Pining for the Fjords

I’ve done a lot of good events this season – earning a PR at the Tucson Marathon, trying out part of my first 50-miler (even if it didn’t go precisely according to plan), and I even have my first 50 mile biking event coming up in March.  However, the one I’ve been looking forward to the most is the Ragnar Florida Keys, held on Friday, 2/7 and Saturday, 2/8.  For those who aren’t yet indoctrinated into Ragnar culture, the Ragnar Relays are a series of 200 mile runs generally done by a team of 12 people who take shifts covering the entire distance.* You pack into a van with five of your soon-to-be closest running buddies (for a 12 person team, there are two vans total) and spend around 36 hours running, snacking, sleeping (optional), and smelling horrible.**  The Ragnar site officially calls us “Ragnarians,” but my team and I generally prefer “Ragtards.” Ragnar Del Sol 2011 Mmmm...sweaty husband kisses! Ragnar Del Sol 2011 Crossing the finish line T...

Okay, no real post today since I’m busy recovering from the Coldwater Rumble 52 miler yesterday.  Full race report will come next week, but things didn't go that well.  I ended up having to drop out of the race after the first 20 mile loop due to stomach issues (possibly compounded with dehydration). Much like the scene of There Will Be Blood from which the title of this post was taken, my day was at turns delightful, confusing, nauseating, and it ended rather abruptly.  Thankfully, there was no blood.* Massive props go to everyone who came out and sent me off joyous at the start line (Dad and Risa), watched me cry for awhile when things didn't end my way after Lap 1 (Chris, Jake, Erin, Steve, Murph, Herky, Luis, Dom, and Mila), or cheered me on from near and far.  I appreciate all of you so much! Later! Amy * Although I did have to beg a Band-Aid at the medical tent for a hangnail.  Yes, really.

As I posted last week, I've done most of my training for the Coldwater Rumble trail race in Thunderbird Conservation Park.  It's close to the house, and it's a great park (well maintained and safe).  Since it's free and it's the main hiking area on the NW side of town, there are always tons of people hiking and running.  Some people come to the mountain by themselves, but most are hiking with friends or family, and they have a good time socializing while they're exercising.  Since I'm on my own, moving by rather rapidly, no one pays me much mind, unless they quickly step out of the way to pass.  However, they almost always continue what they were discussing, which means I get to hear snippets of some truly interesting conversations. Joanne Fluke writes a series of books I really like about Hannah Swensen, a baker who also happens to solve murders.  They're light and fun, and each book is named after a baked treat ( Blackberry Pie Murder , for example)....

As I mentioned in last week's post, I'm now two weeks out from my longest run to date, the 52 mile distance at the Aravaipa Coldwater Rumble on January 25th.  Coach Luis and I worked out a training schedule where I spend most of my weekends on the trails, putting in long distances on both Saturday and Sunday, as opposed to trying to cram 40+ miles on one day of the week.  So far, things seem to be working pretty well, and at this point, I feel as ready as I'm going to be for the big event. Yesterday, Saturday, 1/11, was the longest single run of my training for Coldwater at 25 miles.  Since I clock in at a blistering speed of roughly 4 miles per hour (I KNOW - speed demon!) - with breaks taken into account - it took me just over 6 hours.  How does one spend 6 hours trail running, you might ask?  Composing a blog post in which I take all of you on a tour of Thunderbird Conservation Park, where I've been spending most of my weekend time.  The park is really...

As only a few of you know*, I’m currently training for an upcoming trail race, the Coldwater Rumble.  It’s on January 25 th at Estrella Mountain Park (located behind Phoenix International Raceway), and it’s presented by a great local racing company, Aravaipa Running.  I ran Coldwater last year at the 30K distance, which is roughly 18.6 miles.  This year, I’m up-ing my distance to a new option for me, the 52 miler.** Finishing the 2013 Coldwater 30K I ran a 50K trail run (31.1 miles) with Aravaipa last year at the Elephant Mountain event and had a good time, overall.  For me, trail running long distances like this is filled with emotional and physical highs and lows (most often, the two go hand-in-hand - but not always), so although some moments made me want to cry,*** overall, it was a positive experience.  I figured since I was already trained up to strong marathon condition for Tucson (in early December) and Coldwater was only six weeks later, co...