Epic Fail on the North Kaibab Trail

Just got back from a grand adventure for the last three days. It was not the adventure I had planned, but I will regroup and try again.

Back story: a couple of weeks ago I heard about a group of runners going down to the Grand Canyon to attempt a R2R2R (Rim to Rim to Rim). This has always been on my bucket list and I was fairly confident that I could struggle through and complete this journey, so signed up for a seat on the Party Bus. I think everyone planning on this run was super excited. The numbers kept going up and down as people cancelled, but we ended up with eight people on the party bus and 3 more coming the next day from St. George.

Friday morning we met at Walter's house in South Jordan and Steve Anderson drove down his big diesel RV from Logan. Various members of the group were picked up along the way. The party bus crowd consisted of Steve, Walter, Huan, Brett, Mindi, Christie, Clyde and myself. I could tell right away that I was the least fit and slowest of the group – but I also figured I was very determined.

The Party Bus made for an adventure in itself. A couple of days before the run, it got sideswiped by a garbage truck. As we drove down south, a couple of the runners said they smelled a burning smell. We didn't know what it was until there was suddenly a metallic whine and the bus shook. We pulled over and the left rear dualy inside tire had blown. We limped into Scipio and went to two different tire places. The first one obviously didn't want to help. The second one had a brilliant idea that they knew would work. They had a slightly smaller used tire that they could replace it with. After a 90 minute delay, we were back on the road.

As we approached the Grand Canyon, Steve announced that we had to make a final choice on whether to start on the North Rim (original plan) or South Rim. We voted on North Rim and started down that road. A minute or two later BLAM! Poor Party Bus – the same tire blew again. We then had to choose whether to turn back to the nearest little town to get help, or head on to the North Rim driving very slowly and figure something out in the morning. I had been getting a strong feeling all afternoon that I wouldn't be running the entire R2R2R and this seemed to confirm that feeling.

The Party Bus limped into the parking lot of the North Kaibab Trailhead and we set about getting everything set up. Several of the runners were concerned when Steve announced that he wouldn't be running the next day because he had to work on the RV issues. Some of them encouraged him to go and do the run and then deal with the RV. I wasn't saying much – but I knew that there was no way he could do the run and get the bus fixed. We were in the middle of nowhere. No cars had been seen for a couple of hours. No cell phone reception. No way to drive the bus out to get help. Oh – and it was really cold out (really, really, really cold). About 25 degrees with the temperature dropping.

After dinner we all finished packing up our gear for the run and went to sleep. I was sleeping on a vinyl couch and froze. Anytime I moved, I would start shivering from the cold under my blankets.

4 a.m. came much too soon. We all groggily woke up and got dressed for the run and snarfed down some food. Steve had been busy making contingency plans for runner issues and was really worried. He made the decision that he would run with us for several miles down the trail and then come back up. There was another carload of runners coming from St. George and he was hoping to borrow their car to run around to find a way to get the RV fixed.

5 a.m. – we stepped out into a frozen world. Temperatures were about 18 degrees and worrisome. We took a picture at the start by the trail sign (I think my nose and mouth got in one of them) and then started down the trail. The trail was slippery and icy with snow and we had to be careful to not slip and fall. I quickly fell into my usual place at the back of the pack as Walter, Clyde and Christie took off like they were at a race. My legs were feeling really good as the run progressed. I had to strip off a layer of clothes as we descended. I was still thinking positively about the run, but concerned that my breathing and pulse were skyrocketing on a downhill run.

Past Supai Tunnel. Down more switchbacks. I was a about ¼ of a mile back from the next runners and came to a wooden bridge. After I ran over the bridge, the trail started going uphill. This had me concerned that maybe I had taken a wrong turn. I could no longer see any headlamps. I yelled out – but didn't get a response. I went uphill for a while and then decided to backtrack to see if I had missed a fork. Back a half mile and then I was fairly sure I was on the right trail, but not positive. Back over the bridge and partway up the hill again. Then I decided to go back to the bridge and rest. I sat on a rock and it took about 5 minutes for my heart rate to get under control. A peaceful feeling came over me that this was the end of my run. I don't know why – but I knew I had to stop.

I wasn't sad. I wasn't upset. I wasn't depressed. I wasn't hurting. I started back up the trail and then could see a headlight down below. I was sure it was Steve making sure he hadn't lost any of his sheep. I ran back down the hill again and over the bridge and met him and told him I was done. I think he was secretly relieved, but also surprised I had given up so quickly. We turned around and started power hiking up the canyon again. After a couple of minutes my heart started pounding really hard. I rested a couple of times and then told Steve to go on ahead. He told me he would give me an hour and then come back if I hadn't made it out.

I started to hike again and within a minute or so got really dizzy. I sat down and then started to black out – so laid down on the trail with my feet up higher. Once I felt like I wasn't going to pass out, I got up and forced a gu down me in case I was having low blood sugar. I could go anywhere between 25-100 steps and then the dizziness would occur. I tried to eat another snack and started gagging with severe nausea. Back to the gus and water. I had a hard time walking a straight line, but was really careful to sit down and rest before I passed any sharp drop-offs. One more episode of almost passing out and then I just walked slower and slower and rested as soon as my heart pounded too hard. I'm assuming I had altitude sickness because I had never run this high before. I did make it out the canyon just as the hour expired. 5 miles took me almost 3.5 hours.

As the night ended and dawn came, you could tell that there was a heavy inversion. We had been running through fog on some of the descent. As I hiked out I got some neat pictures of the inversion with the sun coming up.

The St. George runners had left their car, so we drove up to the lodge to see if we could find a pay phone. The gift shop was open and we were glad to get inside out of the cold. We explained our problem to Becky – the woman running the store and she said we were welcome to sit there while we tried to get some answers. There was no payphone – but Steve actually had cell service. Thus started 4 ½ hours of him calling insurance companies and all over the place trying to have someone come up and put a new tire on the Party Bus. I sat and visited with Becky and started to shiver from being in wet clothes, so ended up buying some shirts and a sweatshirt and socks to help me get warm and spent a lot of the time huddled in front of a tiny space heater. It was the last day the gift shop was opened and they only had three space heaters trying to warm up a huge room. (It didn't work too well). Steve finally got confirmation that someone was coming from Flagstaff (5.5 hours away) to swap out tires.

We hung around the Party Bus for a while and Steve showed me how the generator and lifts worked and headed down to get another run in. He was hoping to meet the first runners coming back. He planned to be back by 6 because he was figuring the mechanic wouldn't make it there until 5. I read and dozed for a while and then saw the mechanic pulling in at 4:30. I worked with him to get all the wheels off the ground and then let him do his thing. (Complicated story – but tires were being switched around on all four axles).

Just around 6:00, Walter, Clyde and Christie came over the rim with Steve on their heels. They had completed the full run! Clyde and Christie even decided they wanted an even 50 miles and headed out for more and Walter and Steve headed up to get cell service to see where the other runners were.

We were all a little worried. We didn't know where our last three runners were from the Party Bus and how they were doing. Temperatures were dropping quickly and we started thinking what to do if they didn't make it out before a certain time.

Around 10 p.m. Steve was getting geared up again to head down to try and find the runners, when suddenly we shouted with excitement as 2 and then a third light popped up over the edge. Mindi, Brett and Huan had all made it! Two of the runners from St. George had successfully completed the run too – so 8 of our little band had accomplished this coveted goal.

Today we headed home. We were cold, tired, hungry and sore – but had accomplished quite a bit in a couple of days.

I'm still not upsetting about DNF'ing. I am committed now to losing the weight and getting in the shape I need to be in in order to accomplish this myself.

Next up – ATY 48 hour race at the end of December.

The Sound of Music

This has nothing to do with running (shock!) but does have something to do with adventures.

Starting in September I joined a Stake Chorus to perform the Messiah. We practiced one night a week until the end and then switched to longer hours and twice a week. The director was my neighbor, Jonathan Lofgren and his wife was one of the two pianists. They are such a talented couple and I love having them as friends and neighbors.

We practiced and performed 5 of the choruses in addition to solos and the overture. We even had a professional soundman to make the sound great.

Our performance was last Sunday evening. I think we had twice the crowd that we expected and the atmosphere and spirit were great. The performance went well and was well received.

I had forgotten how much I loved having to sing in a well-trained chorus and challenging my voice to its full potential. Handel is very hard to sing – but by the end we nailed those High A's. I can't wait for next year to do this again. I'd even go to the sing-a-long Messiah with the Utah Symphony this weekend – but I have another small running adventure planned instead.

Hallelujah!

Saints and Sinners

One of my co-workers had put together a team for Ragnar Vegas so that they could get the Saints and Sinners medal. This is a medal you get for running Wasatch Back and Vegas in the same year. At the last minute they had someone drop out of their team and I agreed to fill-in since running 17 miles with no notice is not that big of a deal for me.

We left early Friday morning to drive down to Las Vegas. We were Van 2 – so had a while to get down there after Van 1 started. Once again – they had out team starting out fairly late in the day.

Ragnar Vegas is an okay race. The best thing about it was that the temperatures were nice so we didn't have to hydrate constantly or freeze at night.

I was runner 11, so the next to the last runner each time. Because Las Vegas is on the far eastern side of the Pacific Time Zone – it was dark shortly after 4 p.m. each day. This meant that most of our runs were in the dark.

Leg one – 5.4 miles. Three miles of wonderful downhill followed by two miles of uphill. I was able to cut off quite a bit of time on the downhill and didn't lose a lot of it on the uphill (other than the long breaks at stoplights). I could hear my team saying, "Hey! There goes Maurine!" as I ran into the transition area and I reached the transition before runner 12. Lots of concrete on this run, but a nice wide sidewalk with lots of lighting.

Leg two – 3.9 miles. Leg two started at a casino and ran across the parking lot and then across the freeway. I ended up doing at least one mile of this run in a creepy warehouse area with very poor lighting, so was glad to have it done. Once again – those stupid stoplights added to my time.

I was so thrilled to sleep for a couple of hours on a football field until after daylight. My legs were not happy after being bent all day from sitting in the car.

Leg three – 7.7 miles. This leg was in the heat of the day and near Lake Mead. It was also in daylight so I enjoyed that a lot. Probably the prettiest part of the run for our van. The maps did not give a good estimate on this leg because it was a lot more uphill than we had imagined. I pushed hard and cut off about 15-20 minutes from our estimated time. Between heat and pushing, I was still breathing hard a good 20 minutes later. I think this led to some stomach upset at the finish, but recovered once I got some antacid in me.

At the finish line we were handed a pack of medals for each van. Then we went up and got our Saints to Sinners medal. We were all starving and our dinner that night was so delicious!

In comparing Ragnar Wasatch Back with Ragnar Vegas – Wasatch Back wins hands down. Things I didn't like about the Vegas run:

• Stoplights – I got stopped at so many stoplights and often they were 2 or more minutes before I was allowed to continue. While this gave me some quick recovery – it was frustrating to lose all that time and a good pace.
  
• Back and Forth – In Vegas you are running out and backs and covering the same territory as previous legs or nearby. We got tired of the same area and having to loop around in the chutes instead of handing off the baton and running on.
  
• Organization – much less organized in Vegas. At the start line everyone had to pick up their own shirt. There were no safety pins until just a couple of minutes before our first runner went out and we were only given two apiece. At the finish line, no real ceremony. You just crossed the line and they handed you the packs of medals – didn't even put them around your neck. And finding where to go at different exchanges in the dark was frustrating.
  
• Directions – the directions in the RagMag were pretty bad. The van drivers pretty well had to rely on GPS to find the next location. Too often it said, "follow the runner". Yeah – that doesn't work when the runner has headed off on a trail. And some of the legs did not list that they were on unpaved trail which made it difficult for the runners.
  

All in all I was glad to experience a new race. However, I will not do this one again. The van team was fun to hang with, but I was disappointed in the overall race.

Detroit International Marathon

I had the opportunity to go to Detroit last month and run the Detroit Free Press International Marathon. My company was sponsoring employees to run this race and I was able to coordinate it with a business trip as well as a short vacation to Illinois for my niece's wedding. We ran the race in honor of Cathy Scoda – an employee who had been training for the half marathon and died unexpectedly of heart failure at the young age of 48.

The Thursday before the marathon (which was on Sunday), I went walking/running with my daughter and felt great. We then headed out to do some errands and after about 30 minutes I suddenly started to feel horrible. It quickly went downhill. I had a hard time breathing, my chest hurt and I was just plain miserable. Spent a few hours debating on trying to find an urgent care facility that day or see how I was the next morning. After laying down for a while – I realized I needed to try and find one that afternoon. I called my insurance to find the location of an approved facility in Illinois and they informed me I would need to drive to Muncie, Indiana. Yeah. Not going to happen. I finally found a place nearby that would only cost me $75 out of pocket and headed out. Place was closed because the doctor had an emergency. And it looked like a dive. I had passed a nice urgent care facility a few blocks back and went over there. It was $125 to be seen there – but beggars can't be choosers. A couple of hours later, I finally got to see a doctor. Bronchitis, asthma, sinus infection. Good things to have right before a marathon.

Saturday I drove back to Michigan (I'm trying to forget the brilliant moment when I locked my keys in the trunk of the rental car) and went to the race expo. They do a good job of forcing you to walk by every booth twice as they wind you to the back of the conference center to pick up your packet and then leave. I only gave in once and bought a new medal holder. At this marathon you have to show a passport in order to pick up your packet because the race crosses over into Canada. Kind of different.

Sunday morning I drove into Detroit. Things went smoothly until I sat on the freeway for more than 20 minutes without moving trying to park at a casino. Wasn't happening. Everyone else had the same idea. Took my chances and raced up to the next exit and drove wildly trying to find a different casino and hoping I wasn't driving into areas of Detroit I should avoid. Luckily, a coworker and his father came back to that casino to escort me to the race because I was totally lost.

It was another good morning. No wind and cool – but not too cold. I had a throwaway shirt (thanks St. George for the ugliest race shirt I never wanted) and disposable gloves to keep me warm and that was sufficient. The company had designed Team Cathy shirts for us to wear and it turned out to be a great shirt and didn't cause any chafing. (I know – never wear something for the first time to a race). There were quite a few MCUL employees running the 5K, a handful or two running the half marathon(s) and one crazy employee doing the full marathon. (Who could that be?)

I was in the last corral because when I originally registered – I was in the walking marathon. It took us about 30 minutes after the start of the race until we crossed the start line. This was my first big city marathon and quite an experience. So many people and the marathon and half marathon were on the same course for the first 12.9 miles. Basically – I spent most of the first 10 miles dodging between people and trying to move forward because, as usual, lots of slow runners went into earlier corrals. After 2 or so miles we approached the entrance to the bridge. Lots of customs officials yelling at us to show our bibs and looking for shady characters or people wanting to immigrate illegally into Canada. Phew – I guess I didn't look too shady because I wasn't stopped. We crossed the Ambassador Bridge between the US and Canada. This is a mile long bridge and was a lot of fun (except for the people dodging). Everyone around me was complaining about the uphill and I was trying to figure out what they were talking about. It was a bridge – very little uphill. Heck – I ran all the uphills in this race – something I can never do in Utah.

Once in Canada we ran along the waterfront in Windsor, Ontario for several miles before once again running the gauntlet of customs agents. This time they weren't as noisy – guess they figure no one wants to enter the US. On the way back we ran in a mile long underwater tunnel. Nice and hot and muggy. And no GPS reception. One mile later we were back in the good old US of A and running through Detroit.

In the first half of the race there were people everywhere cheering you on. Rarely did you go an entire block without a cheering section. They also had lots of bands and entertainment along the way. About mile 12 I was passed by a couple of Team Cathy runners and talked with them for a few minutes. At the half marathon turn-off, Doug Scoda (Cathy's husband) cheered me on. Suddenly – the crowds were gone. There were obviously lots more runners doing half marathons than full marathons. Right after the turn-off, we also saw the starting line of the US Only Half Marathon. It had started an hour or so earlier and I was hoping I could pass some of them before the finish.

I did carefully watch the time to make sure I used my inhaler every four hours. I could tell by mile 10 that I had no energy from being sick, so I just continued with my run 2.5 minutes/walk 2.5 minutes schedule and hoped I could maintain that. If nothing else, I would walk it in. I was not trying to push because I figured that would be foolish when I could hardly stand up without wanting to pass out a couple of days earlier.

In the second half of the marathon we started running through different "towns" in Detroit. Greek Town, Polish Town, etc. There were a few miles where we ran by some gorgeous old mansions. The people in this area were great. Lots of them set up little tables in front of their houses with Dixie cups full of M&M's and Gummy Bears and such. I loved my M&M's and treasured them over a couple of miles.

At mile 16, I had been leap frogging another woman for a mile or two. I could tell she was flagging and she would hear my GymBoss beeping. She finally asked me what I was running and told her my 2.5/2.5 plan. I invited her to run with me and she happily joined me at that point in time. Her name was Stephanie and she was starting to flag. It was her first marathon (you could tell because newbies had green bibs) and she had never run longer than 20 miles. I told her that I would be happy to stay with her the rest of the race and keep her going and she was really excited to no longer be alone. We had a good time getting to know each other the next 10.2 miles. Around mile 18 we ran out on a mile long causeway to an island. I could see some half marathoners on the way back out on the causeway and knew I was maintaining a good pace. We ran a couple of miles along the lakeshore on this pretty little island and then headed back. We were kind of happy to see how many runners were still crossing the causeway because we knew we were far ahead of a cutoff. We also felt bad because we knew they must be really struggling and had a long way to go.

After leaving the island, we spent a lot of the rest of the race running along the lakeshore heading towards downtown. Not a lot of cheerleaders anymore and Stephanie was flagging – but holding on. I told her to enjoy the emotions of the first finish – because nothing is the same. As we headed up the final hill she gave out an excited cry because her son was waiting for her. He joined us as we turned the corner to the finish line. Stephanie did not want to run anymore, so I told her we would get to the last stoplight before the finish and then run it in. We started the final run hand in hand and her son was disappointed because someone forced him off the course. We crossed the finish line and Stephanie turned to me and hugged me. She was so excited to be a marathoner and I was so happy to help her get there.

Running through memories

I had the opportunity to be back in the area where I grew up in the middle of October. Last time I was there – it was incredibly humid and I struggled through the runs – soaking wet from humidity.

This time, the weather was cool and a bit drizzly. Nice weather for running.

My first full day in Illinois, I headed out from my mother-in-law's house in Downers Grove to run by my old house in Darien. Down Plainfield Road. Though the Knottingham subdivision where we delivered newspapers for years. Past my old house. Looks the same – except they fenced in the back yard. Hey! The hill on my street is not really a hill. Just a bump in the road. It's all in the perspective (compared to mountains). Around my old subdivision and then back to Bruce Lake.

Lots of good memories on the route. It was nice to see these places. I really miss the field between my house and the Junior High School. We caused all sorts of problems there.

The next day, my daughter and I walked around Bruce Lake in the rain and down to the lake as she reminded me of her favorite memories there. I dropped her off at the house and did one final run around the subdivision.

Sweeping and Dog Paw Duty at the Mountain View Half Marathon

Jim Skaggs puts on a great group of races out on Antelope Island. I have volunteered at the Mountain View Half in October for several years in one way or another. It is a nice half marathon without a lot of elevation and the weather is usually good for this race.

This year I volunteered to be the sweeper again. I had done that in 2012 too. Unfortunately, the Thursday before the race I was feeling horrible with a sore throat, pounding head, aching ears, etc. Instead of starting 30 minutes after the race, I decided to start right after the race so I wouldn't have to push hard at all. By mile 2, I was breathing hard up the only real uphill (I could tell my system was not happy with me) and catching up to Marsha Mason and her dog Tinkerbell (a sheltie). We ended up running the rest of the race together. Tinkerbell didn't quite trust me at first, but by the end of the race I was part of her pack.

The course was in good condition. I think a lot of that was due to little rain this year. Last year I ran through tunnels of grass higher than my head and sunflowers attacking me. This year the grass was low. I thought this was due to them mowing the trail – but looking around I realized it was because the grass had not grown nearly as high this year.

We meandered on together running and walking past the lower Frary Peak aid station. Shortly after that we quit enjoying the race as much. From about mile 7-11 we encountered goats head stickers on the trail. Not just a few. They were everywhere. Poor Tinkerbell was constantly pulling up with a paw in the air and I started on paw duty to warn Marsha which paw was stuck. She went off trail for a lot of the time so that she was able to avoid them some, but that was harder on her because of the brush. I took a few turns carrying the dog so that we could speed up running. We kept hoping they would end and once we crossed over to the other side of the road we finally got a break and could enjoy the run again. There were about 8 dogs at the start – I felt really bad for them. I don't ever remember dogs having this much trouble on the trails before.

Finished the race and ate my hamburger and then Matt Van Horn gave me a ride back to the start line.

After the first couple of miles, I totally forgot I was sick. Things cleared up and it was great. I got sick again later that day – but it was a nice reprieve.

St. George Marathon 2013

On October 5, 2013 I ran my 7th St. George Marathon. I dealt with fear and trepidation going into this race because one year earlier my foot started hurting at mile 9 and I was miserable every step of the way from then to the finish. This eventually led to foot surgery and months without any enjoyable running.

It didn't help that the night before was really windy and cold. My sister and I went to see Mary Poppins at Tuacahn and walked out partway through because of the wind and cold. My foot was burning as I lay on the hotel bed and I seriously considered not running the race the next morning.

Saturday morning - foot is still hurting, but not as bad. Decided to give it a try. My plans going into the race were:
A) Finish in under 6 hours
B) Finish in under 6:30
C) Finish

It was pretty chilly as we huddled around the fire up in Central. Some runners were wearing fluffy bathrobes from D.I. I am so going to consider that next year. It was still breezy, but not as bad as the night before and it looked like it would be a tailwind.

The first couple of miles were pretty cold. I always hate that period while the body warms up because everything aches. Luckily - once I started running, the pain in my foot went away.  Shed my jacket at mile one, my tights at mile 7 and my arm warmers around mile 10. I kept alternating the gloves until about mile 20 because I was still cold.

I had my GymBoss set for run 2.5 minutes/walk 2.5 minutes. I wanted to maintain that as much as I could except for Veyo hill and see how the legs were doing when I hit the downhills.

I was actually running fairly easily and could tell I was going to be in Veyo ahead of my expectations. I called my sister and she had not yet arrived there, so told her I was charging through. It was turning into a great day.

When I hit the downhills, the legs were feeling good. My IT Band flared up earlier, but I put an IT strap on it and that solved that problem. Cruised down the downhills. No major speed, but feeling fine. I actually started revising my finish goals and eventually moved it up to 5:45.

I passed my sister at Snow Canyon Road and she handed me some SlimFast. I was having so much fun I pushed to get down the road and on to the Diagonal before she drove past me. My legs didn't start getting heavy until mile 24.  My stomach felt fine. My foot wasn't hurting. Life was good.

I tried to push and beat 5:45, but I made that new goal a little to late in the race. Finished in 5:45:14 and considered it good.

My first great run in almost 2 years. It is runs like these that make all the rest worthwhile.