Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon, Marathon #12, State #8

What was awesome about this race:
* The T-shirt was wonderfully soft, one of my very favorites.
* The course was sunny but not ever hot. There was a nice breeze at all times that helped it not become hot, ever.
*EVERYONE from the race directors to the volunteers were just so accommodating and lovely. Loved each and every one of them!!! I'd go back just to thank them all over again.
* Their choice of electrolytes and nutrition was easy on the stomach and now my new choice of electrolytes.
* The ease in which to get to start line (yellow busses as shuttles)
* The music at the start line was awesome!!


What could be improved:
* This was a race, I felt, primarily suited for the mudpack and front runners. Lots of BQ seekers in the crowd. As a back, back of the packer, I did not see many people that looked like me.
* I assumed the expo would be larger and would sell KT tape and GU so I did not pack those things. I ended up having to borrow them from a fellow runner.
* The course seriously needs to not have that loop at the end, so that the last runners do not run into trouble once the roads open back up.



The hotel I stayed at, Beau Rivage, was dressed for the holidays. 

Blast from the past!

Even a waving Santa!!

This is the location for the expo. It was small but the items in it were great. 

You know you are in the south when you see trees like these....anyone who knows me knows I lOOOOVVVEEE trees. 

I was just drooling over the greens.....in December!!

Heather and I tried to go to Whole Foods, and this is where Waze took us...LOL.... 

Some sightseeing....

A ceramics studio.....

We finally make it to the hotel and are ready to relax for the evening. 

Below us, casinos are just beginning. 

Alarm goes off on Sunday and this is me trying to look "ready"

Eerie sight. Runners waiting at dawn for portages-potties. 

And the sun finally rises....and its time to start...

The sun peeks through the clouds and into the horizon. 

I only see a few hundred runners for the full.....gulp. 

Police escort for the first 13 miles..... 

Heather helping me make the last few yards....

so freaking glad it's over

#12 done.... now I seriously need to work on getting faster because I do not plan on being last-ish ever again. 

Best part of racing is after racing.... a well-deserved bath!!!

Ready to catch my plane and taking silly pics. 

I am going to miss all this decor....

Goodbye Mississippi!! View from my hotel. 

Notes one training for a 48 hour race

First,  I should explain what my goal is. My goal is to do 101 miles within this time frame, no more, no less. Once I complete this milage I plan to stop. Below are my notes from my online research into how to train for this.....

*  Plan for one or more naps of 30 minutes to several hours. 
*  Have a person wake you
*  Run until you can't keep eyes open anymore. 
* Scheduled walking breaks 
* maybe 15 minute run, 5 walk? (one option) Or, "power-walk a mile every half hour."
* Start conservatively and end strong 
* Eat small portions to avoid stomach problems 
* Add Electrolyte solution that agrees with you
* Second night is the toughest- hallucinations 
* It will show you your weakest part of your body 
* Take a few days off work 
* Immunity will be greatly reduced for several weeks after (note to self-maybe juice a lot before)
* "I am on record as noting that a lot of finishing or persevering in ultras, particularly at 100mi, is between the ears, not below the waist."
* "all I really need is about 15 minutes sleep to clear the brain" and "naps of 10-15 minutes are all you need.
for me, one of those was usually sufficient for 48 hours." * "....the idea of sleeping and waking up really sore and stiff is correct. the idea that you wont get moving again is incorrect."
* ".....you dont have to go fast, but you need to go as much as possible."
* sleep deprivation is the hardest part 
* Fight the impulse to rack up miles early. 
* Incorporate walking breaks from the start to keep your legs as fresh as possible. 
* Stick with your race strategy. Eat and drink adequate calories.
* "the feeling of “we’re all in this mess together” is intense."
* "I escaped completely chaffe-free thanks to frequently reapplying Body Glide and changing into clean clothes every now and then. My feet were in pretty good shape. I changed my lightweight socks and covered my feet with Skin Glide every 8-ish hours"



Sources:thank you!!
*http://marathonandbeyond.com/choices/HAGEN2.htm
* http://stevetursi.blogspot.com/2010/04/48-hour-strategy.html
* https://www.insider.com/global-running-day-ultra-runner-how-to-run
*  https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20813009/ask-the-coaches-strategy-for-a-200-mile-race/
* https://gregsalvesen.com/2015/04/06/getting-loopy-at-the-pickled-feet-48-hour/

100 miler here I come

Prepping for a workout

55 degrees, rainy 10 miler

The weekly long run, the battle between mind and body

Mind and the body.... who is in control?
The morning of a long run the body is screaming, 
"I cannot do this, let's just go back to bed and curl up and sleep."
The last hour of a long run my mind is triumphantly celebrating having proved the body wrong. 
Tomorrow I am hoping for it to be such a day...
I have 18 miles planned and who knows how this will get done but all arrangements will be made to get this in motion. 

Doing the right thing is easy

                      Doing the right thing is easy and clear, when you don't make a decision filled with fear. I belong to too many teacher pages on FB and in one of them a woman posts a question. Should she report her coworker for verbally and physically abusing the kids they both care for and risk losing her job. Making this decision is super easy once you know how to make decisions. All decisions made out of fear are by nature, fogged. So one must put aside all fear to be able to clearly see what is the best decision for all situations. 

                      As a runner, I have experienced very little fear running alone in the dark mornings. In fact, I have always felt perfectly at home running, alone, as a woman. Now, the trails at night, that is another story. Yet, the other night, in an attempt to run 16 miles starting at 3:30pm, a friend and I got caught in the pitch darkness of the woods. With the exception of frogs suddenly filling in the trail as it began to cool, I felt perfectly fine running in the trails.....as long as I was with someone. Whether or not I'd venture there, in the dark, on my own is another story. 

                         On that note, I am finishing my wine and heading off to bed to try to get a run before work in the morning. Happy runs!

Out and backs....and continuous loop races, my favorites...

             Yesterday, I ran 4 times around a four mile lake with a friend and it was emotionally very tough. What made it so tough was the anticipation of the rougher areas and some areas of steep hills and this got me thinking how much I miss my out and back long runs. I have also done a point-to-point race, like the Marine Corps Marathon, where no two places are the same (except for a few areas of intersection) and those too are tougher. But something about the out and back that makes it a lot less emotionally taxing. The only time I do not mind a continuous loop is when it's flat and when it's part of a race because after a while you don't know who is faster than who, and who is on what lap. The continuous loop race is a great equalizer... we are blind to who is fastest and with that piece of information missing we are suddenly all the same. 


              I am debating doing another attempt at the100K at the Pistol Ultra in Tennessee in 2021. The race is so well organized and I absolutely love the race directors there and the same people come every year to run it.... the environment is just the best.... part of the reason I am debating is because I have another larger goal in mind, working on my 50 states marathon membership and I already have the state of Tennessee under my belt, plus all the expenses to get there, get a hotel, and run it add up to quite a lot while not advancing my larger goal. But I have time to decide, it's not even 2020 yet. 

Finding relationships that feed our soul.....

Finding new friendships is just like dating to find a partner. 
You try someone on and weigh the possibilities, will this person be a plus or a minus?
A plus is having a person beside you laughing at the same jokes
A plus is someone whose very presence makes up want to be better
A plus is ALWAYS someone we respect..... 
A plus is having someone on your side rooting for your success in whatever way they can.... 
A plus is someone who DOES NOT make YOU their obsession...
(stay clear of these clowns....nothing creepier that someone who thinks you complete them.......that is a PURE American lie/myth that leads you to burn and crash fast)
A plus is someone that is as passionate about ANYTHING (can be bugs for all I care, but it cannot be YOU). 

NOW, A minus is a person who feels life owes him/her and who very often has woven a whole complicated life narrative in which their actions are a direct warped response to all the hurt they've lived. RUN!! like NOW!!!
A minus is a person who acts like they know better than you (You can know more than me, but don't be a jerk; contempt is poison to all relationships). 
A minus is any behavior that is non-congruent to past behaviors. In English we know this as"sketchy". 
A minus is an uneven response to a tough situation....or even traffic. 

With rules so high and deep no wonder we have a hard time finding our tribe.... But once we do it's like butta'!  

Hamstring Exercises and Stretches that work for me

                I have an injury and I've learned how to address it, on my own. Every time I'd sit for a long time I'd experience this dull pain in my hamstring and my upper back thigh of my right leg. 


           Two long runs ago, after 8 miles, I felt as if I ran any longer my hamstring would snap, and that is a scary feeling. I ended up walking the rest of that run. Then I remembered that this past year I had similar pain and it went away after I started stretching again. So, instead of running on one weekday runs I chose to go to the gym instead and after doing "arms" I did the hamstring machine:

and the squat machine to address this issue. 


As far as stretches, I love doing the hamstring stretch using a counter. 


and.....I also love the bend-over stretch using the same counter. 

 
I am very sure there are hundreds that address these issues but these are MY go-tos when this pain resurfaces.