Mt Si

This is it! My first Ultra and my event for Girls on the Run to raise money for scholarships.

Each mile is dedicated to someone I love, something I have learned, something I dream, and something I am thankful for:

Mile 1: Shane. Thank you for being there for me ALWAYS.

Mile 2: Amberle & Mckenna. You both inspire me everyday.

Mile 3: Sonja. My amazing friend, mentor and running partner. Thank you for doing this crazy thing with me.

Mile 4: My mom and dad. Thank you for teaching me unconditional love.

Mile 5: Friendship. The people we live for.

Mile 6: Running. For peace, clarity, health, fitness, great legs

Mile 7: Freedom. Something I will never take for granted.

Mile 8: Health. There has been colds, fevers, chills, but overall I'm healthy.

Mile 9: Education. "The key to unlock the golden door of freedom"...George Washington Carver

Mile 10: Girls on the Run...I love how the program helps build confidence.

Mile 11: Girls on the Run...And how this spills over to other aspects of the girls lives. "I ran a 5K I can also ____."

Mile 12: Girls on the Run...the ripple effect to the girls families

Mile 13: Girls on the Run...and the community

Mile 14: Girls on the Run...I love the community impact project. The girls are always so proud that they made a difference.

Mile 15: Girls on the Run...the parent and school support.

Mile 16: Girls on the Run...all girls are included. They are not left out because of financial hardship.

Mile 17: Girls on the Run...the friendships that are made between girls and coaches.

Mile 18: Girls on the Run...the lesson on positive self-talk. I continue to struggle with this.

Mile 19: Girls on the Run...the lesson on assertiveness

Mile 20: Girls on the Run...the lesson on Gratitude

Mile 21: Girls on the Run...we talk a ton about choices. Between action and re-action is the freedom to choose.

Mile 22: My home. A place to rest my heart.

Mile 23: Nature. How beautiful it is in the sun, in the rain, in the mist, in the snow, in the fall

Mile 24: warm, dry socks

Mile 25: bagels

Mile 26: Sonja's golden lab Lacie-our other running partner

Mile 27: For the guy in his 70's who keeps passing us...forever may we run

Mile 28: This trail and the many people who keep it clean and nice

Mile 29: Perseverance.

Mile 30: One More Mile.

Mile 31: A great run today! Celebrating this HUGE milestone!

Practice Run

The weather on Sunday morning was cold, but dry, so I decided to make the journey and practice on the Mt Si course. It's about an hour and a half drive and I packed a duffel with everything "just in case" it rained, snowed, I needed water, gatorade, extra gu, a change of socks, an extra hat, plastic bags...I think I packed less when I went to Thailand.

I found the Snoqualmie Elementary school easily enough, but the trail access was not marked. Google Maps shows a road from Park Street through the Meadowbrook Slough, that does not exist. It turns out, the entry point is through the golf course. The first mile of the trail runs between two separate golf courses. Hearing the crack of the club hitting the ball and seeing the grass peppered with golf balls, I couldn't help but wonder, statistically, what my chances were of making it through without getting hit.
At about mile four, past North Bend, the trail ends and picks up again across a busy highway. I probably got in an extra quarter of a mile running back and forth waiting for the traffic to clear. At this point, I felt a little like Frogger.

So, that's pretty much the warm up and the rest of the trail is beautiful, very peaceful and serene. There are spots you can see the river below and mossy branches arching over the trail above you. It definitely distracts from the fact that you are climbing up.

I was able to run close to half of the course. It's reassuring to be able to train on the trail. During the week, I can run on the Tolt and that is pretty similar terrain. I just need to get the fueling worked in.

Mt Si 50K

I have signed up for my first ultra event, Mt Si 50K on April 10th. I'm reading a ton about training and fuel. The most common advice is to run back to back long runs on Saturday-Sunday. This weekend was the mileage build up, Saturday 8 miles with a pace group and Sunday 12 miles on the trail. I managed a swim workout on Saturday as well, building up that base from 800.

I'm investigating the nutrition aspect of this type of training. Dean Karnazes apparently eats whole pizzas.