Running Journey

Moving Right Along

Things are moving right along for me.  My travel to Tahoe is booked!  I'm nervous and excited about tackling this race again.  Part of me wonders if I'm crazy to think I can finish 50 miles with my current level of training.  Part of me says I CAN finish it - it's only 50 miles right?  All I need to do is cross the finish line... 

I do KNOW I can finish 50K but I AM signed up for the 50 mile and don't want to drop down unless I HAVE to on race day.  I ran 15 miles with Miki last weekend on some good hilly terrain.  It wasn't at altitude but I did feel like I could do it again, albeit a bit slower.  Then a third time?

My shoe review is moving along and I'll probably write something up next week.  I plan on taking them out on my Cooper Spur (pictured) run Saturday which will involve altitude, steep terrain and probably some snow.  I should be prepared to review them properly after that and my 15 miles on California trails last weekend.  Monday I took them for a spin with hill repeats (something I haven't done in a long time).

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

I know what I'm Doing this summer (mostly)

My summer schedule is shaping up to be a busy one!  It started last weekend with a road trip to Mountain View (Bay Area).  I made the trek with Deb and Erin Thursday after work and Miki was gracious enough to deal with my late (or early) arrival when I showed up around 4AM Friday morning.  Later that day, and after some much needed sleep, I had my first ever Tunia Massage at Miki's school.  You should look it up - or better yet if you are in the Bay Area stop by Miki's school on a Friday for a great deal!  After that I did a bit of retail therapy in Los Gatos and bought some cheap tank tops which was followed by Miki, Chris and I hitting a great Tapas place in Mountain View for dinner.  Mmm!!  

Miki and I started off our Saturday with a 15 mile jaunt around the Palo Alto Foothills.  It was gorgeous and very sunny after some early marine layer cleared.  The run was tons of fun and had it's challenging moments - all good training for Tahoe.  It's my last long trail run before Lake Tahoe and my last longish run in general before I tackle that race again.  I met back up with Deb and Erin Sunday (they were hanging with Erin's sister for the weekend) for our long and fun drive home.  They are great road trip buddies!

In a couple weeks I'm doing another road trip for the Tahoe Rim race.  I'm planning on bringing Tobey with me this time.  The following weekend I may be camping by Mt. Rainier and hanging out at the White River 50 Mile race.

In August I have some crew/pacing details happening at Where's Waldo in Southern Oregon and Cascade Crest 100 up in Washington.  I'm also hoping to visit Minnesota for Labor Day weekend.

Wheew!  That should all keep me pretty busy!

I also wore my new trail shoes (Saucony Progrid Xodus) for my long run Saturday so I'll be working on a report for those soon.  Hint:  The verdict so far is very good!

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

Saucony ProGrid Xodus with Vibram Outsole

In case anyone was wondering the name of the shoes I'll be testing out - here you go :)  They are currently available.  I don't know if I'll be able to try them out this weekend since my only planned run is 15 miles and that's too long for a first time run in a new pair of shoes.  If I don't try them during the week next week, I'll for sure try them on July 11th when I plan to tackle Cooper Spur (Elevation 8500').  The trailhead starts out around 6000'.  I figure I might as well get one elevation run in before Tahoe!

Two different sites list the run as 6.4 and 7.8 miles.  I do know the run has about 2800' of gain over 3.2 or 3.9 miles.  Quite a climb at elevation!  Depending on how we feel (so far Stephanie and I), maybe we'll add a few more miles.  But a week before Tahoe I don't want to go crazy.  As far as I know, Cooper Spur IS the highest elevation you can actually run to at Mt. Hood.  I'm also not sure about snow, but there's a good chance we may encounter some above 6000-7000'.  The snow is melting fast though and some areas above 5000' have been snow free for a week or two.  Only one way to know for sure :)

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

Get Your Kicks

My new shoes arrived yesterday.  Sorry for the blurry pic.  I'll post a better one later.

They are kinda bad ass with the black and shiny blue metallic inlays.  I was contacted by Vibram to try out these shoes.  They are Saucony shoes but have the Vibram outsole.

More to come!

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

Western States Weekend

Wow! Is this field packed this year!  It sure is going to be an exciting race to watch whether you are there in person or watching the live updates.   The valley temps could hit 100 degrees.  How will that affect this year's race?

My predictions (because it's fun to speculate and I'm "that" person who also tries to predict Oscar winners):

Of course this is totally speculative.  So many things come into play like who does better in heat or cold.  Who the pacers are.  If someone gets injured, etc.  Here we go...  Men First:

1. Scott Jurek (heard he may have some plantar issues but he's undefeated on this course.  if he is not having an injury problem - and maybe even if he is - it's hard to bet on anyone beating him here)
2. Hal Koerner (last ws100 champion but he'll have to content with the king of the course if he wants to repeat)
3. Dave Mackey (don't know much about him other than he's been tearing up the trails and seems to be many people's favorite - aside from Scott)
4. Anton Krupicka (he's one tough mountain runner and maybe should place higher but I also heard rumors he is injured - will he even start?)
5. Eric Grossman (don't know much about this guy from out east but many say he could be the dark horse)

And the women:

1. Krissy Moehl (mostly quiet in 2008 but who can forget her amazing year in 2007 and record at Hardrock? She's also has a stellar pacer and has run here before when not at the top of her game.  She paced Hal when he was champion last time around.  This could be her moment to shine on this course)
2. Nikki Kimball (I'm not sure if any of the women in this race have run against Nikki toe to toe and beat her.  She may very well take 1st but I'm rooting for the "underdog" here and calling if for Krissy - if someone like her can even be called an underdog)
3. Jenn Shelton (I know she's not as experienced in the California mountains since she's from out east but she can be a very strong runner and if the mountains don't get her she can easily be top 5.  She might need a few more years before she takes the top spot in a race like this but she certainly has the potential to kick some ass)
4. Bev Anderson-Abbs (Very strong runner with plenty of WS100 experience and hard to even put her 4th in this list but the competition is tough this year!)
5. The next few spots I won't list because they are just about anyone's for the taking like: Anita Ortiz, Francesca Conte, Connie Gardner, Prudence L'Heureux, and Michelle Barton.

You can read some fun dialog on all this speculation over at Andy or Karl's blogs.

Can't wait for Saturday!  Good luck everyone and have a blast!

Jessica

I was running. And Running...

I'm glad my injury break was pretty short term.  It's nice to be back running!  My 4-5 days per week is quickly going to turn into 6 days per week I think.  Without Nickie around to help take care of Tobey during the day she is a bit attention deprived while I'm at work so I probably need to run with her every night after work which is what I've been doing so far this week.  I was going to take Monday off but Tobey had other plans :)

Last night I was going to run 5-6 but running after wings and a mojito didn't go over so well so I cut my run back to 3.3.   It was a good mojito though!

I don't have a lot of time to get in long runs if I want any sort of taper so I'm planning on 19 miles Saturday with Stefanie at Zig Zag Mountain.  Neither of us have ran over there so it could be a bit of adventure!  I think the run peaks out around 5,000' which is apparently where the snow level is so we may run into a little bit of snow up there somewhere.  But - it has been melting pretty fast the last few weeks so who knows.

Friday is national bring your dog to work day and I'll be bringing mine!  Fortunately I work somewhere that I can bring her any day throughout the year (though really not more than once a week).

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica