Scarry Perry...

It happened again... with nearly 2 miles to go I felt a calm pass over me. It was time to savor the last mile plus of terrain. Rocky, rooty, hilly terrain.

It had been another long, hot day.

After the race I went up to my friend and former fiancée, Ben, the race director.

"What is the vertical out there? 7,000? Is it really 7,000?"

"It's 7100 gain and 7100 loss, Sophia-- and that's by Garmin."

Kansas. Isn't. Flat.

I've been having a mini love affair with Kansas since January. While it may not boast the majesty of Colorado or ocean waters of California, it is a very livable state, even for a trail runner. Especially for a trail runner.

All winter, sunny and 20. The spring? Full of friends and mudtastic splashes and dashes through the woods. That lasted about 3 weeks. Now it's just hot. And humid, but the friends are still there in force.

I'll take altitude any day. The higher the better, but layer on the humidity and I am pretty miserable. Combine that with my other enemy heat, and it's a brace of misery... yet.... 2014 Sophia seems to be embracing this 1-2 punch. Like a Weeble that Wobbles but won't fall down.

Ok-- if you didn't grow up in the '70's, you won't get the reference. But should watch this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFzhjnjXc2o

At some point in 2013, I started calling the trails at Lake Perry, Scary Perry. Probably after being taken on a wild bike ride on the "easy" trails with Cathy Riedy, the trail stewards wife. I'd bounced, bumped, steered, veered and careened with brake full -on, on  the right and half-on ,  on the left  for 10 miles.

"Sophia, they rate the trails in comparison to the other trails in the park.."

 You get it right? There really is no "easy" stuff at Perry.

I boast a 4 inch scar on my left leg from one of these races.. but still, I can honestly say, I have never had a bad race on this course. Sure, there was the night race soaked in humidity where it was not raining, yet brushing against a leaf left my face gross with wetness. I looked ahead and saw a man's hairy, exposed shoulder at face level and knew I been gooed by his sweat. Ew.

I digress.

My super, duper, awesome, beautiful, strong trail running friend Mindy who deserves to be a STAR in a blog post of mine (yeah-- unfortunately one of those I never wrote-- Leadville 2012, when she paced me 50 miles to a personal victory of finishing) came and stayed with me the night before.

So fun.

Chipotle. Hair dos. Wardrobe crisis. Dog love. (Her dogs Boogie-- booger? and Chessa visited.)

Mindy is a winner, and a great regional treasure of a runner-- but has been coming back since the Ozark Trail 100. I've just been coming back.

" Ok Mins, so who do we have for competition in this race?"
"Well, there's a gal who's consistently put down some great marathon times"

Truth is , this is just chat. I knew who my competition was. 2008 Sophia. 5:43 for the 50k.

"What are you going to run Mindy?"
"My PR is 5:15 (SOLID) but I'll be happy with 5:30.
"That bitch 2008 Sophia did 5:43, but it's going to be HOT, I'll be happy under 6."


So, we each entered with challenges, although different. Hers, recovery from her 100, and some good, but not her best performances recently. Mine, overtraining, and recovering from the voice within, a year of getting away with minimal training, and another year of not getting away with it.

I'd agreed to run with my friend Bryan West. We'd had an awesome training run together a month prior-- but I felt I should have warned him that I was RACING.

He's been kind about it, but although my start was gracious (12:30 for 2 miles-- then 12's until mile 5), I was ready to keep that pace, and drop it lower. Only way to do it? Run the hills. However, before I began that relentless struggle, I did impart good will on Bryan, Carol and my very dear and amazing friend Terri. Seeing them gave me strength for what I did next.

Hill Loop 1
Sophia: "I got this thing. Wow , my legs are strong." Over and over.
Finish loop 1: 2:50 
Sophia: "hmm.. a little fast. I feel pretty good, wonder if I can do another loop the same.
Hill Loop 2
Sophia: "I got this thing. Hmm.. legs don't feel as great."
Sophia: " Oh shit. You ran this the first loop. Gotta grind up it."
Sophia: "C'mon Sophia, this isn't a 100 miler, you can't walk all the hills. Hell, Sophia, it's not even a 50 miler."
Sophia: "You know Mindy ran this. She's probably 45 minutes ahead of you."

Grind. Grind. Grind.

There was THE LONG HILL. Ben and Dave Wakefield had put signs with some sayings on them intermittently. I have little idea what they said, as I ran it both loops.

Pick, pick , pick. Pick them off. One by one. Always on the uphills.

" Just let me know if you want to pass." me
" Oh no. YOu are running the uphills."

I was all business. My plan-- drop the pack with 2 miles to go and just get some ice and water in my Mizuno bottle and try, try to get in under 6.

It was going to be close. And part of me was disappointed. Why couldn't I beat the 5:43 time? Did I run too fast on the first loop? Am I just lame and stiff? (I felt stiff. I felt dead. And warm.)

I kept running.

19 minutes. That's what it took in loop one to do the stupid "extra bit."

I got to the aid station and had 24 minutes to  finish the race. My 19 minute equation didn't include the UPHILL to the finish.

All I could do was just keep doing what I had been doing, and that is when the calm set in. It had been another long, hot , well executed day.

I finished in 5:54 and change.

As I rounded the corner, I saw the Mizuno pop up I had packed in my car up and my friends tailgaiting, cheering me in. My friends were all set up-- and we were going to have fun together reliving our races, and cheering in the rest of our group.

I cried a little as I crossed the finish line, and found out I was 2nd female. I figured Mindy was long gone, but she came over and said she'd only just finished about 15 minutes prior. Funny, we both executed our races similarly, running smart but a bit faster in the early morning before the heat, and had a reasonable positive split for a strong finish. I may  never get back the speed of 2008 Sophia, but 2014 Sophia, has a sophistication and strength that is honest and sustainable, and I am not sure I would trade it. But I will build on it, and see where it goes.

Jasmyn skirt is so cute.

Strong finish.

 

2nd place female.

 An extra finish with my Mudbabe friends.

 

 

 

chickie who we thought would be fast. She was not.

running with Bryan early on.

Ashley running strong and smart.

Erica. always a beast.

Jerri. Using the salt plan.

Mel. Trying Ucan from me.

Mindy!! Headed for a Win!! running all hills.

Hot and Happy. I love Kansas.

 

Carol. Coming back from bonk.

 Aid station greatness.

 Headed in for Sub 6. All business.

 Can you see up my skirt?

 Lip gloss. Nice on chapped lips.

Star treatment. Rub. Rub.

Chicken dance form? Airing the pits? Favorite photo ever.

post race. so happy.

 VWP braids flying!

More Terri. More.

Post race hang:

Cheeseburger with extra pickles! Yum

Thanks to Brian Forbes for grilling the burgers. This hang was so great, because everyone was comfortable, happy and well fed. Terri had brought the best of Constantinos and got everything out and rubbed down my legs. TERRI!!!!!!!! You are such an amazing friend that is like my family-- really, better often. Thank you for taking the time to get everything set up and make everyone feel so good. And congrats on your awesome race.

Salt Ramble:
On Monday of this week, I had had the Mudbabes do a salt test, so we would know how much or little to take. Erin had figured this out based on an article she read on Endurance buzz and it was working. So, many of those who ran at Perry did the salt test... and trusted my math and spreadsheet I provided. On this hot, sweaty day, the salt test proved very helpful. Not just in science, but confidence which then releases some energy that would be wasted on the --"am I taking enough, too little," chatter that can clutter minds. Instead it was " yeah baby. I got this."

That was smart.

Final Bit: I AM SO PROUD OF Ashley Shaw-- except.. I don't even know if I deserve to be. I didn't even know she was doing her first 50k (6:36!!!!!!!) Smart, and great splits!!!!! She came and did the salt test. She tells me she's been listening as we all chat about our strategies etc. But, I am just amazed at her mental and physical strength and what a great job she did. Much admiration/.

GEAR breakdown:
Mizuno Inspire 10: Still my favorite Inspire.
Jasmyn skirt: Ok-- it's a bit big in medium-- but so light even when you sweat like a pig.
No chaffing.

Nutrition:
Alternated chocolate Ucan, Tailwind, a couple Humas.
Maybe could have done a bit more-- but it was a short race.

Third place female is ... Question Mark????

I think the spring of 2014 will forever linger in my memory as the year I had bronchitis for 5 weeks, maybe 6. It's not that I don't get sick, it's just that I haven't been really sick like that since 1998.

As with many things in life, I didn't realize how sick I was until after the storm had passed. I started to notice how much energy I had for everything. Work, house work, laundry and yes, my running.

February and March were supposed to be a giant build up to racing in April. February went pretty well, but well March was a wash- so April became an experiment.

Based on past training failures, I wanted to make sure I didn't lose a month of training by doing something stupid. Because I wheezed through March, I couldn't exactly afford to taper for any of the April races, so I made them all training runs.

• Rockin' K I drop down to the marathon from the 50.
• I continue training through the week and the weekend before Free State I run 16 on Saturday and 20 on Sunday out at Clinton. That's right . No taper.
• You all know how Free State went (thanks for reading.)
• The next weekend: 16 on Saturday at Clinton and 25 on Sunday.

Back for more. Or back to back for more. Back to back runs, an essential in training for 100's. Something I have just simply not done in the past.. or if I did, it is a distant memory from 2008.

2008 Sophia. So strong, so on fire for life, running , with relentless desire to improve at anything she took on.

Truth is, I have asthma. It developed in 2007, but because of 2008 Sophia's accomplishments and  2011, I thought it was gone. I convinced myself that it "returned" in 2012, but the truth is, it's always been there, just my training from August 2012 to January 2014 was pretty sketchy. A good long run here or there and some races where I always took the weekend before and after (maybe 2) off. Terrible, resulting in some average performances and ultimately a DNF at Leadville 2013. (the photo below is from 2012.. I don't have any from 2013, but I like photos in blogs, especially long blogs)

The worst was I could remember the fire I had for running. The drive and the love. Being tired when the alarm rang at 5, but lusting to be out running with my friends. I missed it so much.

I knew just getting out there running would make me feel better, but too often I just rolled over, curled into the fetal position and went back to sleep. There were moments here and there. Rockin' K in 2013 was good, as was Rock On Perry 2013 and even the summer night race-- but training in between? Bah humbug.I don't think I ran a single hill. Other races felt out of sync, a-rhythmic and weighted. (I can't find the picture of me on my bike, so here's Puccini.)

 On top of that,  I started cross training on the mountain bike. In a sense, fun to learn a new sport and challenging-- but it's not cross training if you aren't doing a solid regimen of the first sport. My first sport is running, and it was seriously slipping. My mind didn't seem to be doing much better.

My friend Emily was explaining to me once that there are 4 stages employees go through.

1. Learning the job. Sometimes confusing, but interesting.
2. You know how to do the job, it's challenging, but fun.
3. Bored and frustrated. Looking for new challenges.
4. Enlightenment. Trust from superiors.

A lot of employers lose valuable employees in stage 3.
Emily:

 

I feel athletes, especially runners go through a similar schedule with running. I had been looping in stage 3 for way too long. The stage three time warp needed to stop, but where would it lead?
February 2014:
Goal: get the running to more of a "therapeutic level." Seriously folks, this wasn't about race goals, fast times, negative splits or longer distances. It was more like, getting out of bed and not moving to the couch.

It would be lovely to say that I was seeking enlightenment, set up a tidy little spreadsheet and achieved it-- truth is, it was more like survival. There was nothing pretty about how I got to where I am today. In fact, more often than not, if I made a plan of how many miles I would run over the weekends and ended up short. Plans of doing 30 kept falling short at 18. I was disappointed, the little voice in my head was disappointed. Some of my friends were disappointed. But others were encouraging, and that meant the world to me.

I made a pact with myself to make sure I ran at every test run, even if it was only 2 miles and I did. I got back into a routine of running with friends on the weekends, quickly realizing that if it weren't for them, I would not be getting in the mileage, that entertaining the idea that I would go out on my own for a 20 miler was simply not going to happen. I'll tell you what. Realizing that was really powerful, because I stopped wasting energy planning mileage that was never going to happen. Instead, I planned my travel, so I would have those reliable friends there to run. And if it worked out that I could do a back to back a week before 100k, I was on it. And the week after-- When I ran 25 with Kurt, I ran most of the hills. That's what 2008 Sophia did--RAN the little hills at Clinton. Sure it's only 1100 feet over 25 miles, but if you run those babies, you get strong. And if your lungs suck, having strong legs are to your advantage. (This morning I blew 400 on the thingy from the doctor. Normal runners pop out 600.) I had done a 50 mile week right after running 100k that was preceeded by back to back long runs.

That brings us to this past weekend. 18 at Lake Perry with the beautiful Heather Cotton and a gal named Aly we ran into (and her dog Spot). We finished and I totally wanted to do a couple more, even though it was getting warm. The itch to run had returned.

The next day, I had the choice of driving to Shawnee Mission Park to do 9 with Bryan, Terri, Janee` and Brian with an "I" or go to Clinton, run the Shoreline Shuffle 5k and do some miles with Emily after. The shorter drive and longer mileage option was Clinton, so I dragged myself out of bed, again noting that without a friend, I most likely would have turned over and got to the park.

I Nascar'd it in with 4 minutes to spare, threw a blank check at Carl the RD and grabbed my number.
                

Emily had already run the course once (dang that meant she didn't want to do as many miles after??!! I feared I'd have another weekend like the failed attempts at mileage in February...) she wanted to run fast (always). I was really there more for the camaraderie and less for speed, plus I feared taxing the lungs could trigger a relapse, so I just ran it easy, which somehow landed me 3rd place female-- but my name had never been written down due to my late entrance.

" Third place female is Question Mark?" Carl seemed confused. I knew what had happened.
"That's me.. Exclamation POINT!!!"
Reminded me of this Georgia Satellites classic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFpsDAL4oKE

Emily ran 4 miles with me. February of 2014 Sophia probably would have called it a day- but it's not February, it's May. She trotted up the steps to go skydiving and I carried on.
Reminds me of a FUN song that runs through my head on good and bad days alike:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7yCLn-O-Y0
My rhythm returned. I kept the challenges within reach, running blue first because it was shorter and easier. By the time I got to mile 2, I was ready to return on the longer more technical white trail, ending the day with a total of 17 miles.

May 7, 2014: 7 am. I'm in Omaha. The last time I was here, I skipped my solo run which you know by now, was not an uncommon occurrence. It's hot. I hate heat. I'm tired. (Lora and I had stayed up researching waterfall braids the night before.) But. I. RUn. I even manage to get lost on numbered streets (I thought 35th was 33rd-- oops. Back and forth). 2008 Sophia got lost a lot too. So, I get in a 9 miler in the heat. And for the first time in years feel energized all day. All I can think about is running, goals, races and enlightenment. Next time Emily-- I'll race ya for first, instead of shuffle in for third.



I really don't know how I got it back. I really don't. The chart with the mileage looks so sterile, yet represents much, much more. The 2012-2013 months bare yet sprinkled with races are stark in comparison. Perhaps it was being patient, and knowing that I would have to forgive myself for small failures, if I was going to be able to move forward to small, then bigger successes. This is where I am and I am so grateful.

Rock On Perry 50k on Saturday. Looks like another 50 mile week.