Monday, June 30, 2008
Turtle Brownies
Because Steve and I celebrated our 24th Anniversary yesterday I asked him to pick out a dessert to go with the grilled 2" thick pork chops, strawberry-spinach salad and warm, homemade whole wheat bread I was making for dinner. He and Troy settled on Turtle Brownies.
They give my Oreo Crunch Brownies a run for the the best brownie ever. Troy told me that I will have to make both of them at the same time so he can taste test to see which brownies earns the best honor. In due time!
Today on the baking list: Apple Cheddar Scones
They give my Oreo Crunch Brownies a run for the the best brownie ever. Troy told me that I will have to make both of them at the same time so he can taste test to see which brownies earns the best honor. In due time!
Today on the baking list: Apple Cheddar Scones
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Just a Few Hills..at Hyland
On Monday I drove over to Powder Ridge in Kimball to get in another session of hill repeats. It wasn't meant to be. The ski area was closed due to a resurface project. Reseeding grass or something.
I decided to hook up with Paul over at Hyland this morning. We were to begin at 5 AM. I woke bright and early..well not bright..it was 330 AM. A couple of cups of Caribou Mocha Java from my French Press and I was good to go.
Luckily Paul sent me detailed directions as where to go once in the parking lot. I jogged along the dark, woodsy trail, hauling my cooler in one hand and looking at the detailed directions in the other. I found the hill and set up shop. Something must have come up because I never did see Paul.
This hill isn't a long as Buck or Powder Ridge. I began at 445 AM, running the dirt trail loop around the hill 3 times for a warm up, then ran 20 repeats, 3 more dirt trail loops, 20 repeats, 3 more dirt trail loops, 20 more repeats and one final dirt trail loop.
By the time I finished 20 repeats I was becoming bored with the hill and bored with myself. Luckily Carl Gammon spotted me and came over for a chat. He was meeting a friend at 730 at the visitor center, I was hoping they would be back to visit some more. Pretty soon, Carl and Deb Robinson showed up. I've known Deb for a few years; I think we first met at FANS, where I usually see her each year, as well as Afton 50K. She's a nice gal. Carl has talked her into pacing him at Superior 100. About an hour or so after Carl and Deb left, Kurt Decker arrived. We ran a few repeats, he broke up the tedium for me. We talked about Leadville, as Kurt is running too. Kurt left and right away Maynard Legace showed up. Maynard has run Leadville before and had some great stories and good advice to share. We laugh the whole time we run. We ran quite a few repeats together. I was getting tired. Just as I was near 60 repeats Steve Quick showed up. He was going to run hill repeats, too. As I reached 60 I told Maynard and Steve I was calling it a wrap. Maynard and I ran the final dirt loop where I packed up and hauled my cooler out. Maynard offered to carry it and I wouldn't have it. By the time we were half way to the lot he put out his arm to carry it for me. I gave it to him, no problem! I was tired!! 5:15 hours was good enough for me. Next hill session will be 6 hours.
Thanks for the company, boys.
I decided to hook up with Paul over at Hyland this morning. We were to begin at 5 AM. I woke bright and early..well not bright..it was 330 AM. A couple of cups of Caribou Mocha Java from my French Press and I was good to go.
Luckily Paul sent me detailed directions as where to go once in the parking lot. I jogged along the dark, woodsy trail, hauling my cooler in one hand and looking at the detailed directions in the other. I found the hill and set up shop. Something must have come up because I never did see Paul.
This hill isn't a long as Buck or Powder Ridge. I began at 445 AM, running the dirt trail loop around the hill 3 times for a warm up, then ran 20 repeats, 3 more dirt trail loops, 20 repeats, 3 more dirt trail loops, 20 more repeats and one final dirt trail loop.
By the time I finished 20 repeats I was becoming bored with the hill and bored with myself. Luckily Carl Gammon spotted me and came over for a chat. He was meeting a friend at 730 at the visitor center, I was hoping they would be back to visit some more. Pretty soon, Carl and Deb Robinson showed up. I've known Deb for a few years; I think we first met at FANS, where I usually see her each year, as well as Afton 50K. She's a nice gal. Carl has talked her into pacing him at Superior 100. About an hour or so after Carl and Deb left, Kurt Decker arrived. We ran a few repeats, he broke up the tedium for me. We talked about Leadville, as Kurt is running too. Kurt left and right away Maynard Legace showed up. Maynard has run Leadville before and had some great stories and good advice to share. We laugh the whole time we run. We ran quite a few repeats together. I was getting tired. Just as I was near 60 repeats Steve Quick showed up. He was going to run hill repeats, too. As I reached 60 I told Maynard and Steve I was calling it a wrap. Maynard and I ran the final dirt loop where I packed up and hauled my cooler out. Maynard offered to carry it and I wouldn't have it. By the time we were half way to the lot he put out his arm to carry it for me. I gave it to him, no problem! I was tired!! 5:15 hours was good enough for me. Next hill session will be 6 hours.
Thanks for the company, boys.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
FANS Funnies
Thank you for the congratulations and all of the comments; they are fun to read.
I'm doing great. I was a bit stiff yesterday, I had a vacation day so I slept in until 8, or tried to. Toffee, my Ragdoll cat is used to being fed at 430 AM every morning when I usually wake. He was kneading on my chest, (I later trimmed his claws!) purring in my ear and making a nuisance of himself. Eventually he curled up on my head and caused me to dream that I was running with a fur hat! Crazy.
Anyhow, Topaz and I headed for the trail for a slow walk. I was quite amazed to find that my shoes fit. This has never happened before post 100. Usually I am too swollen to fit into any footwear but Tyler's size 16 boots or shoes. Walking was difficult at first but after a half mile or so I was really clipping along. Right. 3 miles in 1:05! Felt good to move though.
The boys asked me if I was going to spend the day nesting again. Sunday I nested on the couch most of the day. Nope, I did some weeding in my gardens, read my bread books and watched the boys play ball. I didn't participate.
Today I went back to work..I only have three days left now! Woohoo. Topaz and I took another 3 mile walk, this time with a bit of jogging and we finished in :40. Feeling better.
I was remembering some fun things about FANS:
The Billion Dollar Bribe: Maynard (he did run a lap with me, I failed to mention that in my report), Ed and Gene were in a group crewing. As I ran by I said "there are the best three looking guys around today". They laughed and had comments. Maynard asked me to say that every time I ran past. I began too, every lap, I said something about how handsome they were. Maynard said he'd pay me $5 if I continued. Eventually Maynard came up to me with a Billion Dollar Bill. It was pretty hysterical.
Royal Dogs: As I was at about 60 miles I came across a woman and man, each holding a leash with the most beautiful, elegant yet masculine, long haired, dog. They had two of them. These dogs had backs that were up to my waist. They were majestic. I stopped dead in my tracks. I walked over to the people and fell over my words, telling them how beautiful and wonderful and exquisite their dogs were. The woman thanked me profusely. As I looked into the dogs eyes I felt like they could see into my soul. I'm not kidding. I could see intelligence and that the dogs had a keen understanding of what was going on with me. It was incredible. And freaky. Did you see these dogs? Anyone? Have I been reading too many Terry Goodkind novels? Maybe I didn't see them at all. They were magic dogs.
Crazy Cheers: The group of people in the grassy area before the start. They were amazing. Each time I ran past them they would spot me coming and would start screaming and yelling. I would smile and laugh and wave and thank them for being so kind to me. One time that I passed they asked me my name, another time they asked me if I was running the 12 or 24, they were such a lift, I found myself looking forward to seeing them each lap. Eventually as I came around I only saw one lone man left. He told me his runner ran the 12 hour, he was finished and he was leaving. He told me he felt like he was bailing on me and felt badly about it. He waited for me to come around to let me know! I told him no, no, no! Feel happy, you brought me joy every time I passed and I thank you. Yesterday Adam Harmer left the comment for me that this group was his, and I was their favorite runner.
Tattoo Tom: Tom Andrews wanted me to flash him my tattoo each time I passed. I don't know who told him I had a tattoo. He told me I should wear a backless shirt. I told him I may just take my shirt off with all of the heat and humidity. I never did.
Kissing and Tell Ed: Every time I passed Ed K. he had something smart to say to me with a smooch smooch sound. Finally, at the end of the race, when I was all dirty and grimy and sweaty and gross..he kissed my arm. Ewww!
Bob Who? I didn't recognize Bob Metzger! He was standing right next to me at the check in. I looked at him, said hello, but didn't know who he was. When he spoke in that smooth voice I was stunned! Short hair, dark glasses; it was very nice to see Bob and Chris again.
The Wave: Each time I passed the group of spectators past the start/finish, near the first beach, they gave me the wave. "Here comes the pink girl, let's wave her!" It was awesome.
Swag: I received the 100 Miles in 24 Hours sweatshirt, a 500 Miles Vest, the 3rd Place Woman plaque, the FANS Mt. Nokomis T shirt. Lots of goodies!
FANS really is a fun race. Everything is well organized from the packet pickup, the weigh ins, the post race breakfast, timing, the spectators are a riot, so many friends are out there running..give it a try!
I'm doing great. I was a bit stiff yesterday, I had a vacation day so I slept in until 8, or tried to. Toffee, my Ragdoll cat is used to being fed at 430 AM every morning when I usually wake. He was kneading on my chest, (I later trimmed his claws!) purring in my ear and making a nuisance of himself. Eventually he curled up on my head and caused me to dream that I was running with a fur hat! Crazy.
Anyhow, Topaz and I headed for the trail for a slow walk. I was quite amazed to find that my shoes fit. This has never happened before post 100. Usually I am too swollen to fit into any footwear but Tyler's size 16 boots or shoes. Walking was difficult at first but after a half mile or so I was really clipping along. Right. 3 miles in 1:05! Felt good to move though.
The boys asked me if I was going to spend the day nesting again. Sunday I nested on the couch most of the day. Nope, I did some weeding in my gardens, read my bread books and watched the boys play ball. I didn't participate.
Today I went back to work..I only have three days left now! Woohoo. Topaz and I took another 3 mile walk, this time with a bit of jogging and we finished in :40. Feeling better.
I was remembering some fun things about FANS:
The Billion Dollar Bribe: Maynard (he did run a lap with me, I failed to mention that in my report), Ed and Gene were in a group crewing. As I ran by I said "there are the best three looking guys around today". They laughed and had comments. Maynard asked me to say that every time I ran past. I began too, every lap, I said something about how handsome they were. Maynard said he'd pay me $5 if I continued. Eventually Maynard came up to me with a Billion Dollar Bill. It was pretty hysterical.
Royal Dogs: As I was at about 60 miles I came across a woman and man, each holding a leash with the most beautiful, elegant yet masculine, long haired, dog. They had two of them. These dogs had backs that were up to my waist. They were majestic. I stopped dead in my tracks. I walked over to the people and fell over my words, telling them how beautiful and wonderful and exquisite their dogs were. The woman thanked me profusely. As I looked into the dogs eyes I felt like they could see into my soul. I'm not kidding. I could see intelligence and that the dogs had a keen understanding of what was going on with me. It was incredible. And freaky. Did you see these dogs? Anyone? Have I been reading too many Terry Goodkind novels? Maybe I didn't see them at all. They were magic dogs.
Crazy Cheers: The group of people in the grassy area before the start. They were amazing. Each time I ran past them they would spot me coming and would start screaming and yelling. I would smile and laugh and wave and thank them for being so kind to me. One time that I passed they asked me my name, another time they asked me if I was running the 12 or 24, they were such a lift, I found myself looking forward to seeing them each lap. Eventually as I came around I only saw one lone man left. He told me his runner ran the 12 hour, he was finished and he was leaving. He told me he felt like he was bailing on me and felt badly about it. He waited for me to come around to let me know! I told him no, no, no! Feel happy, you brought me joy every time I passed and I thank you. Yesterday Adam Harmer left the comment for me that this group was his, and I was their favorite runner.
Tattoo Tom: Tom Andrews wanted me to flash him my tattoo each time I passed. I don't know who told him I had a tattoo. He told me I should wear a backless shirt. I told him I may just take my shirt off with all of the heat and humidity. I never did.
Kissing and Tell Ed: Every time I passed Ed K. he had something smart to say to me with a smooch smooch sound. Finally, at the end of the race, when I was all dirty and grimy and sweaty and gross..he kissed my arm. Ewww!
Bob Who? I didn't recognize Bob Metzger! He was standing right next to me at the check in. I looked at him, said hello, but didn't know who he was. When he spoke in that smooth voice I was stunned! Short hair, dark glasses; it was very nice to see Bob and Chris again.
The Wave: Each time I passed the group of spectators past the start/finish, near the first beach, they gave me the wave. "Here comes the pink girl, let's wave her!" It was awesome.
Swag: I received the 100 Miles in 24 Hours sweatshirt, a 500 Miles Vest, the 3rd Place Woman plaque, the FANS Mt. Nokomis T shirt. Lots of goodies!
FANS really is a fun race. Everything is well organized from the packet pickup, the weigh ins, the post race breakfast, timing, the spectators are a riot, so many friends are out there running..give it a try!
Sunday, June 08, 2008
FANS 2008; A Tough One
Earlier last week I was thinking about goals for FANS 2008. Goal 1: Run 100 miles no matter what. Goal 2: PR at 117 miles. Goal 3: 120 miles, why not?
I really believed I could run 120 miles. I'm in the best shape I have ever been in. I purchased a Garmin 50-the low end model as a pacing tool,without all the GPS that I probably wouldn't be able to figure out anyway, AND it has a 200 hour battery, I still can't believe the GPS's have a 14 hour battery. When I called my friend, Kevin, to ask him to help manually calibrate it for me, I told his as much, without thinking. He told me he had a Garmin I could use. I stated "it only has a 14 hour battery life, what good is it, who the hell runs only 14 hours?" Oops. He chuckled and let me off the hook. You know, when you are running with, hanging out with 100 mile runners, you forget that 14 hours is enough for most.
Anyway, I took the Garmin for a spin: it worked, I could calculate my pace, mph, etc.etc.etc. I mean, come on, how difficult is running an 11 minute mile for 24 hours? I figured for potty breaks, food, etc. I could get in 120. Or 100. Or 117; the three goals.
The day was beautiful. Remember, I love to run in the heat. The forecast said 80, humid, storms. I could do without the storms.
E Fisher Drew invited me last week to set up near she and John, the crew extraordinaire. I took them up on it immediately. I brought out my duffel and cooler, arranged what I needed. Gels, premixed Hammer Heed (last year it took so damn long mixing up my Heed I wasted huge amounts of time), I had PBJ, Turkey, Julie's Balls, Code Red Mountain Dew, Red Bull, ice, ready to rock and roll.
I pulled into the lot, parking next to Steve Quick, on a mission for his first 100. He realized he forgot a hat; luckily, I had a spare for him. It fit, too :)
Visiting is the best part! I saw lots of friends, I can't list them all because there are a zillion. They are the best. We talked, laughed and mingled. Great fun.
Monica, who I worked with at Berkley Risk, walked up to me as I was sitting in my chair, with her sister. Her sister points to my leg and says "Oh look, its fat". I just kind of looked at her, and again, she said "FATS" I was thinking what the hell? They walked off and I asked John Drew "did she just call me fat" He said "I think so. But she's wrong" The man next to us said " No, she said SPATZ" Apparently spatz are gaitors?? I had on my bright pink gaitors, which received many comments by the way. Most comments were very nice, a few of the older stodgier men thought they were goofy because I wasn't running trail. Guess what? I still took dirt out of my socks!
The sun was warm, the humidity was becoming oppressive. I was sweating early. After a few laps I stopped at camp to reapply sunscreen, get my sunglasses and refuel. I couldn't eat solids. Already. Too early to not have an appetite. My mantra is eat early and often. I was drinking 24 oz of Heed every hour. My turkey sandwiches gave me the queasies. Everything did. What the heck? On 100 mile trail races I eat whole sandwiches, potatoes, soups, what's up with this?
I was never able to stomach any solids the whole 24 hours. Thank goodness I had 30 Espresso Hammergels along with 3 gallons of Heed. I also had Recoverite mixed in another gallon. This is what allowed me to get through the race.
The day was beautiful; there was a nice breeze, a partly sunny, then all sunny sky, I was all smiles and feeling good. I felt strong. I felt like I could hammer. Why run 10-11 minute miles when I feel good at 9-930? Well, for one, because it is a 24 hour race, silly girl.
I ran a few loops with John Taylor, who was doing well, looking strong. The rest of the day I ran by myself. It was fun to watch the families at the public beaches. I was shocked to see so many dog owners DRAGGING their dogs along on leash, tongues dragging, obviously in distress. One little Chihuahua was laying down as this woman pulled him along. I said Oh my gosh, can't you carry him? She says 'oh I suppose' Well, come on woman! I saw exhausted warm dogs all day -not to mention runners!
15 miles in my lap counter began to ring a cowbell and say YOU DID IT! I was like ... me? Yeah, you got it! I thought he lost a marble and was talking to someone else. I asked the gal I was able to get ice from and she told me that someone must have just reached 500 miles. I looked at my bib and it said Julie Berg 485 miles. I said, oh, that was me! Ooops.
As I was running through the public beach lot I saw someone up ahead waving her arms over her head. I couldn't quite figure out who it was yet, she was a ways away. It was Donna Rae! Donna, thank you so much for comming out. I look forward to seeing you at FANS each year. Pat came long too, it was great to see her again. Thank you DR! Love yah :)
Duke, Eve and Wynn came out to cheer us on. Eve did her classic jumping jacks for me! John, Cheri and Emma came to visit; it was great to see friends along the course. A big lift!
We had to weigh in at 4 hours; I was down 4 pounds. Of course I had been hydrating all week and I ate a bowl of oatmeal before the race. I was up higher than normal. By the next weigh in I stayed at 130 and continued to do so for the remainder of the race. You know what? 2 years ago when I ran this race Paul Hasse was on the scale before me, 155, I weighed in, 155. He looked at me and said with a big nice smile "Hey! We weigh the same!" He didn't mean it to say I'm a fattie, he was just pointing out the cool point that we weighed the same. I can't tell you how good it felt to weigh in at 130, fully dressed and carbo loaded-hydrated.
Maria took over my lap counting duties; it was so wonderful to have a good friends cheery face each lap. I reached 50 miles in less than 10 hours and 100K in less than 12. I've never run so quickly at this race before. I was feeling excellent, strong, on top of the world. I was concerned that I wasn't able to take in solids, and I was concerned about the runners who were calling it a day at 50 miles, but I continued to hydrate and gel up. It was the best I could do.
Sara and Pam were running their first FANS. They looked great! Sara was having difficulty with blisters but once she had them taped up she was able to get back to running. The had lots of smiles.
After Maria was done with duty, Jan took over. Jan had filled me in on Leadville and I just saw her at the Superior 25/50K. It was fun to see her each lap.
My knight in shining armour comes to run with me each night during FANS from 10:00 to 1:00 or so. Jefferey says he comes in the evening so that I am already worn out and he can keep up with me. I was getting worn out. My legs were cramping, my stomach was upset, I kept passing gas, it was embarrassing, I was running 1130 minute miles. He told me Sue Olsen was 7 minutes ahead of me, on the same lap. I didn't have it in me to catch her. I was just running my own race, lap by lap.
We ran 3 laps together, then I told him I had to walk one. I hadn't walked at all yet during the race. We made it to 83 or so, then Jefferey was off for home. I sure appreciate him coming out each year! Thank you :)
It began to rain, a bit, then harder. I changed out of my tank into a short sleeved shirt. I was soaked, cold and sore. I just wanted 100 frickin' miles. Funny how you re-adjust. I ran 100 miles at 21 hours and then walked two loops. My quads were fried. I couldn't figure it out, there are NO hills, it is flat flat flat other than one concrete bridge. It had to be the heat..this is the first time I had run at anything over 68F. The two warm weekends here I was up north. It had to be the humidity. It had to be the constant pounding of the pavement, which I haven't run on at all. I was hoping for 80! I love to run in the heat. Yikes. I need to add: after I am acclimated I like to run a 100 in the heat. My quads hurt, my skin hurt, my waist hurt and I wasn't wearing a belt around it! I was using a hand held. I was a hurting until.
I finished my final lap with Les. He joked to Cindy that he was with me so that he could beat me. He said he was +only+ 26 miles behind me.
At the finish Tom and Nancy arrived. They are just the sweetest. They carried my things to the shower house, led me into the shower and Nancy promised to check on me in 10 minutes. A shower has never felt so good. All the salt, dirty, sun screen, bug spray, dirt and whatnot..I was a mess.
Don and Bonnie and Marie were at the finish line. I ate breakfast with Don and Bonnie, Angie and crew and Don D. I had my appetite back! Usually I am not hungry after a 100, but boy I was famished this morning. After I stopped running and showered, my stomach came around. I ate scrambled eggs, bagels, fruit and sausage. Bonnie even went up to get me seconds on the sausage! It was fabulous.
I only live an hour away from Minneapolis. I had to stop in Minnetonka at a gas station to snooze for 30 minutes before continuing home! I am beat.
I'm very happy with 105 miles. Very very happy. I ended up with 3rd woman; Debra Horn was first at 114.xx and Sue Olson was second with 114.xx A very close race for first and second!
Sue received her 2000 mile award AND a cake with candles. Super cool. She rocks, man.
Last year 26 runners ran 100 miles; this year..I believe 6. The weather had a lot to do with it.
The boys unloaded all of my gear and were very happy to find my salted nut rolls, Red Bull, Julie's Balls, Code Red and Coke untouched.
I filled a cold bath and soaked as they snacked.
I really believed I could run 120 miles. I'm in the best shape I have ever been in. I purchased a Garmin 50-the low end model as a pacing tool,without all the GPS that I probably wouldn't be able to figure out anyway, AND it has a 200 hour battery, I still can't believe the GPS's have a 14 hour battery. When I called my friend, Kevin, to ask him to help manually calibrate it for me, I told his as much, without thinking. He told me he had a Garmin I could use. I stated "it only has a 14 hour battery life, what good is it, who the hell runs only 14 hours?" Oops. He chuckled and let me off the hook. You know, when you are running with, hanging out with 100 mile runners, you forget that 14 hours is enough for most.
Anyway, I took the Garmin for a spin: it worked, I could calculate my pace, mph, etc.etc.etc. I mean, come on, how difficult is running an 11 minute mile for 24 hours? I figured for potty breaks, food, etc. I could get in 120. Or 100. Or 117; the three goals.
The day was beautiful. Remember, I love to run in the heat. The forecast said 80, humid, storms. I could do without the storms.
E Fisher Drew invited me last week to set up near she and John, the crew extraordinaire. I took them up on it immediately. I brought out my duffel and cooler, arranged what I needed. Gels, premixed Hammer Heed (last year it took so damn long mixing up my Heed I wasted huge amounts of time), I had PBJ, Turkey, Julie's Balls, Code Red Mountain Dew, Red Bull, ice, ready to rock and roll.
I pulled into the lot, parking next to Steve Quick, on a mission for his first 100. He realized he forgot a hat; luckily, I had a spare for him. It fit, too :)
Visiting is the best part! I saw lots of friends, I can't list them all because there are a zillion. They are the best. We talked, laughed and mingled. Great fun.
Monica, who I worked with at Berkley Risk, walked up to me as I was sitting in my chair, with her sister. Her sister points to my leg and says "Oh look, its fat". I just kind of looked at her, and again, she said "FATS" I was thinking what the hell? They walked off and I asked John Drew "did she just call me fat" He said "I think so. But she's wrong" The man next to us said " No, she said SPATZ" Apparently spatz are gaitors?? I had on my bright pink gaitors, which received many comments by the way. Most comments were very nice, a few of the older stodgier men thought they were goofy because I wasn't running trail. Guess what? I still took dirt out of my socks!
The sun was warm, the humidity was becoming oppressive. I was sweating early. After a few laps I stopped at camp to reapply sunscreen, get my sunglasses and refuel. I couldn't eat solids. Already. Too early to not have an appetite. My mantra is eat early and often. I was drinking 24 oz of Heed every hour. My turkey sandwiches gave me the queasies. Everything did. What the heck? On 100 mile trail races I eat whole sandwiches, potatoes, soups, what's up with this?
I was never able to stomach any solids the whole 24 hours. Thank goodness I had 30 Espresso Hammergels along with 3 gallons of Heed. I also had Recoverite mixed in another gallon. This is what allowed me to get through the race.
The day was beautiful; there was a nice breeze, a partly sunny, then all sunny sky, I was all smiles and feeling good. I felt strong. I felt like I could hammer. Why run 10-11 minute miles when I feel good at 9-930? Well, for one, because it is a 24 hour race, silly girl.
I ran a few loops with John Taylor, who was doing well, looking strong. The rest of the day I ran by myself. It was fun to watch the families at the public beaches. I was shocked to see so many dog owners DRAGGING their dogs along on leash, tongues dragging, obviously in distress. One little Chihuahua was laying down as this woman pulled him along. I said Oh my gosh, can't you carry him? She says 'oh I suppose' Well, come on woman! I saw exhausted warm dogs all day -not to mention runners!
15 miles in my lap counter began to ring a cowbell and say YOU DID IT! I was like ... me? Yeah, you got it! I thought he lost a marble and was talking to someone else. I asked the gal I was able to get ice from and she told me that someone must have just reached 500 miles. I looked at my bib and it said Julie Berg 485 miles. I said, oh, that was me! Ooops.
As I was running through the public beach lot I saw someone up ahead waving her arms over her head. I couldn't quite figure out who it was yet, she was a ways away. It was Donna Rae! Donna, thank you so much for comming out. I look forward to seeing you at FANS each year. Pat came long too, it was great to see her again. Thank you DR! Love yah :)
Duke, Eve and Wynn came out to cheer us on. Eve did her classic jumping jacks for me! John, Cheri and Emma came to visit; it was great to see friends along the course. A big lift!
We had to weigh in at 4 hours; I was down 4 pounds. Of course I had been hydrating all week and I ate a bowl of oatmeal before the race. I was up higher than normal. By the next weigh in I stayed at 130 and continued to do so for the remainder of the race. You know what? 2 years ago when I ran this race Paul Hasse was on the scale before me, 155, I weighed in, 155. He looked at me and said with a big nice smile "Hey! We weigh the same!" He didn't mean it to say I'm a fattie, he was just pointing out the cool point that we weighed the same. I can't tell you how good it felt to weigh in at 130, fully dressed and carbo loaded-hydrated.
Maria took over my lap counting duties; it was so wonderful to have a good friends cheery face each lap. I reached 50 miles in less than 10 hours and 100K in less than 12. I've never run so quickly at this race before. I was feeling excellent, strong, on top of the world. I was concerned that I wasn't able to take in solids, and I was concerned about the runners who were calling it a day at 50 miles, but I continued to hydrate and gel up. It was the best I could do.
Sara and Pam were running their first FANS. They looked great! Sara was having difficulty with blisters but once she had them taped up she was able to get back to running. The had lots of smiles.
After Maria was done with duty, Jan took over. Jan had filled me in on Leadville and I just saw her at the Superior 25/50K. It was fun to see her each lap.
My knight in shining armour comes to run with me each night during FANS from 10:00 to 1:00 or so. Jefferey says he comes in the evening so that I am already worn out and he can keep up with me. I was getting worn out. My legs were cramping, my stomach was upset, I kept passing gas, it was embarrassing, I was running 1130 minute miles. He told me Sue Olsen was 7 minutes ahead of me, on the same lap. I didn't have it in me to catch her. I was just running my own race, lap by lap.
We ran 3 laps together, then I told him I had to walk one. I hadn't walked at all yet during the race. We made it to 83 or so, then Jefferey was off for home. I sure appreciate him coming out each year! Thank you :)
It began to rain, a bit, then harder. I changed out of my tank into a short sleeved shirt. I was soaked, cold and sore. I just wanted 100 frickin' miles. Funny how you re-adjust. I ran 100 miles at 21 hours and then walked two loops. My quads were fried. I couldn't figure it out, there are NO hills, it is flat flat flat other than one concrete bridge. It had to be the heat..this is the first time I had run at anything over 68F. The two warm weekends here I was up north. It had to be the humidity. It had to be the constant pounding of the pavement, which I haven't run on at all. I was hoping for 80! I love to run in the heat. Yikes. I need to add: after I am acclimated I like to run a 100 in the heat. My quads hurt, my skin hurt, my waist hurt and I wasn't wearing a belt around it! I was using a hand held. I was a hurting until.
I finished my final lap with Les. He joked to Cindy that he was with me so that he could beat me. He said he was +only+ 26 miles behind me.
At the finish Tom and Nancy arrived. They are just the sweetest. They carried my things to the shower house, led me into the shower and Nancy promised to check on me in 10 minutes. A shower has never felt so good. All the salt, dirty, sun screen, bug spray, dirt and whatnot..I was a mess.
Don and Bonnie and Marie were at the finish line. I ate breakfast with Don and Bonnie, Angie and crew and Don D. I had my appetite back! Usually I am not hungry after a 100, but boy I was famished this morning. After I stopped running and showered, my stomach came around. I ate scrambled eggs, bagels, fruit and sausage. Bonnie even went up to get me seconds on the sausage! It was fabulous.
I only live an hour away from Minneapolis. I had to stop in Minnetonka at a gas station to snooze for 30 minutes before continuing home! I am beat.
I'm very happy with 105 miles. Very very happy. I ended up with 3rd woman; Debra Horn was first at 114.xx and Sue Olson was second with 114.xx A very close race for first and second!
Sue received her 2000 mile award AND a cake with candles. Super cool. She rocks, man.
Last year 26 runners ran 100 miles; this year..I believe 6. The weather had a lot to do with it.
The boys unloaded all of my gear and were very happy to find my salted nut rolls, Red Bull, Julie's Balls, Code Red and Coke untouched.
I filled a cold bath and soaked as they snacked.
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