post 50k race observations.

noticing...

• hungry all day! every hour, my body craved fruit, protein, and/or water
• i was more tired than i thought i would be
• going up and down stairs is surprisingly painful
• calves & quads are super tight
• both index toenails are tender, the left one is discoloring more rapidly
• i thought i was going to lose my pinky toenails, but they seem to be doing better today
• this sounds a little odd, but my quads and calves feel massive. not sure if they look that way too.
• later in the day, my abs feel spent
• still have a pretty picky palette; wanting mostly fruit and fresh vegetables
• felt thirsty all day and therefore had to take many bio breaks
• hips are particularly tight; stretches that help open my hips & hamstrings/glutes feel amazing
• very tempted to work out on day two of recovery, but i think i should sleep instead of waking up at 5:30am to crossfit. hmm.

the 2nd epic race of hopefully many.

the first epic race was my first marathon, and that was special in oh so many ways! but, this race was particularly meaningful because it had been a somewhat disappointing 1.5 years after when i said i would run my first 50k. i had to recover from several injuries, including a fractured foot, to finally get to this point. and even with my half-assed training, i felt the race went pretty well for it being my very first 50k! 

basic specs:

skyline to the sea 50k trail race, hosted by coastal trail runs

elevation map

um, so i had a really delicious egg sandwich for breakfast. two pieces of toast with butter and strawberry jam + 2 farm fresh eggs i fried up with a dash of sea salt. (oh, i also had a mini blueberry muffin, some blueberries, melon, strawberries, and a small cup of coffee.) it seemed like it was maybe a bit too much food, but it turned out fine and my body seemed to absorb it well. i.e. no stomach issues and a lot of energy. 

i wore one of my favorite temporary tattoos created by miss amykr, to remind me that whatever happens, i want to make the most of my time out there. and of course, i wore my zamzee to track the minutes and intensity of all the running. 

we started at saratoga gap (at the castle rock trailhead) and took the skyline to sea trail all the way to, you guessed it, the sea. in the picture below, it's zach, me, and austin.

i was feeling crazy strong for the first 4.5 miles and flew through the first aid station with two peanut m&m's in tow. popped those babies in my mouth and wished i had two more. my friend zach caught up to me and we ran for a short while together before he flew ahead. (that would be the last time i'd see him.)

during 4.5-9m, austin caught up to me with his friendly, "hi liz song!" (he fell behind me and zach because he had to take a potty break. haha, did i just tell the interweb that you had to poo? i guess so.) anyway, we ran together for a while, mostly without the company of other racers. it felt just like one of our fun runs in the wilderness and i felt grateful to be with my dear friend. we hit china grade aid station (9m), i stuffed my face with potatoes+salt, orange slices, pb&j and was off again.

by the time i hit the gazos creek aid station (15.8m), i was getting pretty tired. at this point, i saw austin and zach's girlfriends working the aid station, said a quick hello, and went straight to shove food in my face. i was hungry and needing to replenish my electrolyte intake. after getting refueled and vaselined up (my inner thighs and inner upper arms were chaffing like a mofo), austin and i took off for the loop off the main skyline to sea trail. this is where the marathoners keep proceeding down the trail and the 50k folk run an additional 4.5 miles. the uphill in this section was brutal. it was also pretty exposed and hot. austin took off, while i walked, completely winded. it was kinda neat because on the climb, i looked out and saw the ocean and thought, "that's where i'm heading! what the hell, am i crazy?!" then i hit a crazy-ass hill that was so steep, i accepted that "yes, i am crazy." in the picture below, you can see the ocean just beyond the furthest tree line. 

 

this was immediately taken after seeing the scene pictured above. although i was amazed that i'd be at the ocean in a few hours, i was feeling the pain of going up up up up.

during that loop, two things happened: 1) i caught up to austin during the downhill and he was walking! this is a guy who flies on the downhills. his legs were not being very responsive, and i had a feeling he was going to stop at mile 20. and 2) i noticed a lady running ahead of me. i picked her out as my next target to catch up to and pass. but DAMN, she just kept prancing off in front of me, taunting me with her effortless movement! i finally caught up to her at the aid station where we picked up our orange rubber band for finishing the loop. i went up to her and said, "you're a strong runner! i've been trying to catch up to you!" she remarked with the same response about me (since we did yo-yo a few times), and we decided to continue running together. at this point, we had about 11 more miles to go. 

it was beautiful to run with emily. we were in sync with each other's running pace and had a really nice human connection, talking about everything from her 3.5 year old son scottie, church, charlie engle, and saying "fuck!" when we'd hit hills. (i get pretty crude on long runs when i'm wicked tired.) we were very present to each other during the next 11 miles. emily was a gift to me in this race. we pushed each other hard, helped out when either of us needed, we listened to each other share stories and thoughts, and it was so sweet... every time i almost ate it, but would catch myself, she'd say, "nice save!" "nice catch!" it made me smile each time (and it happened a lot). she would even say it to herself when she'd catch herself from falling or rolling her ankle. 

anyway, the last 4 miles were brutal, mostly because my feet and legs were yelling at me, i was starving, and the trail wasn't very interesting and to add, it was mostly flat. but i was afraid to walk because i didn't think i'd be able to start running again. but around 3 miles out, we decided to walk for a bit, and i pulled out my gu chomps (strawberry) and literally inhaled all of them. they have never tasted so good. we painfully rolled into one last aid station before the finish and i filled up on soda and pb&j's and then took off for the final 1.6 miles. 

the last 1.6 miles was when i probably felt most emotional. i felt like i could start sobbing at any moment, but had no energy to spend on tears. a couple times, i said to myself, "dig deep lizzy, dig deep," especially when there would be a slight uphill. then suddenly, everything changed. 

i heard people cheering and got a tiny glimpse of a blue tent from where my vantage point. i knew i was close and my juices immediately fired up. i started sprinting towards the finish.

6 hours and 12 minutes later, i finished my first 50k.

after inhaling some watermelon and orange slices, i walked around to look for my friends who were supposed to meet me at the finish line. about 25 minutes later, i finally saw them roll into the area. i was so excited to see them that i ran over and cheered! :-) funny how things work out. anyway, they were delightful and we managed to stage a second faux-finish line crossing. they listened to me as i enthusiastically told them stories about the race and i simply loved seeing familiar faces of people who i love. 

oh yeah, i also found out i placed. 2nd woman in my age group, 5th woman overall, and 30th place overall. i feel really proud of this accomplishment and can('t) wait for my next 50k, 50m, 100k, 100m.

i have to mention that afterward, we went to go eat korean bbq at a buffet. holy smokes. lots of meat, fruit, and a dash of beer. and when i got home, i found a sign on my door made by my lovely friend heather. after gasping with delight, i went straight to icing my feet.

 

 

 

 

this has been one of the hardest feats to date, but one of the most rewarding. as my new friend emily put it, to accomplish something like this is both empowering and humbling.  thank you to everyone for your love & support!

squaw valley | western states

this time last year was my first experience witnessing a 100-mile ultramarathon. it was completely exhilarating and inspiring to be at western states. while directing traffic at the robinson flat aid station (mile 31), i watched wave after wave of crew members coming and going to support their runner. during a short pause of incoming cars, i stood there completely moved by the dedication i witnessed from these families and friends. then i had this moment, standing between the parking lot and road, overlooking the mountains, when i decided that i would run this race at some point in my life. the dream got securely tucked away.

but as dreams go, it doesn't just suddenly come to be. we need to work hard to achieve them. so far, this year has not been a good running year. it's been injury after injury and a very slow recovery. and although things are finally on the up swing, i sense that i still need to take it easy. i have this gut feeling that this year is about staring from (almost) zero and re-training my body and mind. and as much as reducing my running to a minimum seems counter-intuitive, i think it will ultimately help in my body's longevity. so going to western states again was not just to volunteer and to go on an adventure with friends, it was to nurture my dream. 


emily, mary, and i drove up on friday and stealth camped at the french meadows reservoir. as you can see below, the space was exquisite. the expansiveness of that place nourished me.

 












all three of us had a blast volunteering. the robinson flat "family" remembered me from last year and welcomed us with warmth and enthusiasm. i even got to see several of my running crushes as they zipped through our aid station. (woo-hee, they are smokin!) but the thing i loved most was serving the runners from the point they made it up the super steep hill to the moment they left the station. refill their bottles, get them drink, offer snacks, fill their hankerchiefs with ice, ask them how they're doing, listen, point them to the way out and wish them well. it was such a joy to give out of the overflow of love i felt for these runners (even the very demanding ones). 


last year, a dream was planted. this year, a passion got clarified. i realized that i love supporting people as they passionately pursue the fulfillment of their dream(s), especially in the context of community. it completely energizes me! i'm curious about how all this will fold together. 

race report | born to run ultramarathon 10-miler

it was the first ever born to run ultramarathon. i signed up because i inhaled the book last year, and because it was the inaugural race. plus, i didn't want to miss out on running alongside caballo blanco (even though i felt a bit too shy to say hello. i did manage to squeeze out a smile). 


we camped at the east creek ranch in los olivos on friday, and woke up at 4:45am to some borderline obnoxious/delightful hill billy music. we got ready in the darkness, was greeted by a human chicken, took a ridiculously funny oath (to the effect of, "...if i die, it's my fucking fault"), and took off.


it was a surprisingly easy 10 miles. 
stunning. 
quiet. 
peaceful. 
my heart was really really happy.


b/c of my current injury, my approach was to: stop when i need to (in case my plantar fasciitis flared up), take it easy, and simply enjoy running through this new space. no pressure. no care about time or pace. just space to be.


turns out, i finished the route and came in 1st female in my age range!


& for fun, here are my stats:
7th female
20/40 overall
1st female in 20-29 age group
total time of 1:41

*psst, there were only two of us in my category.


and of course, we camped and played along the way back home.

running update part i.5 of ii.

i found it.
it found me.
we found each other.

this is my first ultra that i'm going to run: headlands 50K

i've just entered into the space that caused my heart to beat just a little bit faster.
*grinning

the schedule's pretty ambitious. i have two months to train.
i hope my legs are ready and they can hang in for the ride...

last week's mileage (~37.5 over two days) started showing some signs of the return of shin splints (ss), which was a bit disheartening. last year, i had a horrible case of the ss that took me out from running for a couple weeks while training for big sur marathon. but i had a longer time frame to work with so two weeks wasn't so bad. i think for this race, even one week of not running will come at some cost.

i feel a bit exposed now that i've said my goal on the internet because if it doesn't work out, i'll have disappointment to share. but, when i do finish the race, i hope to have an good story.

now, who's going to join me? ; )

running update, part i of ii.

so, i've been kinda obsessed with running lately.

[aside]
ok...if you know me, you know that's not particularly surprising news. i can get a little (the operative word here) ocd with things i'm super intrigued by. i can't help it. i'm an all-or-nothing kinda girl, who's learning to navigate the grey.

[back to the topic]
so at the start of this year, i started gathering ingredients for the most delicious stew. i gave myself 5 years to make it because i knew it would take a while. i started looking for rare ingredients like passion, love, courage, fortitude, bravery and the like, because the stew i'm going to cook up is an ultramarathon. i said it. o yes, i did. ultramarathon. (see definition below)

i'm surprised that the desire to run one has manifested so quickly, even given my extended timeline of 5 years! 6 months from giving myself permission to genuinely start thinking about it, i'm convinced i will set out to do run a 50k this fall and hopefully a 50m by mid-2011.

my inspiration has stemmed largely from reading born to run and ultramarathon man this past month. utterly engrossed, i could not put the books down. (i even have a pic with the author of ultramarathon man, dean karnazes, at the start of the relay.)

[the inception]
you might be wondering where the heck did the idea of running an ultra even come into place. well....i remember being set up on a blind date a while back, after i had met charlie engle. at the time, i was completely captivated by running, having had literally converted from hating it.

so this guy (let's call him pdx for fun b/c he looked like a poster child for men from portland: you know...white, flannel shirt, northface outerwear, scruffy face, wool driving cap, drinks lots of coffee, loves red wine, & drives a suburu) was a runner, training for a 50-miler at the time. the morning i met him, i had a run a dozen miles or so and thought that was a lot. well, that same morning, he had run a marathon! - as a mere training run.

part of me was stunned by his level of training and commitment. (alright alright, i was wholly impressed!) but beside that point, that night a seed was planted deep down inside. if this normal guy could run 50 miles, could i?

[back to the present]
well, that seed's been underground, diligently growing all this time. and now, it's sprouting something unexpected and delightful. i am committed. determined. focused. confident. & enthralled. (not to mention....scared shitless.)

this weekend, i ran just over 26 miles. not because i'm training for anything but because i felt it brewing inside of me. my body, mind, spirit wanted it bad and i was willing to go there. the crazy thing is that i can't wait to do it again. i want to get lost on trails, running with all of my heart pushing my whole self in ways i haven't before. i can imagine how challenging and satisfying it will be & i'm thrilled by the possibility.

today i read about this woman Krissy Moehl, running for 7 hours to finish a trail with friends and without hesitation, the first thought out of my head was, "wow, i want to do that too!"this is where i'm at.

i've been doing a lot of research to map out what the next few months might look like and have learned something quite interesting....not by the download of information, but by a big omission on practically every major ultra website. there are almost no asian-american women ultra runners who are widely represented in the space. as far as i can tell, the ultra world is dominated by white men and women. i'm saddened by that, and curious as to what's going on here. i'll have to do some more investigating. more to come on that topic in part ii of my running update.

thanks for catching up and reading about my new adventure.

xo
-liz

ps. needless to say, it didn't work out with pdx. (for you curious folk.) ; )


[definition]
an ultramarathon. defined as anything beyond 26.2, the ultrarunner community doesn't really consider a 50K (~31 miles, for example) as an ultra. the 50-miler is where it's at.