, we got SNOW!!!!! I never really felt cold though until the last 1/4 mile or so when my gloves got damp from the constant snow and chilled over; my nose was running constantly throughout the race, so I also had a frozen patch on my BUFF. It actually snowed quite a bit and was so beautiful. There was a section where it was near white out and I was catching snowflakes on my tongue like a literal crazy person. I loved it!
Course: Not your usual out-and-back, this trail race is a 12.5-mile loop on varied terrain (alfalfa fields?!) with challenging elevation gains, and great technical difficulty. I went out a couple weekends before for a race preview run with the GOATZ, so I already knew which sections I would hate — thankfully, due to the weather, the much-cursed sandy sections and aforementioned alfalfa fields were frozen over (but severely lumpy!). There’s an addition at the beginning of the first loop for each race, and there are a few places on the course of two-way traffic.
Oh, yeah… and most of it is run in the dark.
There was something positively magical about being in complete darkness in the middle of the woods though. At certain sections, I was entirely alone. I could see headlamps in the distance — some at much higher elevations than where I stood.
Headlamps required!
For this race headlamps and hydration bottles/packs were required. The course was marked extremely well and had reflective orange flags, plenty of colored signs with arrows and/or ground markings to aid in course direction. Even in the dark, I could always see where the next trail marker was. The two-way traffic areas were also marked well, but I had a few moments wondering if I was moving in the right direction.
When the sun rose, I was in a rolling section of the trails in the woods and any description I attempt to use just underestimates the incredible experience. Powerful.
Start Line: Speaking of the dark, start time for the Hitchcock half distance was 5am (!!!). We got to share the start line with the 100-milers in the morning; the 50-milers started at 9pm (so everyone runs in the dark at some point). Oh, and the news was there to broadcast all the crazy! While there were time limits for the 50 and 100 runners, there was only a “just finish” for half marathoners (the last finisher came in just shy of 8 hours).
Aid Stations: An integral part of ultra races is the aid station; there were three stations per loop, and we were all required to check in at each. I used the stops for a quick fuel break; at the Oasis I was strangely craving hot coffee (perhaps because of how early it was?) and had that. Aid stations had a bunch of food and drink options, including: water, Tailwind, pop, coffee, soup, peanut butter sandwiches, chips, fruits, candy and various Honey Stinger gels and waffles.
There was also a fourth aid station located near mile 9.5 and manned by volunteers from Loess Hills Nordic Ski Patrol; they had a giant bonfire, which made it difficult not to stay longer to hang out. One of the kind gentlemen volunteers allowed me to drink from his water bottle, since my hydration pack hose froze over and there weren’t any beverage cups at this station.
Stations included:
The Lodge aka: Beacon of Hope/Despair (start/finish)
Ralph’s (the campground) at approximately 3.65 miles. Named in honor of Ralph Hohneke, who has so graciously allowed us to run on his property on race weekend.
The Oasis at approximately 6.75 miles
Loess Hills Nordic Ski Patrol near the 9.5-mile mark
Finish Line: To add to the physical and mental torture of the event, the finish line was uphill; it was nearly impossible to run at that point, and it seemed most of the finishers around me walked that last part of the course. Good thing, because my dang shoe came untied near the final climb (and was frozen). There was a volunteer who placed the medals around our necks and a photographer who snapped several finish line photos.
After Party: My after party consisted of a gigantic omelet at Henry’s Diner in Crescent, Iowa. After a ride back to my hotel room, a hot shower, and a glass of wine (since I wasn’t driving home), it was then a two-hour trip back home to Des Moines.
Experience: Something that I want to emphasize in this race is the amazingness of all the people — including the volunteers. Everyone involved in race day was so helpful and positively excited to have us there; fellow runners were equally as encouraging, and I loved the spirit of the two-way passes with everyone congratulating one another. By the way, the race communication for this event was The Best — I received no fewer than 3 emails following up to race day with all the info that I needed to know and their Facebook page was a great source of additional info and finishers updates.
Extra Awesome: The race directors sent out a post-event runner survey “thank you” email within a couple days, which also included official results and a link to FREE race photos, where I found this gem:
SO EXCITE!
OVERALL The Great: UNABASHED FITS OF JOY The Good: Snow! The Bad: In the last mile, I slipped going downhill and fell backwards – somehow catching myself on my right elbow and not my butt. Luckily, I did not get injured. The Ugly: My Camelback hose froze; thankfully, a nice volunteer at the Ski Patrol let me drink from his bottle.
TL;DR: Thank you, GOATZ and thank you, Hitchcock for just an incredible event. I will remember this experience forever. I fully intend to run this again next year; though the distance is still to be determined. 😉
OFFICIAL RESULTS
3:16:44
29th finisher in the half
8th female finisher overall in the half — I made the Top 10 Females leaderboard!
the week:
Is anyone else having a mild freakout over the fact that Christmas is less than 10 days away? Not only is it beginning to LOOK a lot like Christmas, it’s starting to feel like it with the sub-freezing temperatures and snow warnings. Since the Hitchcock half marathon last weekend (and after training for multiple races since July), I’m on a little recovery period from running — likely through Christmas. Though I’m already feeling really antsy about not running, naturally.
weekend:
NOTHING.
I mean, it will include a lot of fleece and hot chocolate and being very near a heating vent, but… with way below negative temps expected, I don’t intend to do much of anything.
seven things, seven days:
1. So there’s a company locally that puts up Christmas lights, and we hired them to decorate our house. It makes me smile with glee every time I pull into my driveway.
2. I lucked out on a one-day sale online and scored a j crew handbag at 40% off (a little xmas gift to myself).
3. Had a wonderful holiday gathering at Alba this week — an excellent restaurant in the East Village.
4. We got an invite to a special preview of the new Star Wars. I got to meet R2D2! I’ve never been to a Star Wars opening night, so that was exciting!
5. Really interesting insight into achieving what’s really important to you: The difference between goals and systems. {via James Clear}
6. When it comes to success, age is just a number. Bottom line: NEVER give up. {via NYT Science}
7. How to run 100 miles. OH, IS THAT ALL. {via Red Bulletin}
As I’m making friends in the run community here in Des Moines, trail running has become much more fun. Since I’ve joined up on some Capital Turkeys group runs, I have familiar faces that I can locate beforehand — and that’s added a new level of relaxation and joy to my race day. The Sycamore 8 trail race is a Capital Striders event, taking place the first weekend in December, and following the Sycamore Trail along the Des Moines River.
An 8-miler is a new distance for me — and the course ended up being about a half mile short… so, still a new distance. Though, they weren’t kidding when they said Sycamore 8 was FAST! I was pushing a pretty decent pace for it being a trail race — just a little faster than my comfort zone; since I was unfamiliar with this section of the trail system, I didn’t want to completely overdo it. I paced the first half with some of my fellow lady Turkeys, and only fell behind when I walked through a water stop (I needed Gatorade, as my fingers were starting to swell on me). It wasn’t a big deal, as I did my best to catch back up — and ended up finishing only a couple minutes behind.
The energy surrounding the race (and the question as to what the weather will be in early December) is understandably why runners who love winter trail running come back to do this one every year. No question, I enjoyed myself immensely, and intend to make Sycamore 8 a part of my own yearly circuit of trail races.
Registration and Cost: Race registration was online with GetMeRegistered, and after a Capital Striders member discount and fees cost only $33.07 ($30 base cost; $35 for non Striders members). Race entries are capped at 300. If spots are available, day of registration is an extra 10 bucks.
Adapted Flat Mel
Packet Pick-Up: My first trek into the Beaverdale neighborhood, packet pick-up was the night before the race at local coffee shop (and sponsor), Grounds for Celebration. It’s a super adorable place, and I want to go back and hang out.
Swag: Probably some of my favorite swag from any race — a branded 2016 Sycamore 8 trucker hat and small bag of Grounds for Celebration signature “Sycamore Single Track” coffee. No medals for this race; but if you’re fast enough to place in an age group, the handmade awards are really sweet.
Weather: Around 30 degrees at start time; I definitely warmed up by mid-race. There’s such a difference in temperature here when there’s wind and when there’s not. On race day we had the latter, with moderate sun.
Course: This race is a point-to-point course, on mostly single dirt trails — starting at the Johnston Soccer Complex and ending in Des Moines at the Polk County building. A good portion of the course is in the woods, with one section of paved bike path for about a mile or so; since it had been dry for a while, there wasn’t really any mud, and we didn’t cross any water. The course is also mostly flat with only one big climb — which coincided with the one water stop on the course (about Mile 4). For a still-beginner trail runner, the course was marked pretty well. There was only one part where I wasn’t sure to go right or left (though both pathways went around to the same place).
Bag Drop: You could self-tag a bag to be bussed back to the finish line. Unclaimed or dropped clothing items were donated to the Central Iowa Shelter.
Start Line: I always get a little bummed out about having to take a bus — the race info stated there was no other way to get to the start line — but at least this time I had some friends! I was dropped off at the finish line around 8am; the busses left around 8:20. There were a few Kybos at the bus meeting point (the finish) and another set at the actual start line.
Hot chocolate season!
Finish Line: It’s hot chocolate season! There was also some kind of vegetarian chili and chicken noodle soup, and the usual hot coffee and Gatorade. A rep from Merrell was set up, passing out free stickers and branded tubular headwear (don’t mind more of these in my collection!). They were also giving away shoes from previous test runs — but nothing in my size. Whomp whomp.
Fans and Experience: Some kind of holiday mascot at the sole water stop on the course was giving high fives along with the water and Gatorade volunteers. There were a couple (and I mean, two) people at the end of the paved section of trail leading back into the woods — and they were cheering as though they were 10x more people. It was awesome.
It kind of felt like a tailgate wrapped around a running event at the finish line, which made for a really entertaining experience. Though, I was kinda bummed about there not being any of that supposed Fireball at the aid station. ?
After Party: The After Party was at Goodsons in Beaverdale — with a free Shock Top beer for all 21+ runners. There were a bunch of raffle prizes given out from sponsors; sadly, I had to miss the post-race celebration, as we had to prepare for another holiday party.
OVERALL The Great: Best swag ever! The Good: Making it up that steep hill without any help. The Bad: I got lost on my way to pick up my bib. Stupid GPS. The Ugly: Swollen fingers again. 🙁
OFFICIAL RESULTS
1:17:01
161th Overall
24th in Women 30-39
First impression: The color is “tie dyed” shades of lime green, which I found to complement my main winter weather gear while also standing out in dark mornings or evenings. The material is thin but so soft — and it feels super cozy when worn.
It arrived right as I was going into my Fall Fun! season, so I’ve been able to test it on runs and races in various temperatures AND use when I forgot my non-running winter gear (this thing is amazingly odor resistant, so there was nothing funky about it when I needed it on a day I forgot my hat at work and the temps dropped 30 degrees in one day).
Keep one in your car, just in case!
Product Details:
100% natural merino wool — Merino Wool’s natural qualities include: water repellent, odor resistant, flameproof, durability, UV protection and natural stretch and elasticity
12+ ways to wear — so much versatility!
Thermal protection from cold & wind
Cool in the summer, extra layer of warmth in the winter
the week:
I completed the Capital Striders 100 miles challenge with 101.7 miles!
weekend:
This morning, I ran another trail race — the Sycamore 8 in Des Moines. Tonight, we’ve got a neighborhood holiday party and another invite to a fellow Rock Boater’s house concert party on Sunday!
I’ll be sure to fit in my 2-hour post-race nap though.
the week:
Thanksgiving! No Turkey Trots for me this year, as we’re hosting some friends that are also staying in town — and my dad decided to fly out to Des Moines to join us! So, I’m on airport and hosting duties (but I did get my morning miles in to offset all those calories). I ended up getting to use PTO for Friday, too, so I have a very short work week!
weekend:
My dad is staying through Saturday, so we hope to do a little sight-seeing to show off our new city! On Black Friday, there is a Market Day Iowa pop-up in Capital Square — featuring a bunch of local artists and vendors. Did you take advantage of any Black Friday deals for yourself?
A week off from racing, but I plan to get out for a preview run of the Nature Center in Council Bluffs for my 12-miler this Sunday with a couple of fellow Turkeys.
seven things, seven days:
1. Pumpkin Cranberry Way Better chips season!!!!!!!
2. So thankful for my biweekly chats with my running coach. I was feeling a lot of anxiety about my upcoming trail race, and she helped remind me about the excitement and fun factor of doing a new challenge. I lose sight of that far too often.
3. I took a new cardio-based yoga class this week at my gym… and it was awful. -_-
4. I’ve also had an awful experience with Trunk Club and finally requested a new stylist. I am still not very impressed. I guess that I expected more from a Nordstrom service.
5. This article about psychologists Kahneman & Tversky got me all excited about Michael Lewis’ upcoming new book! {via Vanity Fair}
6. Just in time for Turkey Day: The Psychology of Comfort Food {via Luvo blog}
7. Tis the season to buy your loved ones discounted race registrations!
As I’m making friends in the run community here in Des Moines, trail running has become much more fun. Since I’ve joined up on some Capital Turkeys group runs, I have familiar faces that I can locate beforehand — and that’s added a new level of relaxation and joy to my race day. The 
