Paved Paradise and Now are Reclaiming it!

It's like the song, Paved Paradise and put in a parking lot. Well, today was my chance to reclaim paradise. I volunteered at Discovery Park today to replant some native trees, shrubs and berries and cleaned out some invasive species. REI organized a cleanup day at Discovery and I run there enough that I thought it would be good to give back, plus I got a shirt that says Get Dirty and cookies!! What could be bad?

We started out planting winter berries but I had noticed that there were a bunch of trees waiting to be planted. So, I asked the park ranger if I could plant a tree, because my name means tree and I don't think I have ever planted a tree in my life. I just wanted to plant one, but I ended up planting paradise. And, the kicker was they were Magnolias, and I was in Magnolia neighborhood, so great!!! I was the only one assigned to the Magnolias and I had free range over where to plant. I felt very special. I also felt the atmosphere getting just that little bit cleaner.

I cant wait to go back in a few years to see my field of trees.

If you ever get a chance to volunteer with REI on one of these projects, do it!

Need a little help!?

I thought I would share my recipe for what I like to call My Little Poopers, just in case you need some...help. I eat two of these little guys for breakfast each morning and I am good to go!!! And, don't be frightened by the list of ingredients, they are actually pretty tasty and give you all the nutrition you need for the day.

Makes about 50 little poopers, can easily be halved.

2 cups wheat bran
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups ground almond meal
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
6 teaspoons flax seed meal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
As many walnuts as makes you happy (or raisins, or pecans...)
A handful of carrots, chopped in the food processor (can also use zucchini)
1 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cup milk
2 mashed up bananas
a healthy dose of honey
2 eggs

Mix together all the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl mix together all the wet ingredients
Combine and be sure not to over mix
Spoon into muffin tins
Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven

These guys can freeze easily. I usually put two in a little snack bag and take em out each night so they are ready to go in the morning. One hour later you will see where I get the name!!!

Enjoy!

So What

Yeah, I went for a run today, so what!!!???

What goes down must come up? Huh?

I have just returned from my weekend of the 2009 running of the Orcas Island Fat Ass 50k Trail Run and just like the shirt says, 'its a whale of a run, its a killer' and it was! Probably one of the most physically challenging things I have ever attempted. For those that are into reading race details, please read on, for those of you who this isn't interesting just know that you can now officially call me an ultramarathoner!

As we packed up the car on Friday to catch the ferry at Anacortes it was raining and I had this impending sense of doom. But, we caught the ferry, chatted with some other crazy runners and the clouds parted, blue skies emerged.

As we stood in line to pick up our race packets I started to get extremely nervous, was I about to really run 31 miles up several thousand feet of elevation gain!? I guess I was, I had my number and the shirts were on their way. We weren't staying at the campsite but rather at Doe Bay to soak in the tubs and eat good food and get a good night sleep. I was so nervous that I could barely eat, I soaked in the hot tub which made me feel slightly more relaxed, but really that only lasted a few minutes.

I went back to the camp to pick up my shirt. What the race director had done was rather than producing 250 brand new shirts he went out and bought used ones and screened them himself so there was a huge pile of shirts to chose from, all shapes, colors, fabrics, makes and models. I got a hoody for myself and a pink tight shirt for my friend A who ran the 25k.

Tried to sleep but literally was checking my phone every five minutes to see if I had missed the alarm. Tried to eat but was too nervous and only managed to choke down half a bowl of oatmeal. Tried to relax but could not manage. I did however manage to not throw up!

The weather was cloudy, but it didn't look like it was going to rain. All I wanted was to have a view from the top of Mt. Constitution, and I managed to get it. The day got progressively more gorgeous.

We arrived at the camp for the early start and the race director was explaining the route and how to read the various tree markers for the course, I was sure I was going to get lost at least once. Then it was time. About 20 of us early starters walked up the hill, race director counted down and then said go. I shook my fist at him, knowing what course he had laid out for us.

The first 4 or 5 miles were up up and up. I was very delighted that the other early starters were all walking the ups and running the flats (when there were any) and the downs. That comforted me. I lost most people and was alone for most of this chunk of the race, except for a guy with his dog who stuck behind me for all the ups (he would later prove to be instrumental in my race).

Let me tell you that I had studied that elevation chart and knew it like the back of my hand. Probably a mistake in hindsight. But, I knew that I had three major climbs in this race and that is how I was breaking it down in my head. So, I knew that when I got to the top of Mt. Pickett there was some down in my future. I love down, but I knew that what comes down must go back up again. Counter0intuitive, I know, but not in this ultra. I had to save some for the two huge climbs ahead, this first one was the most mild out of all of them.

Just as I crested the top and started to gradually sink down, out of the mist appeared the guy in red with the dog. He passed me and we chatted for a moment. Then the regular start guys started to fly by me. They had done in one hour what I had done in two! I asked the guy in the lead what took him so long. I don't think he appreciated that so much.

As I approached the first aid station, which happened to be at mile 10, back at the start line, I heard what I thought was yelling and screaming and cheering and I knew my crew was there. I had the best support crew out of any of those racers that day. Six strong they were. As I emerged into the open muddy field I saw pompoms, flashes of photos and friends all screaming. I felt like a rock star. I was slower than I wanted to be but seeing them helped to boost me. I fueled up, restocked on water and tried not to go inside and quit. I knew the next time I would see this place I would be an ultramarathoner, I couldn't quit now. Back out I went, back out to the up.

Doom and gloom were in my head as I approached what I knew was going to be the toughest climb of the day. At the bottom of the power lines mountain (don't know the actual name) the guy in the red with dog, now without the dog, came up behind me. I knew I needed a buddy so I started chatting with Max just as we started the ascent. Thank god for Max! I felt like a mountain goat. At one point I was on all fours, that's how steep it was. But, Max kept me distracted enough just by his mere presence. And so we climbed, and climbed and climbed and climbed. This sucker was just not cresting. Just when you thought it would be over and we got to run down for a few yards you would look up and realize there were people several hundred feet above you and you would soon have to go there too. My heart was pounding, my stomach was growling, my calf muscles were screaming, my lungs were burning... and all I was doing was slowly walking up. My god! We climbed so far up that there was now snow! The best par of this, was just ahead of a big snow field there was yellow caution tape! This was the part that the race director was worried about! Not the 2500 foot climb, no, the little bit of snow and ice up top! Uch! I cursed his name as I laughed about the warning.

Then, finally, just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore I saw a sign pointing us to the left, down a hill! Down! But, as my heart was soaring, I saw it, the ominous sign that pointed me left "50k first time" what! I had to come back to this spot again! I was crying on the inside but on the outside I felt like I was flying down that mountain. All the meanwhile I had lost Max somewhere on the uphill climb. I knew he would be ok because this was something like his 130'th ultramarathon. I wouldn't see him for a while but eventually he caught me again.

As I am going down, my calves enjoying a bit of a rest I had this feeling, like something wasn't right, there were racers coming back on this trail. Most were the 25k people but then I started to see a couple of the 50k people that had passed me earlier. I then knew that I would have to come back up this sucker, after having completed the last of the three huge climbs. I shook my fist at the race director again but not too badly because I was enjoying some down time. But, like the title of this post says, what comes down must go up again, this time straight up it was to be.

As I looped around Mountain Lake, I knew that the water only aid station at mile 19 was coming up and Mt. Constitution was looming. Just then I hear some chatter, two ladies who had passed me ages ago and Max! Turns out the two runners had taken a wrong turn, missed the orange tree markers, an easy thing to do, and added an extra 5 miles onto their day. Max hung back with me and we finished the Mountain Lake loop chatting together.

Just as we approached the aid station I had a sinking feeling that my crew was not going to be there, after all I hadn't heard any cheering from across the lake. I was right and my head was pounding, I had an unusual headache and my crew had my Advil. Max offered me a big white pill and I took it, hoping it wouldn't react badly.

The race director was at the aid station and told us there was some bad news, he was imposing a cutoff at the top of Mt. Constitution, we had to get up, three miles up, in under an hour. Now, normally three miles in an hour, no problem. Yeah, problem when you are at mile 19 of a race that had already taken you up two mountains. Max's problem were the uphills, he claimed that he didn't have the climbing muscles like he used to. He told me to get on up there and leave him be. I knew if I took off he wouldn't make it up top in under an hour but I hadn't come this far just to be pulled.

I was mad, I was mad at the mountain, I was mad at myself for not realizing there was a cutoff, I was mad at the snow that was started to appear, I was mad at the race director, I was mad and swearing. I knew my crew would be up there and I didn't want to have to cry in front of them being pathetically pulled from this race. I hoofed it. I was pouring sweat. I was so concentrated on making it to the top of that climb that I didn't even stop at the lookout to absorb the amazing view. I cursed again. And, then as the time was dwindling I kept on looking at my watch, knowing I was not going to make it and was preparing a speech for the director in my defense, I was going to convince him to let me go on.

I could feel I was getting to the top and I saw two of my crew taking pictures from a particularly gorgeous spot and I was jealous that I couldn't stop to enjoy. I was sort of mean to them as I blew past them in hopes that I would still make it.

Then, up ahead I saw my friend R with orange pompoms, I knew I had to be getting close but the snow was slowing me down. I was determined and angry. I was not going to get pulled. Although, if I did get pulled I wouldn't have to run another 10 miles, that was sort of appealing. But, no, I was determined and I gritted through it.

Then, finally, finally I hear the screaming of the rest of my crew and saw that damn aid station. All I could concentrate on was not getting pulled and as I crested I screamed at her, "are you pulling me?" and she just shook her head no! My shoulders relaxed, I had made it! The directed was there and my crew took a great shot of me flicking him off with a big smile on my face. I again refueled, hung around and rested for a bit knowing that I would make it the rest of the way and hoping to see Max come up behind me. I never did. Seeing my crew and that view, my god, that view, it was everything I had hoped from the day, I set off, down! Mercifully down. But, I knew, I knew that back of the out and back that I had enjoyed as a down earlier was coming up as an up.

As I was descending from Constitution on one switchback I heard some familiar voices. It was two friendly ladies who I chatted with in the first mile of the race who had offered me cookies when I finished. They were faster than I was so I was confused about where they had gone to. They too had taken a wrong turn and were just now getting back on course. They blew past me and I only saw about 3 or 4 people after that. The last 10 miles were lonely miles.

But, I knew the majority of the real climbs were done. I had that last little bit of up, then a huge down, then around the lake and I was done. Yeah, easier said than done!

As soon as I got to that ominous sign that said "50k second time" at the top of the power line mountain I knew I was going to be ok. But, then we continued to go across the top of the mountain, wait, should we be heading back already, we are going to far across. I hadnt seen anyone for a long time and started to question if I had made a wrong turn. I actually stopped to listen to see if anyone was around. I had no choice but to continue on, I did not want to backtrack. That was a good call. Finally I saw some orange tree ties. Phew! Then glorious down! Or so I thought.

Switchback after switchback, foot after painful foot of descent. I couldn't even see the lake below. But, I chugged on and actually thought I was moving pretty fast for having all those miles and climbs behind me. But, I wanted that lake to come up. There were a couple of points that I thought, ok, I must be getting close, its flattening out, I must be getting close. But, no, it dragged on and on and on. I actually screamed at one point and once again, unfairly, swore at the race director, mostly because I knew I still would not be done once I got to the bottom, why did he have to add the lake at the end, uch!

Then, finally, like a thirsty person seeing the oasis in the desert, there was that lake! I whooped and hollered. I crossed over the highway and thought, ok, you can do another 2 miles, no problem. I had actually done this lake, twice, years ago when training for my very first marathon. I knew this lake. So what! I looked at my watch and knew I had to chug it a little bit in order to make that 9 hour cutoff. Then I heard the whistle and a vision, my friend R had come back out to get me! Just about a half mile to go! I arrived back at camp to hoots and hollers from some of the campers and I pumped my fist. It felt strange to be running on pavement after so many miles of trail.

R told me it was just up this last little hill, what! UP! Again! My god, could I not catch a break! Then I saw two of my crew taking photos and twirling batons, then I saw some more of my crew right at the crest of the hill, then I saw the last little short downhill to the finish table!!!! My watch said 9:00:33 when I stopped it! My crew had a 3 and a 0 candle in two pastries for my 30th birthday, 30 mile accomplishment. They handed me a tiara and a piece of pizza. Then, my friend A surprised me. I normally run races for the medals, this was such a no frills race that they didn't do medals which disappointed me. She had gone out, bought me a real medal, engraved on the back: my name, Bad Ass, Orcas Island Fat Ass 50k, February 2009. Wow! I really do have the best crew ever. Everyone else was jealous!

I then took one last photo with the director, flicked him off again and was all smiles. I really had hoped to be the very last finisher, I thought I was because I hadn't seen anyone in a long time. Turns out I was second to last, argh! But no matter, I was eating cheesecake and pizza and was an ultra marathoner.

The entire race I was formulating this thought. I did this race to celebrate my 30th birthday. Each leg of this race, each climb mimicked each of the decades in my life. The first 10 miles everything was new, I was taking it all in, it was a joy, it was relatively easy. The second 10 miles were the rough ones, a lot of struggle and questioning everything, with a big push at the end, coming out ok. The third 10 I was feeling confident and now its all downhill!

Here we go

Orcas Island Fat Ass 50k trail race, here I come! So nervous becuase of this:

Yeah, thats not an EKG, its the course elevation profile.

Wish me luck!!!

Closed on Thanksgiving - Dump Tour '09

I love garbage, am fascinated by it and all its aspects, including what happens to it once it leaves your curb. That is why I went on a tour of a dump today. This was the second installation of my three part tour, the first happened last year when I toured the waste water treatment plant at Discovery Park, the third will be a landfill tour.

The transfer station, as they are officially called, was the brand new state of the art facility in Shoreline. We arrived to a friendly staff and donned our safety gear and heard all about how green the building is and how the surrounding area waterways are protected in every way. That would be the main theme of the tour, as if we were with some environmental group going to report to someone about how clean their facility really is.

Our tour guide was a 15 year veteran, a self-described "not a garbage man" who seemed to relish telling us about his plant.

As we went out to see the pit I was shocked by how empty it was. There was barely any trash. Turns out it was a slow day, amidst a slowing garbage economy (according to our tour guide trash levels have reduced by 7% in the last year). Also turns out that garbage that comes in on weekends is very different than garbage that comes in on weekdays, its fluffier, who knew?

The way the dump works is that the public and commercial clients dump their trash into the pit, directly from their cars or trucks. It is all bulldozed into one hole in the ground, which is dumped directly into a brand new, high tech compactor below. This is where we went next. We learned that the entire floor is slightly sloped to one corner for all the leachate (garbage gu) to drain into.

We then walked directly onto the pit floor, which was thrilling. Here is a pic:

We then went upstairs to where they have some odor and dust controls and the behind the scenes generators and hydraulic something or the others.

That was pretty much the tour. We ended up back at the office and had fun in the state of the art bathrooms with high powered hand dryers and boot warmers.

I highly recommend any citizen of the US to go on these tours, it will open your eyes to how wasteful this country is. The waste water treatment tour made me rethink almost all the bathroom and kitchen products I use, this tour made me want to recycle more than ever and I am sure my landfill tour will open my eyes to more wonderful tidbits.

So, next time you throw something away, just think where its going to end up!

Dreams

I have had a series of funny and stressful dreams lately. I think I am feeling the pressure of my upcoming 50k race and its coming through in my dreams. First one is funny, second one any runner will relate to!

My friend E, who in real life is a Microsoft geek, was training to be a flight attendant and I was lucky enough to book a ticket on one of her final training flights, which was an actual flight that she was in charge of. It was fairly empty and she didn't have much to do so we chit chatted, I went to the bathroom right before the final descent, when all of a sudden I see the windows being removed and a crew of people in black are putting things on to the plane, like a baby in a crib into the aisle, and an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair and just random bags all over the place on seats. They even opened some overhead bins here and there. Then, without a trace disappeared. I opened the window shades and it turns out we never left the ground, this was all a simulation to test E. I ran up the aisle and told her not to panic but she was being watched and there was a baby in the aisle that needed to be strapped in before 'landing,' amongst other things she had to all of a sudden deal with. Of course she panicked! I was more mad because we weren't actually in London, which is where I bought the ticket to. Uch, stupid surprise tests for flight attendants. She passed with flying colors (no pun intended) and all the passengers applauded and were all given free airline tickets for a year. So, not all that bad.

I was running a race, one I had run several times in years past. The location of the start line had changed slightly from year to year, but always within the same big park. My friend L had planned out the entire trip and somehow managed to book a hotel within walking distance of the start line. I woke up, nervous but excited for the race, wanting to conserve as much energy as possible. She was going to wait at the hotel and come cheer me on later in the race. I walked over to the park and didn't see the usual crush of runners and lines of Honey Buckets. I did see a few very large tents and thought that perhaps they had changed starting lines again this year and wandered over to the tents. Turns out they were setting up for a carnival and not the race. I started to panic because I wanted to make the early start but didn't know where to go. I screamed at the numerous people milling about asking if anyone knew where the start line was. All I got back were quizzical looks. I am in a full out panic now. I started to head back to the hotel where all the race information was. I didn't have my phone on me and race start was approaching. I didn't want to run and waste energy so I tried to hail a cab, no luck. I finally made it back to the hotel and L wouldn't open the door, she had fallen back asleep and was dead to the world. I pounded until she let me in. This threw her into a panic. We found where the race was supposed to start and it was across town, we hadn't even looked the day before. Uch. I go back down to the front desk to ask the concierge to call me a cab, asap! He told me it was National Cab day and no cabs were operating. Time was running out, but I had some extra time built in because I was only trying to get to the early start, there was still regular start time. But, as I wound my way through the city streets I realized, with the 31 miles that was the race I was now adding an extra 10 miles, at a fast pace too. I realized that maybe I should just call it quits and try another race. No, I was determined..........

Then the alarm woke me! Uch! Did I get to the race? Did I do well? Did I give up? I guess I will never know.