j-lyn's corner

Ran start of Henry's Fork TH in Uinta's towards Kings and hiked with my kids.

THE TRIPLE CROWN... don don doooooooooon~! 8:46 TH to TH.

Report on the blog is up: http://jennilyneaton.blogspot.com/2013/08/utah-triple-crown.html

Before that I wrote a summary:

I summited my first 13er (then my 2nd, then my 3rd) which also happen to be the three highest peaks in Utah. The cool kids link them up and call it the triple crown. Since I want to be cool like the cool kids...

I first caught wind of a triple crown blog post (Jun's) within a couple weeks of first moving here a year ago. "Wow," I thought to myself. "I have to do that sometime." I didn't know if I could. Hell, I hadn't been above 12,000ft until I ran the triple C! Was I going to get sick? What if I suck? What if I twisted my ankle and cried like a baby? Lightning was on the forecast?! 

It didn't help my nervousness/ complete lack of confidence that the week before I went up to (but didn't run) the Quest for King's marathon... and watched as my friends/running partners ran King's peak in 7-9 hours. Who was I to even attempt to run the same peak, PLUS TWO MORE 13ers  in the same amount of time? I spent a week dwelling on it.

So when we got to the top of each Summit and Jun was telling me we were ahead of the men's FKT splits, I ignored him. My goal was not a time. I didn't want to know splits. I wanted to put in a solid effort and keep my breathing easy. Eat every 30min. Get to the top. Suck on bacon to keep the tummy happy. Call the boys pansy-ass boys for making Gilbert sound harder than it was. Etc.

I lost my lead on men's after a huge bonk after S. Kings. I was told usually it was 45min from Kings to S. Kings. I did it in 28min. Lightning clouds were circling S. Kings, it was hailing and snowing, and we hurried. I didn't eat for 90min or so. I just wanted to tag the peak and get down to the pass before the lightning let loose and the mountains got pummeled. So we hit the scree face of Kings, I bonked, fell a few times, and was moving really slowly. I think if I do it again I'd rather go back up and down Kings or wait til there was a snow field to glissade. I lost 1/2 hour just traversing that scree field. I handled all the other boulders, scrambling and scree... But that miserable one hurt. I think it was the moisture, the bonk, and the mental blocks of danger that ultimately made me crash so hard. Whatever. We got off the pass and my mood improved, we clocked a few fast miles, then.... the last 5. I had heard they were awful, but OH MAN. I agree with the sentiment that hell would be running those last 5 for eternity. So hard to transition from peak bagging to turnover and super technical trail, that you think is downhill but really isn't it's just a slice of hell that never ends.

Then it ended.

It was easily my most favorite run I've ever done. Don't listen to the bitter boys, Gilbert was not awful, and it was actually my favorite. Might be because I was practically jumping for joy through all of the false summits/ forever boulders because I was thrilled I didn't have altitude sickness.

I can't wait to do it again. Early July 2014 I hope to go back and shave 20-30min off my (very soft) time. So glad Jun came and gave me the tour. I probably would have accidentally summitted Gunsight instead of Gilbert and missed all the good fun. Can't wait to do it again. Thanks to Crockett and Jun for helping establish (historically) the best run I've ever been blessed to do.

My kids and I mtn biked around Mirror Lake. By biked I mean they pushed their bikes and I "ran" carrying more fuel than I would for a 20mile run so I could feed them snacks every quarter mile.

 It was terribly rocky. While they handled the downhill technical well (much to Mommy's fright... and pride...) some of the uphill and flatter terrain had them worried about completing the task.

So I pulled out the iPhone and started making a music video of them. It's amazing how a song they love (Pompeii) and a camera make all the tears go away and bring back the fun.

We had a great convo on the city of Pompeii, which they now want to explore in person and online with me. I am loving this- talking, playing, discovering with my boys. To think it goes by so fast, and they're already almost halfway grown...

Ran to Naturalist Basin with Milar in the Uintas. He was feeling great which meant I acutally had to run. After about 3 miles my legs were "broken in" again and moving felt fluid. We talked trash sporadically between gasping at the thin air at 10,000ft. We enjoyed the quiet. After rough days for both of us over the weekend, it was nice to hit the silence and breathing and forward motion with a friend.

I was starving and spent the last 30min of the run verbalizing recipe types in my head as they came to me for new running food ideas. I apparently hadn't rebuilt my glycogen stores after the Triple Crown and ate like an animal after. Really. I think I downed at least 2,000 calories in 15min. Making great progress on my 6 pack goals really. Isn't inhaling more food than is usually consumed in a day in a breath part of the weight loss plan? No? C'mon. Really? High metabolism? I'm digging here. Kind of like the time I ate nothing but Nutella for 3 days. My children's diet was only enhanced by Cheerios for those 3 days. At least they were organic cheerios. Parent of the year, I know.

After the run my kids and I sat in the car in heavy hail for two hours before hiking in the hail to Ruth Lake to find their Daddy who was out trying to climb between clouds. We made jokes about the "little mean ice balls." The boys are going to be as tough as nails by the time they're teens, just like their Daddy who caught a fish with his bare hands that morning for our breakfast.

Ran at DD. Listened to music and ran hard. I felt free. It wasn't easy, and I didn't understand why I averaged an 8:10 on the trail when my legs were entirely trashed and I had down jumps/squats earlier that had only increased the trashiness. The little hills felt like mountains and yet my legs swallowed them.

Sometimes after a solid recovery run (after a big day) I feel like there's something in me that needs to be "unleashed" after running so long so slow in an ultra distance. So I unleashed it.

By mile 5 I thought I went 1 mile too far but had to get home anyways. Felt good to "get it out," whatever it was I needed to get out.

Neasts said, "it'll be easy." Neasts said, "recovery run pace for sure." Neasts LIES. But she's a big girl ultrarunner now, and I guess it comes with the territory. It's the unsaid rule of ultrarunning- lies are perfectly acceptable if it makes someone else run.

Big crew up VB. You know how ET puts out his finger and goes "Owoooouch?" Yeah, it was like that. I don't know how my legs kept up with the others. I sucked in air and couldn't contribute much to the uphill convo other than a comment here or there so everyone would know I was still alive. But I think the happy runner part of me curled up inside and died.

Then we ran down. Wheeeeee. The last 1/2 mile or so I needed a bathroom, but just cut back pace and decided to wait til I got home. Squatting sounded too painful.

I spent the rest of the day walking like I had just ran a marathon or rode a horse all day, gingerly taking steps because EVERYTHING hurt. Apparently I not only failed to rebuild my glycogen stores (re: starving) I apparently am still worked over from the Triple C and my body can't cope with additional stress, even if it is "normal" running for me. I'm supposed to take a couple days off, up the amino acids and antioxidants. Take baths. Read books. TV? Sold.

But I may run Friday. "Recovery pace for sure." 

I broke the cardinal rule and drove to go road running. For shame.

 Met Neasts for an easy run on the JRP. True to her word (this time) we kept a steady 8:30 pace. We even stopped for a sip of water. Chatter was about the usual pre-race jitters, I had extra nerves because I have the I'm-not-recovered-yet plus the oh-crap-100-miles-soon combo which I've never experienced. It's like heart burn in your brain.

Afterwards was a pleasant breakfast with books, authors, and words. Of course words are included. They're part of conversation. 

I thought maybe just maybe my glycogen stores were replenished, because I wasn't starving during the run (and I ditched breakfast, gotta take advantage of sleeping in and road running when I can). But sure enough I sat down in the truck after running and wanted to eat a horse. Hunger kicks in the primal instinct for me. Must. Eat. Possibly because of the hypoglycemia? Ever hear about that time I did desert survival and had no food or water for 3 days while hiking 30 miles a day and by day 2 I tried (unsuccessfully) to catch and kill a lizard to drink it's blood? I was a vegetarian then too. Instincts... Fortunately I was fed a yummy carmel macchiato and a bagel and all the world was well again.

see how I separated the miles? that's because I ran 5 of the fastest, most blood-pounding WTF I'm going to die miles of my life. otherwise I wouldn't have separated them.

No, I didn't give up on the blog, I just wasn't running. Rest, a novel idea, I know. But I needed fresh legs to attempt the break the consecutive summits on Timp record.

Yeah, so that monsoon storm.... shorted me. full report is up: http://jennilyneaton.blogspot.com/2013/08/failures-and-futures-and-other-things-i.html

4 VERY slow miles early Sunday AM.  Early?! I went to bed at 1am (wasn't sleepy at all...) and still woke up at 6am sharp. C'mon, self! Sleep darnit!

It's kind of eerie in Utah early on a Sunday morning. I ran through my whole neighborhood and didn't see a soul until I ran into a couple of dog walkers at Dimple Dell.

I think I did a 9:30 pace. Usually after something long my body wants to do a tempo run before a recovery run, but that wasn't the case this time. Something about PR'ing my 5k  by probably 4 min while fleeing lightning on something that once was a trail but instead was a mini river must've gotten my "need for speed" out of me at the end of Friday's run. That's a long sentence. It could be considered a run-on sentence, since it has multiple clauses. Fantastic. I should be a writer.

I've made this goal to start actually running again instead of just slogging around in the mountains having picnics.

So, I went out on PAVED path in light rain (no iPod, insert sad face). I didn't have much time so I settled for a 1/2 mile warm up. Then I did 4x800m repeats with 1/3mile recovery. My supposed "goal" times should be 3:08-3:12, but I figured since there was a lot of wind and I just ran 40 some-odd miles up and down and up and down and up and down MFT (Mount Freakin Timpanogos) so I should shoot for something a little slower. 

In case you're wondering, I hate running fast. Sucks. So, here is what goes through the mind of a "slow picnic peak baggers" mind while she runs lame-o repeats:

Repeat 1: Hey, look at me! I'm running fast! Shoot, am I done yet? 1/3 mile? you're kidding me? Oh, look at the birds! I should run Pfiefferhorn Wednesday morning. and Lone Peak on Saturday. Oops, I'm supposed to be running fast... time to pump the arms again. -3:19

Repeat 2: Ok, this time, the wind is at my back. Gonna crush it. Ugh, this is stupid. This is stupider than bush-whacking. I hate this. ooOOOo! I did it! I ran fast! -3:12

Repeat 3: I wonder which is worse, this or bush-whacking through scrub oak. Definitely this. I'd take an hour of scrub-oak over an hour of this any day. Unless it's armpit deep scrub oak. That just sucks. -3:24

Repeat 4: Last one! Don't suck as much as the last one. Don't suck as much as the last one. I wish there was a creek to dip in. Where's the snacks?! This isn't even running it's just torture! -3:18

I know, distance runners are supposed to do more than 4 repeats. But I just did MFT! Ugh. Next week I'll do more. With music. So awful.

....But it dawned on me- when I ran my fast (for me fast) road races my training was harder and the races (compared to long ultra sufferfests) were easier. Maybe I should make training for my "fast" sort of "flat" ultras suck a little more and I'll be able race faster and the race won't hurt as much. Maybe.

do you see that sleep time? aw, yeah! first time in over 2 weeks sleeping more than 4-5 hours of broken sleep. NO SLEEPING PILL EITHER. boo-ya.

I woke up at 5am to go on a recovery run. Checked my messages and my last partner bailed. So I went back to sleep, and actually fell asleep. Miraculous.

Best recovery run ever. My co-workers told me I look like I'm glowing today. Ha.

Went up my first ever Pfiefferhorn summit with Jun and Jacob. On the way up I noticed that while my legs felt good, I was breathing a lot harder than I should be at such an easy pace. Stupid MFT (Mount Freaking Timp repeats). Stopped at the ridgeline to scout out and discuss the cottonwood traverse, the shady parts, access points, etc. I know, I know. WURL? But it's such a beautiful line....

Jacob has an insane fear of heights and said he wouldn't summit so I made it a personal goal to make sure he did. :) He did. Jun and I spotted him on the couple 4th class moves and went pretty very slow.

I tried to pick up the pace after we got down pass the lake, and took off once or twice (both Jun and Jacob are excellent downhill runners) but neither of them followed suit. Oh well. I never was the kind of girl the guys chase. So I hung back to be one of the "dudes." Good thing I had my trucker hat on.

Because I am a glutton for suffering I decided to run up LCC Creek trail after. I usually make it a goal to never walk going up, but this time hit a huge bonk (wasn't doing so hot on the calories/salt) and walked a couple of times. Still hit the turn around only a min slower than my PR and faster than most of the times I run up that "easy." Go figure.

Picked up pace and hammered down, for a total of 1:10. Not bad for totally trashed legs. I think I'm going to have to bail on my mileage goal for the week (60+). Pfieff (with stopping for 10-15min to scout for WURL) took about 3:30... and doing Lone Peak isn't exactly going to be "short" time-wise either. In the amount of time I ran today I could've easily ran double the mileage on a flatter trail. And in the amount of time it will take to do Lone Peak again I could triple + the miles on a flatter trail. But on the flip side... the peaks are pretty neat-o. Pfieff is going to be a favorite.

I can easily see that by next summer I will have transformed from an ultrarunner to a peak bagger, especially with my goals for next year. Thank goodnes too, I think doing regular speedwork the month of September will nearly kill me.

sometimes you sacrifice the time for a real run to take your kids out. boys biked and I ran. worth every minute and every mile I missed. We stopped at the park to play, and had to kiss a few boo-boos. Took about an hour.

I tried Neasts great idea for an "Easy" tempo run: 2 warm up, 3 hard, 2 cool down.

Have I mentioned I don't know how to pace anymore? I've gotten so used to the mountain and trail dictating what speeds to run that I no longer grasp the meaning of consistency.

So off to Dimple Dell I go (after speedwork on asphalt, couldn't bear to do a tempo run on it too, ugh.) I knew that the soft sand/mulch/hills would ruin my goal AP (look at me, throwing around the roadie lingo) but a small price to pay to make an unbearable run more bearable. I was giving up another go on LCC Creek for this, after all.

After two miles of interuppted warm-up (took kids to school) I paused to prep. You'd think I was getting ready to climb Everest or something, I was so nervous and reluctant. A little Rusted Root (send me on my way) to either soothe the nerves or make it seem cooler, and I pushed the button to start tracking.

I was hoping for anything averaging sub 8 (my fastest AP for anything @ DD was 8:10) but shooting for a 7:30. Of course I ran the first half mile at a 6:45 and wanted to burn out, but I kept going. It was kind of awful. At 1.7 I needed the potty (thank heavens!) so I paused the time. Don't know if that's "legal" in speed mode, but oh well.

Ended up with about a 7:37 pace for the 3 miles, which given terrain, isn't bad. Isn't great either.... But still only a week after Timp repeats. I walked up the hill to the dog park, deliriously thirsty. I checked my phone, it was 83F! Only a week ago I was on Timp in 38F in a torrential downpour trying to avoid becoming an ice pop.

While getting a drink a saw a cute jogger. I finished drinking and she had a lead, but decided to pull her in to kill the time on the way back home. I passed her doing a 7:50. Ooops. Then I did a 10:40. Again.... no sense of pacing.

I need help. This speed training stuff is hard. I need to leech paces and training routines off of someone while I try to get a handle on it. Anyone? ;)

http://jennilyneaton.blogspot.com/2013/09/navigational-hazards-and-saturdays.html

Enjoy. Oh, and there's some really embarassing pics of Neasts and I on there. I tell you that just in case you weren't going to click the link.

Because now you will.