2011 Uwharrie 20 Race Report

Well, it's officially been over a year since I last posted in this blog. Enough is enough! I say it's time for a revival, and what a better way to kick it off than by posting my Uwharrie 20 Race Report?

Ohhhhh, Uwharrie. I'm sure every one of us has some sort of love/hate relationship with this trail. It is treacherous, yet beautiful. Difficult, yet exhilarating. Never-ending, yet addicting. For me, running the 20 meant facing a section of the trail that I hadn't attempted since fracturing my knee "out there" on a training run in 2008 -- an injury that took me away from running for over 6 months and set me back in innumerable ways. Damn you, Uwharrie.

To be honest, I did myself a pretty big disservice by not attending one of the Uwharrie recon runs in the past few months. On one one of them, of course, the same trail gnome that got me 3 years ago reached out and pulled Spinz to her Uwharrie-demise (I was supposed to go on that run, but chose to sleep in with my boyfriend instead...) This only further perpetuated my dread about the race. I had nightmares where the elevation profile appeared like the sharp teeth of a formidable monster, waiting to gobble me up. I started getting butterflies in my stomach a good week before the race. And I'm only making SOME of this up!

Shawn and I arrived Friday night at the lake-front house we rented with Schnzl, Qwyk, Nova, Kyle, Tim, Anna, Menaka, and Armond. It was freaking pouring. Shawn relinquished particular pleasure in driving his trusty Volvo through gigantic puddles on the side of the road, thus freaking me out even more. On Saturday morning, as we were walking out of the door into

the relentless freezing rain, Tim turned around with a look of dread and said: "Seriously. Why are we doing this? I mean, really." After getting turned around several times, we finally arrived at the race.

By the way, the 20 started like a half an hour late, apparently because one of the shuttle drivers decided to take a joy ride with the other shuttle driver, leaving a bus full of people at the gas station. I just thought this was funny.

POW, the race starts. I immediately feel like I'm going to throw up (still of nervousness). I had previously decided to "take it easy" for the first half of the race, so I let a bunch of people pass me on the first rocky steep climb and tried to settle into my own groove. This is actually hard to do in the first 8 miles of the race, as everyone is trying to do the same thing. I got stuck behind some particularly timid people who felt the need to run around every little

mud puddle in their midst. HAHA, suckers didn't know what they had coming. Another highlight of the first half of the race was when I tromped through a stream crossing, only to slip on a mossy rock which hurled me into the freezing running river. Like, my entire body was submerged. There is no other feeling like this in the entire world. [Photo credit: Shannon Johnstone, 40 mile winner!]

I was feeling good. Like, really good. But my fear was still getting the best of me, so I held myself back, probably too much. At the 11 mile AS, I saw Shawn for the last time, and decided this was the time to turn it up. I started chatting with a guy behind me, only to find out later that it was a fellow-Trailhead, Stretch! His company was much appreciated. Also much-appreciated was the sight of the front 40-milers. OMG, Badasses! Seeing them gave me an extra surge of energy. And, to validate Stretch's comment in his race report, stair master training is seriously where it's at.

Before I knew it, I was at the last aid station. It was time to hit the gas pedal. My quads were barking quite a bit at this point, but I felt like I was flying. Some 40-milers commented as I passed: "you don't even look tired!" HAHA, deception. When I saw Goofus wandering around like a hobo, I knew I was almost there. I sprinted in to the finish, posing for my winning photo, only to hear the hillbilly volunteer say: "I cayan't see yo- numbah!" -- even though it was totally visible. I had to turn around and give it to him, thus completely cramping my style.

I got my mug, dry clothes, hugs from the THs, and a shoulder massage from Martha, and I felt on top of the world. The rest of the evening involved foam rolling, ibuprofen, trying to nap unsuccessfully, make-your-own pizzas by Schnzl, and a cake for Anna's birthday!

So there you have it. Another Uwharrie has come and gone. My shoes are muddy, my legs are still pretty sore, and I don't want to eat another Espresso Love Gu for at least 6 months... OH, and I don't even have a t-shirt to show for it, because I don't think it made it into my drop bag. So if anyone has an extra...?

Endless gratitude to Bull City Running Company, all the volunteers (both front-stage and behind the scenes), the Trailheads, and all of the people who came out to run. I will never forget this beautiful day!

Sooo appropriate.

Thanks, Gyro.

IRON, man!

(I just have to say that I am getting better and better at witty titles for my posts.)

A lot has happened since I last wrote. It is now October and the humidity has lifted and the trees are starting to turn. Fuzzy sweaters, hot oatmeal, scarves, smells of a fireplace burning, a crunching sound beneath my feet as I run. I love Fall. 

The transition into Fall started out fabulously. The first morning the cold front moved in, my running pace easily dropped 1 minute per mile. After training hard during the brutal NC summer months, you almost forget what it feels like to take a full breath. It was exhilarating. 

But a few days before the Blue Ridge Relay, something started feeling not-right. I think I first noticed it on a run where, after about 3 miles, I started feeling lightheaded & nauseous, and my muscles started burning seemingly out of nowhere (on flat terrain.) Also, my heart rate was sky-high for what was supposed to be an easy run. It weirded me out, but I chalked it up to not enough sleep or school stress or something. 

Blue Ridge was a total and complete blast. I still felt a little weird on my runs, but I think the adrenaline of the "race" and the awesome team support helped me to not notice it as much. I ran three longer legs, 22 miles total, in under 24 hours. I'm not sure why I thought that this wouldn't be that hard, because it totally kicked my ass. The climbs were epic, the downhills were excruciating, and the barking dogs in pitch black at 11 PM made me want my mommy. But I would do it again tomorrow, if I could. Loved it. 

But after BRR, things really came to a head. The whole next week I felt an out of shape 84 year old. For serious. By the end of the week, I was worried. Sure, I knew I needed to recover from the race... but I know my body and I know that I recover faster than that. 

So, what does any reasonable, athletic person do when they mysteriously can't perform? They freak out. I googled like crazy, diagnosing myself with the weirdest conditions I could find, like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, brain cancer, and hypothyroidism. Finally, I came across a condition that I seemed to fit all of the symptoms for: iron-deficiency anemia. 

I called my doctor right away and requested a CBC. The results came back in two days: I was RIGHT! (Thanks Dr. Google!) 

It turns out anemia in endurance athletes is actually quite common. 70% of female college endurance athletes have it at some point in their athletic "careers", and it's not out of the question for men either. In fact, runners in particular are at risk for something called "footstrike anemia", where the RBC's literally get destroyed by the impact of the foot hitting the ground. Crazy, huh?

Anyways, the good news is that it's easily treatable through iron supplementation (and in my case, vitamin B, which also showed up low for me) and it only takes two weeks to stop feeling like complete shiznit (I'm on day 12 now.) The bad news? It can take months to completely rebuild your iron stores. 

So, as if that wasn't enough, I came down with a really craptastic cold virus on Monday and have been sniffly, coughing, and headachy all week.

What's up, body? Are you trying to tell me something? I deferred Marine Corps 'til next year. My next event is the Run at the Rock 14-miler in Burlington, followed by the infamous UWHARRIE 20 in early February. That gives me a couple months to heal up. 

It's frustrating, yes. Especially since I was just starting to feel like I was coming "back". But hey, this is life. I've learned a lot about nutrition over the past year, and this experience has provided me with just a bit more knowledge about how important it is to be super diligent when you're training hard. 

I am in love with running. And it's up to me to take all the challenges I've been dealt in the last 18 months and use them to shape myself into a better, stronger, smarter runner and athlete. 

Trail love.

Z

Escuela

Well fellas, it's the first week of Fall Semester. So far so good, after an initial freak-out on Monday. I have been insanely productive this week! Me gusta! (I also have to start brushing up on my Spanish again. Spanish 3 is no broma.)

So I will now update you on the training the past few days. Sunday's "active recovery" day went well, although I only swam for 40 mins and then they kicked everyone out of the INDOOR POOL because of "thunder", WTF? I was miffed. So Schnz and I went to a flow yoga class where I did lots of chaturangas that left my triceps so sore the next day I could barely hold my coffee mug.

Ran track super hard again on Monday morning before class (improved my time on 6x800 already!), and then in the evening had a kick ass circuit training workout with Schnz, Nitro, Anna, Juice, & Juice's roomie, Lindsey. Our workout included: 

2x single leg hip hinge w/ weights

2x forearm plank

2x TRX single leg squats

2x body back extensions on floor

2x side squats w/ band

2x pikes on ball

1x monster walks

1x leg/arm ball pass

1x TRX hamstring bicycles

1x triceps dips on chair

1x biceps curls w/ dumbells

1x pushup to side plank

Tuesday (yesterday) I got up to do the stadium and my whole body was like "No effing way." I was so sore and tired! So I decided to take an honest-to-goodness-rest-day for the first time in a while. This is hard for me to do, because I normally get a lot more out of "active rest", but there is this thing called LIFE that can get in the way of that sometimes. So I let my biking to work, massaging, and cleaning be my "exercise" for the day. It was hard, but worth it. 

This morning was a bit over 9 miles, 3 on roads and 6.4 on trails. It felt really good! Then, Anna, Zap, and Sidetrack came over for another awesome circuit which included: 

2x TRX chest press

2x Walking lunges w/ 5 lb dumbells

2x "land swimming" 

2x plank w/ leg lifts on ball

2x TRX hamstring curls

2x side lunges w/ band

2x 1-legged bridge

2x flys on ball w/ 10 lb dumbells

2x TRX triceps extension

2x Biceps curls w/ band

2x Front/Lat raises w/ 5 lb dumbells

2x 3-point crunches on ball

Who's hardcore? WE ARE. Oh hells yes. 

Tomorrow is a cross training day: swimming will likely be the contender again. I haven't been out for a ride in too damn long, but the call of the water is still too strong right now. Hopefully Abby and I will get out on Sunday. 

Aaaand that's all folks! I shall update whenever I feel like it again. 

Kisses, 

Z

Z's Weekly Recap

Saturdays are fun. Apparently some Trailheads had an especially fun time this morning, but I'm not naming any names. I heard there was 17 miles and beer and cigars and bowling shirts involved. Why didn't I get in on this??

Well, I was busy running 18 this morning. And let me just say that it felt GREAT. This week was good, but it seemed almost every day was pretty high intensity, so I was worried I'd be a bit burned out by today. So, I was surprised and grateful when my run went as well as it did. 

WEEKLY RECAP:

Mon: 

AM: 1 mi warm-up, 6x800's, 1 mi cool down 

PM: yoga for 1 hour

Tues: 

AM: 2x stadium w/ ET

PM: circuit training

Weds

Ocho on the beach

Thurs~ left beach early due to storms

3200 yd swim

slackerish weight training session

Friday

Ran my fastest FF since I became slow! (Try that sentence on for size): 53:42

Saturday

18 miles ~ 11.5 trails, 6.5 roads

Sunday Plan

3,000 yd easy swim

1.5 hr yoga class

[I just realized I did zero cycling this week. That must be corrected ASAP.]

In other news, school starts on Monday. I wish I could say I was excited, but alas, I am not. I am hoping I can prevent myself  from getting too stressed out this semester by doing The Right Things like really using my OE study time and not hanging out with the THs until 2 PM on a Wednesday after the run. Just kidding, sort of. 

Time for bed for this sleepyhead. Tomorrow I get to sleep in AND have lunch with Nitro! How cool is that?!

Gonna soak up the sun while it's still free...

Well gentlemen, I'm off to the beach. Going Weds-Fri afternoon with mi madre. This is my first official "vacation" of the summer, so I am very excited to get a healthy glow and do some delicious beach running and ocean swimming. Wish I could stay longer, but I have to be back on Friday for a meeting with all the UNC-DT scholarship students. No fair, but such is life. 

Training update: today I kicked the stadium's ass. Okay, that might be going a biiit too far. Pretty sure it still kicked my ass, but I did feel better than I ever have. Marmot tried to make fun of me, but I still feel like running the Stadium in the crisp summer air is better than being stuck inside on a freaking machine. "Tuesday Hills!" says Kerndog. "Bitchassness," says Z. 

Then was an entire day of like, working and stuff. And then Anna (of Tim & Anna) was the only one to show up to circuit training. We did a super quick one, 1 min 30 secs each circuit. Since I'm sure you really want to know what we did exactly here it is:

2x side squats w/  red band

2x TRX balance lunges

2x TRX triceps extensions

2x biceps curls (15 lbs)

2x pushups + side plank

2x 3-point crunches on the ball

2x TRX chest press

2x hamstring curls on the ball

Are you impressed? You should be. Because that's one of the easiest workouts we've had in a while. 

So... tomorrow is an 8ish miler on the lovely beach, followed by a day of lounging and sipping a beverage with an umbrella in it. Thursday is a swim + TRX functional training loveliness, and Friday is a tempo run on the beach, maybe on the trails if I get back soon enough. 

And then it's Saturday and time for the long run (17) again. Woo!

Well, that is my update for this evening. I hope you have thoroughly enjoyed yourself. 

Peace in the middle east, 

Z

On track

Hahaha... get it?! On track! Oh man. 

Anyways, hello to my faithful readers (I mean, Blade.) I am pleased to say that I am 100% recovered from my minor case of swine flu. 

This morning I did my first track workout since before the knee. 6 x 800's, OUCH. BITCHASSNESS. It was hard. And hot. It was 100ºF today in the beautiful Triangle area. As you can see from this picture, the sun was beating down upon me in a bad way.

But, the good news it that I felt pretty good. Completely recovered from my 17-miler on Saturday. I think the swim yesterday (2600 yds easy) really helped with that.  And I'm going to need to make this speedwork shiznit a regular thing if I want to avoid complete embarrassment at MCM. Please see photo to the right that I took at the end of the workout when I wanted to hurl my cookies as proof of my hard work. 

Tomorrow is Stadium Madness again. And this time I am definitely bringing my iPod. MIA's "10 Dolla" totally saved me on the 4th interval when I was dragging. Britney also made an apperance. And Paul Simon? Who'dve thunk it?

Circuit training got canceled tonight due to everyone having conflicts, so we rescheduled for tomorrow evening. But, I did get a delicious yoga session in with ET after work today. Feeling quite tired, but happy. 

So, during my long run on Saturday I experimented with nutrition... I have discovered that the cola flavored Nuun tastes freaking awful and chocolate milk is a zillion times better than Recoverite. 

And, I have a zillion other things to say, but I only got like 6.5 hours of sleep last night, so I need to make up for it tonight. But, I am happy, optimistic, and loving the training I am doing. I feel like I'm in the place where I'm about to start seeing the benefits of all my work. I feel seriously on the road back to where I once was... actually, even better, faster, stronger...

Peace out y'all!

Z