Ho Ho Ho Run!!

The trails dried up and froze just enough for us to get one last run on them in 2014!!  Time for our Christmas run.  Last year we ran the entire run with the Santa Headbands on!  This year they were used only for one quick pic when we got out of the car!

It's also a tradition to wear our Santa socks.  Kris REALLY wanted to make hers show!  She went through ALOT to have them clean for today's run.  Yesterday one of her grandkids threw them in the toilet.  She was up ALL night getting them clean.  She was EXTRA angry at Michele for not wearing hers!

The run was great! Just over 12 miles.  We were very slow, but enjoyed ourselves.  We added decorations to the trail Christmas tree.

As always the views are spectacular.....

And the conversation is lively and loud!  We still can't agree on  WHO gets the longer walk break!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2nd Annual Poker Run

Today was our 2nd annual Poker run.  Here is a brief description:

Throughout the year we had to declare 3 runs that we would run each week.
It had to vary every week.
For every run you missed you had to add a quarter to the "jar"

Today we ran 7 miles.  At each mile we drew a card.  The best 5 card hand would win the jar of coins and a cool medal.

Ready to run!

We decided to run the Rocky Canyon Road due to all of the days of rain that we have been having.  We started 15 minutes late because Michele had to turn around and go home for her rain jacket when Kris declared that she could seen rain clouds over the foot hills. (note: it did not rain one drop on us).

The water in the creek was higher than we had EVER seen!

The run off from the side trails convinced us that we took the right route.

Michele and Kris both spotted a dollar bill on the run.
 They both fought over who saw it first.  It went into the Runopoly jar for the winner.

At the end of the run the last card was drawn.  Lucky Lucky guess who won!

We exchanged Christmas gifts in the car, had a baby sprite, and salted pretzel cookies.  I have the best running friends ever!!!

Run the Highway, Up the Yuck, Down the Side and through the Reds....... WHAT?

HAPPY BLACK FRIDAY

We spend it running on trails not through stores!

As you run trails with your friends, you tend to give trails your own name.  It can be because of an event that happened there, or simply a way that helps you remember.  Our run today is a perfect example.   Our run today could be described as follows:

From the upper parking lot, run the Highway, instead of going to the lunch box we'll go up the Yuck, a nice easy run down the Side and finish through the Reds, leaving out Chickadee this time.

To anyone else it sounds like jibberish..... but to us..... perfect clarity!

Another run we love is near Veterans.  Some of those trails include; the hill Kris almost died on, Crow Corner and the Forgotten Switch backs,

The only problem we run into is when we find ourselves having to explain a trail to someone else.  It is tough to explain to someone how to get to suicide hill when you forget it's real name.  But usually we can remember.

That is one of the great things about running.  You can be literally in your own world, naming all the trails and turns however you want to!

Our run today started with a bet as to how many cars would be in the parking lot.  Michele won with the guess of 3 cars, 2 dogs.  Amazing that she got that right!  Then she chanted "3 cars - 2 dogs"  for like 10 minutes! Here she is thinking it is funny and Kris thinking it is annoying!

Here we are about to go "up the YUCK!"  It is a really steep motorcycle trail.

A portion of "The Yuck".

Kris running "through the Red".

Michele walking through the Red and announcing that she was not tired....she was DANGEROUS!

It was a great day out there on the trails today, so warm for the end of November!  We all wished we had warn shorts!!  As the run ended Michele was swaying from one side of the trail to another, she was mumbling about how everything we said didn't make sense and that she MUST have a fever!  As I write this I think she is most likely drugged up on cold medicine.  But the good news is a trail run will make your cold last half as long.  Just ask Dr. Ryals!

**P.S.  I was told not to include that Kris peed almost immediately after she got out of the car, causing us to all scream!**

Still running.....

I haven't blogged a lot lately.  But that doesn't mean I haven't been running!!!  The weather is turning colder and snowier around here!  Time to bundle up and enjoy those slower runs.

Let's kick 40's BUTT!!

So this year I turned the BIG 40!!  I decided I needed to do something HUGE to really show 40 that I was not old!!  Michele hatched  a plan of running 40 miles on my birthday!  At the time of this plan I had not run any further than 31 miles.

It wasn't long before Michele planned a trip that would have her gone on my birthday.  Now you would think sisters would come before vacations, but apparently that is not the case. So, knowing how difficult it would be to run 40 miles alone we postponed the run until Sept 18th.  Why is that a significant date?  That is my oldest son's 19th birthday.  He is serving a mission in Panama City Panama.  Michele figured I should be doing something that day to distract me from the fact that he was gone.  BINGO!  40 mile run it is.

The plan was that we would run and her husband would meet us at a 16 miles for refueling.  Then we would be on our own.  We were doing a modified out and back.  If you follow this blog you are well aware that things NEVER go as planned.

At mile 16 he was there with wonderful pringles and sprite and water, etc.  Michele announce that she was DONE!  She was going to begin the "back" part of the out and back!  WHAT?!  We still have 6 miles to go before the turn around spot!  Nope, she said she was done.  I was dumb founded!

So now it is time for the Plan B.  Michele would walk/run until she got to Glenwood bridge.  Hen she figured I would by that time have run out and back 6 miles and then gone the additional mileage to catch her.  I didn't think this was plausible but she assured me it was since she would be walking a lot.  Thus Plan B began.

I was on my own now.  It was humid and overcast but not too bad weather wise.  I luckily had my ipod and was doing fairly well both physically and mentally.  I even had a few light showers which were very refreshing.  That's when Plan B fell apart, I was at mile 21.

A text came from Michele; "How close are you to being back?"  WHAT?!  I hadn't even turned around yet.  She was only 4 miles from the Glenwood bridge, I  still had 10 to go!!!  At that moment I decided it was time to turn around and head back.  I could make up the needed mileage at the end.

Plan C was born at my insistence and dare I say anger?  This happened when Michele texted that he had reached Glenwood bridge.  I was currently at mile 30.  I was beginning to slow and have a few walk breaks.  I was 6 miles behind her.  Then I commanded her that she would turn around and start walking towards me and would NOT stop until she saw me.  Thus Plan C began.

Michele kept textng me to see what mileage I was at, etc.  I forgot to tell her that part of Plan C was that I would ignore her text messages.  And I just kept running.

Finally we met up at about 33 on my watch (no idea what Michele's mileage was at this point).  Finally I wasn't on my own anymore. Running with someone else to support and talk to you is 100% easier.

7 miles to go....we then instituted Plan D.  Run a little, walk a lot!  I was running out of water and out of steam! But because my sister was back with me I knew I could do it!

6 miles to go....... 5..........4..........3..............2..........1...................

And just like that..... I kicked 40's BUTT!!!

Outlaw Trail Ultra Half Marathon

A half marathon that is considered an ultra?  Well this one was.  We started at Diamond Jack Campground just outside of Twin Falls.  We were pumped to run, all be it super tired.  We had left Boise at 4:15 AM yawn!

Please note:  I have been looking for these bottles for WEEKS!!!!

We are getting pretty good at our pre-race "selfies"!

Kris made a HUGE mess in Michele's car!!

We are ready to run!!

Start line race directions.  We actually didn't really pay attention!

The race started and we soon realized that it was a lot of uphill to start.  So we played it smart and WALKED!  Some running when it allowed.  But we are smart runners now and we know...save your legs for the downhill!!

When we reached mile 3.5 it was the first, last and only aid station.  I didn't need aid yet, neither did Michele.  But Kris needed to use the bathroom.  Michele told me to keep running and said, "Kris said she will catch up."  So I did.  When Kris came out of the porta-potty she had no idea we had left her.  She couldn't believe we ditched her.  So she thought, she will catch up.

From here there was more running.  There was a lot of over growth and we were running through sage brush, low hanging branches and other vegetation.  Michele said she was glad I was in front of her because that made me Tick patrol!  They would either attach to me or I would knock them off the bushes as I ran by.  So glad to be of service to a fellow runner!

Here is the problem I learned with having Michele run behind me. I would run until I would get to the base of a big hill or a hill that was covered in loose rock.  Then I would start walking.  Michele would start walking IMMEDIATELY when I started to walk.  I assumed that she would also run to the base of the hill and THEN begin her walk.  This would not be too big of a problem if she stayed consistent with this practice.  That would mean when I started to run at the top of the hill she would then start running WHEN I did.  No.  She would wait and run when she passed the landmark at which I began my run.

I slowly began to notice this problem during the race.  I began to notice what she was doing.  So..... I stretched my walk after the hill until it was flat for both of us.  Then I started to run thinking "ok it's flat" that she would start also.  Nope she would wait until the landmark.  She was killing me!!  But since this race, I have lectured and corrected her and it should NEVER happen this way again!!

Some of our beautiful scenery:

A few fun things we will always remember about this race:

1.  If you run smart, you will pass people.  We passed 10-12 on the final downhill.
2.  If you yell hello to Michele when you are below her on a switch back, she will look up in the air thinking you are a bell.
3.  When Michele falls, she does it Ninja style!
4.  Kris saw a runner fall and saved the runners life!!
5.  I half-fell but I am more than ninja and didn't fall.  Hurt my hip.  Later when I was stretching it I could not walk and my dear friend Kris LAUGHED AT ME!
6.  Michele got a ride back to the start line where the car was from a 15 year old boy who JUST got his license
7.  The shirts and medals were gender specific which was really nice.
8.  Michele CANNOT drive in construction when it is dark.

Our finish times:
Jodi 2:53
Michele 2:56
Kris 3:01

AWESOME DAY Great RACE!!

Let's Get WILD!!!

For our next adventure we decided to run the "Run Wild Idaho" ultra run.  We selected the 16 mile option and Kris agreed to join us, reluctantly.  Her wonderful husband agreed to drive us to the race start.  None of us were sure if we would be in any shape to make the 2 hours drive home after we ran.

Everyone was too busy to get to early packet pickup a few days before the race.  So my husband offered to do it on his lunch break.  It turned out that you got to PICK your race number.  He chose the numbers 1,2,3.  Of course since I am his "number one" he assigned my name to #1, then Michele #2 and Kris #3.  Kris was mad and said that SHE should be Number 1.  I admit it was fun to rub it in.

We had to leave at 5:30 AM.  We sleepily made our way to the race.  Kris was mad because there was someone else signed up in her age group.  She originally was the only one.  That was why she agreed to run because she could say, regardless of her time, that she WON her age group.  Then during the last week of sign ups, Sparkle Paterson signed up.  Kris wanted me to point her out so she could try and BEAT HER!!! As we pinned on our race numbers... I saw Sparkle.

Michele ran over and introduced herself and told Sparkle all about Kris' secret desire to beat her.  They became instant friends!!

Before the race began we had to help Kris with her indecision as to what to wear.  It was a cold start but we also knew it was going to get hot, very HOT.  She wanted to wear a long sleeve layer but was worried about stopping to take off her pack in order to get the shirt off.  This was her solution:

That got a vote of "NO" from both of us.  In fact I told her I would pretend I didn't know her if she did that and Michele said she wouldn't run with her!!  Kris ran in her tank top and was never cold :)

I had felt so good in the last week of training leading up to the race that I decided I was going to run fast ahead of them!  Sometimes I do this.  So when the race started I took off!  I realized I had NO clue what the course markings were.  When I passed the race director I asked what color of flags we needed to follow; he replied with a smile and no directions.  Well, here is to not getting lost!!

For the first smile I ran hard.  I was in third place overall and the first female.  WOW!  That wow quickly turned to "I think I am going to barf and my calves are going to fall off.  Not sure which will happen first!"  I had foolishly started on an uphill course, with cold muscles, going at a faster pace than I should have.  So......

I stopped.  I turned around and started walking back DOWN the trail.  I will admit I got some strange looks from the other runners and an "Are you OK?"  Yes, I am ok.  I just ran extremely dumb. I only had to walk a few minutes before I saw Michele and Kris.  They both looked concerned and asked, " What's wrong."  My answer was simple, "If this race is going to be as hard as I think it is, I don't want to do it alone."

To say that this race was tough would be a flat out lie.  This race was extreme, mondo hard, leg screamingly intense!!!  It was nearly impossible going up and deadly going down!  After about three miles our orange ribbons that we had been following suddenly tuned pink.  We were sure we had gotten lost somehow and now we were following the 50-miler course.  We stopped a few different times trying to decide what to do.  At one point I even yelled, "Are there any runners out there?" Receiving no response.  Finally the consensus was made that we would simply run/walk/hike for 8 miles.  Then if we did not reach the Aid station Turn around (because we were lost) we would turn around and come back.  Creating our own 16 mile loop.

Luckily, we were not lost and came upon an Aid Station.  HOORAY!!  Onward!  Well it was more like UPWARD, because at that point the trail went STRAIGHT UP for 2 miles.  We had to find sticks in the woods to use as walking sticks....it was that steep!!

Straight Up!!!

Taking a much needed break

Finally a place to sit!

After 3 hours of climbing we reached the Aid Station/ Turn around point.  The workers there were rock stars!  They were so helpful and attentive!  Michele and Kris drank Pickle Juice (gross) and I had a shot of Coca Cola.  We ate some Watermelon (tasted like heaven!)  It was time to descend the mountain.  I looked at my dear running buddies and said, "I will see you at the bottom."  Then I was gone.  Kris had to sit down to get the dirt out that had been collecting.  They decided to stay together.

I think I yelled at least 3 or 4 times at people as I came up behind them going down the hills, "I am coming up behind you FAST!"  That was my warning to let them know I was going too fast to stop. Most of them were really nice about it.  When I got to one of the REALLY steep slopes that we had a tough time climbing up, I realized too late that I was going too fast.  I could not slow down!  I felt myself beginning to lose control and knew I was about to eat dirt BIG TIME.  In desperation I reached out and grabbed for anything that might slow me down;  pine tree branch.  That did the trick.  I held on as I slid.  Then the branch broke off.  I slid the rest of the way down (luckily on my feet) while still holding the broken branch in my hand.  Wow that was actually fun!

The last few miles down the mountain were hot.  The temps had increased greatly and the shad was non existent.  You could really feel yourself getting overheated.  This is where races are more mental than physical.  You had to really get out of your own head at this point in the race.

I finished the race in 4 hours 29 minutes.  Holy cow!  This was only a 16 mile race, so that finish time seriously indicates how tough this was!  I was proud of my performance since I passed 10 people on my way down the mountain.  Kris' husband was there at the finish line with a small slushy Coke for me!  I stood in the river for a long time with my coke waiting for my feet and legs to just go numb.

Michele and Kris came in about 45 minutes later at 5 hours 11 minutes.  As we stood there cheering for them I noticed, Kris only had ONE SHOE ON!! Turns out she had a horrible blister pop and it was so painful she took her shoe off and finished the last 2 miles in a few socks only!

This race was HARD; MONDO HARD.  Definitely the hardest I ave ever done.  It was four days after the race before any of us could walk without grimacing.  But I am glad we did it!  Kris however informed me that this is the last Ultra that she will run with me again, EVER!

RESULTS

JODI:  6th overall   - 5th Female   -  5th in age group
MICHELE:  19th overall  - 12th Female   -  2nd in age group
KRIS:   20th overall  - 13th Female  - 3rd in age group

(My age group is too competitive.  I will be 40 in a couple weeks, then I will be in Michele's age group! YAY)