First Trail run for MINI- ME!

My youngest daughter just turned 12 years old.  She has always expressed an interest in running a half marathon but I would not let her until she was 12.  So it's TIME!  This summer we have embarked on her half-marathon training.  Today marked a momentous day in that training.....

FIRST TRAIL RUN!!

And not only that, it was her first run with the SOLE SISTERS!!

She was very excited.  She even "popped" right out of bed when it was time to get rolling!  We would meet Michele and Kris at the trail head at 6:00 AM (The early time is due to the triple digit heat wave we are in).  Since we live a ways from the trail that meant a very early morning.

We headed to the trails at Veteran's Cemetery because it has the least intense hills!  Kris loved that she was with us because it meant I would go slower!  Little does Kris realize....my 12 year old is faster than me!   Kris also noticed her bright new running shoes.  "Those will not be new for long!  When we are done they will be gross and dirty like mine!"  

LEAVING AUNT MICHELE IN THE DUST!

We ran Junkyard, Rabbit Run, Twisted Sister and D's Chaos.  She loved it so much."MOM can we run these trails everyday?"  That made me swell with pride!  But alas we cannot because the cost in gas would bankrupt me.  LOL

Se was so excited to see some of the things I have blogged about and took pictures of for herself!  She even asked if we would see the Christmas tree that I had told her about in December.

JUNK YARD!

THE CHRISTMAS TREE!  IT STILL HAD 3 ORNAMENTS ON IT!!

STORMIN' MORMON

SHE LOVED SEEING THE BIKE RAMPS!
(Michele would not get up on it with her and Kris was afraid to get down)

STOP TO TAKE IN THE VIEW
Kris declares, "This is my kinda girl!!" 

A FORCED SELFIE!

During the run she kept saying that she was craving a smoothie.  I told her that Michele would have baby Cokes at the end of the run for us.  Whoops, Michele did NOT have baby Cokes for us.  So we went in search of a smoothie!!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I am beyond thrilled to have my little girl share my love of running!  With her oldest brother in Panama I have been missing someone to share my running adventures with!  Her half-marathon is a month away....Can't Wait!!

Losing the use of my hands!

The title of this blog may not be what you think.  I need to explain.

Today is Saturday.  We were supposed to do our long trail run on Wednesday.  However my youngest daughter got very sick and by Wednesday was getting worse.  We postponed the run to be Friday instead. Thursday night i got a grand total of 3 HOURS of sleep.  That's right 3 hours and they were NOT even in a row!  So a long trail on Friday was also a no-go for me.  Michele was so nice to adjust her running schedule AGAIN, and we planned for Saturday morning.  The goal was 14 miles.

The inversion came rolling back in pretty good, so the temps were very cold.  When it's cold out and the sun isn't shining and the air is full of moisture it feels even colder!  I wore my new Brooks gloves to keep my hand warm. Nothing is worse than cold hands when you are running....nothing!

Our plan was a loop that we have really grown to enjoy a lot; Clockwise loop through Seaman's and down the Public trail to the road, run to Veteran's, main Veteran's loop, drop into the bike trail, run Junk Yard, D's Chaos and back out the same way to Seaman's.  With the inversion hanging around there was still some icy artwork to enjoy.

We really felt good and had a great time.  Not used to running on Saturday's there was quite a few more people than we are used to seeing.  For the most part they were all friendly.  The trails were in GREAT shape today!  And we saw a friend... Kim!  She is an awesome tri-athlete!  I am so impressed by people who can swim!

The strangest thing to see today?  A couch.  A fake leather greenish coach.  Someone had hauled it all the way out ad sat it in the middle of the junkyard loop. Not sure why... but there it was.

So...what is the deal with me losing the use of my hands?  They were cold!  Even with my HIGH TECH double layered $40 gloves on!  The cold inversion just froze them.  Towards the ends of our run I could not get them to work correctly.  I lost all dexterity in them!  When I would try to do anything I felt like I could not control my fingers at all.  The kicker came when I wanted to take a picture of us near the end of our run.  Everything I tried to push the button on my phone to take the pic, I would drop my phone.  Luckily I caught it each time. I had absolutely no control of my hands. It took me holding the phone and Michele pushing the button to get a photo of us. WORTH IT!

Death of a Yak Trak

So, my Yak Trak's have "unofficially" broken twice in the last month.  It's unofficial because I have managed to rig them back together each time.  Well on today's run, they finally met their demise.

The plan today was 14-15 miles.  We hit our new favorite loop....Seaman's to Veteran's with some Junk Yard.  We planned on adding a little bit in the bike park to get us to the 14 mile range.  Kris (feeling better) will not run that many miles.  It is not a question of whether or not she CAN she just will NOT.  So, she planned to meet us at Veteran's.

We weren't sure if we would need our Yak Trak's or not.  So we strapped than to or packs and headed out.  Within 10 minutes we knew, they needed to go on.  There was just way too many icy areas.  SO we stopped.  Michele said, "Wouldn't that be awful if one of us dropped a Yak Trak down the cliff."  Then I hear a yell of "Oh no!  I dropped my Yak Trak."  Sure enough while she was trying to put it on, the Yak Trak sling shot out of her hand and down the cliff side.  She had to hike down to retrieve it.

We continued our run uneventfully.  The trail was frozen, then hard dirt, then patchy snow, then torn up hard dirt, then terrible ice.  It was so difficult to get good footing or momentum.  But we plugged along anyway.

We met up with Kris and headed into Veteran's.

 The running was slow today due to the terrible trail conditions, but we still had a good time.  Slowly my Yak Trak's began to uncoil and snap.  By the end of the run..... 13 miles.....they were dead.

 


Time for a new pair!!!

First Annual Poker Run

Here is the idea.....run a 7 mile trail run.  At every mile, draw a card.  The runner with the best 5 card poker hand at the end...WINS!!  Sounds fun couldn't wait.  Unfortunately our dearest running buddy Kris is under the weather and couldn't join us.  We decided to draw her cards for her and text her each time to keep her in the game.  So ready to go!!!

 We put our Yak Trax in our packs, not sure if we wold need them or not.  We started at the Seaman's Parking lot and headed towards the public trail that leads to Veteran's.  At exaclty 0.09 miles in tothe run we had to stop and put our Yak's on.

Our legs felt very heavy. What was going on?  We were feeling like we were in such great shape for our upcoming 20 mile Wilson Creek Race.  Today was a humble stick slapped across our face.  We dragged the first mile!  At mile one we drew our first card.  What did I draw for Kris?

 HAHA how fitting!  We put it away and drew a new one.  Then we trudged along.  Our legs didn't feel normal until probably mile 4.  They were just so heavy and our calves BURNED!!  Each time we stopped to draw a card, we would text a picture to Kris.  She would text and telll me from where on the pile to draw, then she would say I was a cheater, etc.

We finally hit the downhill section of Veteran's and felt some relief in our legs.  I began to feel a weirdness in my foot fall.  It felt as if I was running on a spring, like I was inspector gadget or something.

I suddenly realized what it was.  Darn it!! My Yak Trax broke. Luckily I carry a small leatherman in my pack.  Just a few minutes and it was ready to go!

As we headed up the last hill we had an eerie sight!  Four big black crows on the trail.  Three quickly flew away but on ehung around. He sat on the fence for quite a while.

It was a bit creepy at first.  Then when we got home I googled what it might mean.

"It is said that if you see just one crow it is considered to be unlucky. If you see two black crows it is said to be good luck. If you see three black crows it is said to mean health. If you see four black crows it is said to mean wealth. "

Hey alright!  I could use some wealth!!

We finished by running a total of 7.3 miles.  Our legs were so tired from running in the soft uneven snow.  Our poker hands ended up like this:

Michele

Jodi

Kris

Michele technically won but she said since she was the "game-master"  she couldn't be the winner.  So, YAY I am the winner!!!

After I had to prove to Kris that I did not cheat, it was time for the gift exchange.  We all are so much alike!!  We ALL bought calendars for each other! Too funny!

3 Trail runs in 6 days....LIFE IS GOOD!

After a drought of trails, we have really stepped it up a notch!  Today was our third trail run in just 6 days.  Only one word can describe that....RAD!  Not only that...we are planning our upcoming black Friday run and upgrading it to EPIC!!

See how happy I am!!

Why are we running so may trails and upping our miles?  See this shoe charm?  We are training for ultras now!!!  WooHOO!!


Michele has decided to upgrade her water pack to match me..

Today we parked at Seaman's Gulch and ran the public trail to the canal ditch.  Then we ran the ditch to Veteran's Cemetery.  It was a really chilly and frosty morning.  But luckily also very sunny.

Michele could not get her watch to recognize satellite. When we got to the road the led to Veteran's she made me STOP.  So she could fix it.

IT was 1.75 mils to the Veteran's parking lot.  Then we ran the usual loop and headed back.  We wanted the run to be no less than 8.  So when we re-entered Seaman's we did a little bit extra.  Final mileage.  8.0 exactly.  Good day.

Seven weeks, seven miles, seven piles of horse poo!

 

This week marks SEVEN WEEKS since surgery!!  We had our weekly trail run (which is SO wonderful to have again) and happy day  Kris joined us finally!

We opted to run Veteran's Trail in Eagle.  Michele needed it to be a bit longer so the plan was to do two loops. 

As we approached the trail head, the main gates were still shut.  Michele started to wonder aloud and then to worry as to why they were still shut because it was LIGHT OUT!  I swear she does this every time we run this trail and we start early.  Kris assured her and REMINDED her that they usually open it by 7:00 AM.  Sure enough as we started to run we could hear noises behind us of gates being opened. 

We started the run off right away with a narrative as to why Kris' right butt cheek hurt and why it was then going to slow her down.  She water skied the night before!  So she was sure she would be slowly us down.  Unfortunately, at this point, I am the one slowing us down.  And that's a new place for me to be in.

Next we discussed the different shades of our skin.  I haven't been out much so I have NO color.  Kris has a nice sun-kissed tone to hers, and Michele is SUPER tan!!  Even small children at the zoo point it out to their parents when they see her!

This trail loop is tough.  It is mostly uphill with few breaks.  We took it easy and started climbing.  Within the first half mile we encountered an long row of seven pieces of horse poop.  It was fresh and quite odorous!  I was leading and did the standard warning callout, "HORSE POO!"  Then hopscotched over it.  There was a trail run a while ago when Kris kicked the poo, even after we did the call out.  Happily I heard a call back from behind me a few seconds later, "I didn't kick it!"
(Link to the day Kris kicked the horse poo... HERE)

 

Making it to the top is a great VICTORY!!
We posed for a few pictures.  This is actually
our really sneaky way to take a long break!
 

 

Headed down now, there are a lot of blind corners.  As I headed around one I saw a biker right away.  I called out "BIKER!"  This ended up scaring the biker and he tried to get off the trail as fast as he could, almost wrecking in the process.  When I stepped off and said, "I'm just letting the runners behind me know you are coming."  He laughed and rode on.  Later, we came around a corner and could hear, "Off the trail, get off the trail."  Michele thought someone was yelling at us.  Turned out it was a jogger with a very well trained dog.  She and her dog politely waited for us to pass.

The last encounter of note was with two bikers.  We always step off the trail for bikers, whether it is downhill or uphill.  So we all stepped off the trail for these two gentleman.  As the passed by and thank us the second biker said to Michele, "Thanks Babe!"  Wow.  She was getting hit on. It must be the suntan.

After loop number one we re-hydrated and discussed our plans for loop number two.  I wasn't sure how my endurance would be.  I decided I would run it backwards and then meet up with them, turn around and finish.  Kris decided to go with Michele.  The way this trail looks is almost like a lolli-pop.  SO we ran the first .6 miles together before we split off.  I was in the back with Michele leading.  I thought I was walk a lot.  Turned out I was feeling okay and decided it would be fun to run right on Kris' heels and talk to her.

First I commented how Michele was leaving her behind.  "Look at that, she isn't even looking back to see if you are still coming."  I did this for a minute.  Kris was having a hard time running because I was making her laugh too much.  Then when the hill got steeper I broke into my version of "eye of the tiger".  That did it.  Kris was laughing and yelling at my to be quite!!!  It was fun, for me!

We split off after that.  I headed right and they turned left.  Now it has been a while since I'd run Veteran's.  And even though I had just ran it with Michele and Kris, I still got turned around and messed up.  I ended up on their trail just ahead of them.  So I decided to just stick with them after all.
The funny part about doing this loop twice was that we got to hopscotch over the seven piles of Horse Poo not once, not twice but FOUR times!!!

Victory to finish!  I was happy that I was able to keep pace with my Sole Sisters after all I have been through!  It was neat to look at my watch when we finished....7.77 miles!!!  Seven was a big deal today!!

Something Stinks.....

Today we ran in the Veteran's Cemetery area.  This time we did not get lost in the Cemetery!  The gates were opened and we were able to park at the trail head. Once again we were sporting new running digs that we got for "Christmas".  We looked pretty good out there!

As we started I noticed, something stinks.  I have smelled this smell before on other runs.  It smells like a decomposing road kill or rotting garbage or something. "Maybe it is skunk weed," I told Michele.  "Yep, that probably stinks, hence it's name..skunk weed."  But alas, neither of us knew what skunk weed looked like.  (Yes, we actually do not know EVERYTHING...not yet)

So, I decided to go home and read up on skunk Weed, if it even existed.

I found the following definition: tall herb of the Rocky Mountains having sticky leaves and an offensive smell.  Well, the offensive smell part fits!  Here are some images I found:



Now it seems to actually be a type of Marijuana.  Ha ha, I do NOT think that is what we were smelling!

Then I found an interesting article.....
Suddenly the wind shifts, and a stench floods his nostrils. The smell, a combination of spoiled eggs, dirty laundry and day-old roadkill, washes over him.

YES! This is the smell!!  When I scrolled down for an image to see what it looked like....


OK I KNOW we did NOT see this out there!  So.. the mystery smell will just have to remain that..a mystery.  It couldn't be us I'm smelling..... Could it?