Trail Butter Give-a-Way!

Are you trail ready? You can be by entering to win THREE 4.5 ounce pouches of Bogg's Trail Butter. LIKE my Facebook page and RE-SHARE the announcement on FB. When I reach 250 page likes, I will have a random drawing and announce the winner. 

Mountaineer Maple Trail Butter relaxing at Arches National Park.

***Coming this Spring, single serve 1.15 ounces of Trail Butter to make eating well on the go even easier! Trail Butter is launching a campaign that is seeking to raise funds that will cover enough squeeze packs to supply their current locations, as well as pursue new retail and online opportunities. If you want delicious, convenient nutrition to fuel your lifestyle, show your support and help spread the word.

Please visit http://www.crowdsupply.com/boggs-trail-foods/trail-butter for more information and to pledge your donation.

Moab's Red Hot 33k

The Moab Red Hot 33k kicks off the 2014 La Sportiva Mountain Cup series. The 33k is held in conjunction with the Red Hot 55k. Both races are point to point, starting at the Gemini Bridges Trail Head and ending hours later at the Poison Spider Trail Head. 

I joined Megan Kimmel (Asics), 5 time La Sportiva Mountain Cup winner and Brandy Erholtz, (New Balance) 5 time member of the U.S. Mountain Running Team on the starting line. After a few words from race director, Chris Martinez, we were off at 8:30 am sharp climbing 300 feet in the first mile. Brandy took it out and I stayed comfortably behind. Once we crested the top and started down to a fast flat section, Megan and Sarah Kjorstad passed by. I didn't feel comfortable going with them so I let them go, unfazed. After all, we were at mile 2.

Up and over the first climb.

I soon found myself right in the middle of a conversation between iRunFar's Bryon Powell and another guy, literally. I listened to them chat back and forth across me until we caught up with the pack of 3 women at the start of the technical portion of the race. Megan pulled away at mile 5 and Sarah dropped off soon after. It was then up to Brandy and me to navigate the "Hot" portion of the Red Hot: the infamous Gold Bar and Golden Spike Trails. Fortunately though, we were not alone. I am very thankful to have had Bryon Powell and two other men's eyes looking out for the strategically placed stripped pink ribbon. The bare desert landscape does not lend itself to easy marking. Everyone had to keep their eyes peeled for ribbons tied to dead branches on the ground or wrapped around large rocks.

Three miles to go!

I am used to running the wet, slick terrain of the Pacific Northwest, not through deep sandy washes. But it was fun to be able to scurry up and down the slickrock in my Helios; I stuck like a spider. I pulled away from Brandy approaching the last aid station at mile 14. I continued to run with three men, one of whom was very encouraging and cheered me on. Thank for your kind words; I am sorry to have missed you at the finish line. I crossed the line in 2:35:16 several minutes behind Megan and with Brandy not far behind.

Brandy (& baby), Megan and me.

Congratulations to fellow Bellingham-ster, Jodee Adams-Moore, who placed 1^st in the women's 55k.

Bellingham representin'!

The most painful part of the day was the 0.3m walk to the car. Every inch of my legs ached and I had to forego the cool down. Instead I went back to the hotel and sat in the tub. We returned to the Poison Spider Trailhead for the awards ceremony. Tad and I got to hang out with Everett, the La Sportiva Representative. He had bushels of Bushido's available for everyone to try.

Resting on my laurels at the La Sportiva tent.

Those of you who know me are aware that I am a pretty anxious person. To say I was nervous for this race would be an understatement. Fear of the distance, fear of taking a wrong turn, of getting lost, of falling into a canyon and having to cut my arm off with a dull razor blade... yeah, you get the idea of what goes on in my head. I am so happy that I achieved what I set out to do: be competitive, gain experience and have fun. Because I have been able to train injury-free for 8 months now, I am finally to the point where I can be among the women that I look up to and aspire to emulate in my running career.

Thank you to race director, Chris Martinez, co-race director, Justin Ricks (who also won the men's 33k!) and GrassRoots events for putting on such a great race that showcases the beauty of Moab. If you are interested in running a trail race in the Moab area, check out some of the other Grass Roots events. 

Thank you to La Sportiva for sponsoring the race and me. My Helios were AWESOME!

Thank you to Brad and Jeff and all the folks at Trail Butter for fueling me before and after the race.

Ozark Original enjoying the sights at Arches National Park.

Thank you to Terrain Gym for making me strong enough to hang tough up and down the slickrock at altitude.

Thank you to Align Chiropractic for making my body feel awesome from start to finish. (It needs some work now!)

Thank you, Tad, for putting up with me on this trip. I know it wasn't easy!

Next up for me in the series is the Hillbilly Half-Marathon, down the road in Olympia, Washington on March 8^th. 

Until next time, Moab.

Go-to Fuel: Bogg’s Trail Butter

I am elated to have Bogg’s Trail Butter fueling me through 2014. Bogg’s Trail Butter is based out of Portland, Oregon and has come up with an innovative concept to literally eat on the run. Trail Butter is a combination of almonds, peanuts and hazelnuts, dried fruits, seeds, nectar, honey and sometimes even chocolate, all mixed harmoniously together in an easy to handle-pack-squeeze-eat-spread pouch. This recipe of real food is the perfect blend of sugar, fat and protein to keep me-and YOU- fueled on a long trail run, a climb up the mountain, down the slopes and even through a long work day.

Trail Butter comes in three flavors: Ozark Original, the three-nut blend with raisins, cranberries and semi-sweet dark chocolate; ExpeditionEspresso, the three-nut blend with ground roasted coffee beans and dark chocolate; and Mountaineer Maple, the three-nut blend with walnuts, pecans, cashews and real maple syrup. Yeah, I know!

As you can probably tell, I am pretty excited. Not only because Trail Butter is delicious on anything from bagels to bananas, but because the company stands for two of the things that I am most passionate about: healthy food and a love of the outdoors. It is really important for me that I only eat high quality food that will help me to achieve my goals. That is why I am so excited about Trail Butter. Real, simple, healthy ingredients made by people who care about health and wellness as much as I do.

Team Trail Butter is about community; bringing people together to make a positive impact in the world. They value relationships and environmental sustainability. They support their community and athletes, inspire epic adventures and appreciate the natural beauty of the world around us.

Check it out for yourself and discover the inspiration behind the conception of Trail Butter.

Are you trail ready? I sure am!

New Year, New Shoe

I am excited to announce that my new shoe sponsor for 2014 is La Sportiva. 

Ultra Raptors blazing through the Chuckanuts.

La Sportiva is an Italian company that specializes in making technical footwear for mountain running, climbing, hiking and mountaineering. The La Sportiva factory is located in Ziano di Fiemme, a small mountain village in the heart of the Italian Dolomites. What started out as a mission to create a durable, rugged shoe for the local farmers and mountaineering guides, grew into a global business for mountain-based sports. You can tell the quality of their products just by holding it in the palm of your hand. The footwear is substantial and supportive and I am confident that my foot is protected with each step. The apparel is made with the finest materials to keep you warm, dry, comfortable and still stylish. I have only begun to experience the quality of La Sportiva. I am anxious to delve into all that La Sportiva has to offer and to share my experiences with you.

Another facet of La Sportiva that I am proud to be a part of is that they possess a strong passion for the mountains and the environment. Their zest for sustainability and community is apparent in their active involvement in organizations such as Soles4Souls, Bike to Work Day and Adopt-a-Road.

The North American team is composed of some very talented individuals living throughout the country. Not only are they accomplished athletes, but they are genuine, supportive individuals that come together to share their passion for the mountains and trails.

Focused and ready for 2014.

My racing schedule for the year is tentative, but barring any injury, illness or unforeseen setback, I will be participating in the La Sportiva Mountain Cup Series. The Mountain Cup Series has been going on since 2008. It is comprised of some of the best trail races in North America, praised for their challenging courses, epic beauty and exceptional quality. The top 10 runners in each race will be scored according to their placement and at the end of the series, the scores of the best five races will be tallied for a shot at a piece of the $25,000 prize package.  In addition, bonus points will be awarded to a competitor for every runner beaten in a race who was in the top 10 in the overall standings.

The 2014 La Sportiva Mountain Cup Schedule.

2/15/14 Moab’s Red Hot 33k, Moab, Utah

3/08/14 Hillbilly Half Marathon, Olympia, WA

3/08/14 Assault on Garland Mountain, Waleska, GA

4/05/14 Hell’s Hills 25K, Smithville, TX

5/04/14 7 Sisters Trail Race, Amherst, MA

5/10/14 Don’t Fence Me in Trail Run, Helena, MT

6/07/14 Rothrock Challenge, State College, PA

7/05/14 La Sportiva Vail Hill Climb, Vail, CO

7/19/04 La Sportiva Table Rock 25K, Stinson Beach, CA

8/02/14 Jupiter Peak Steeplechase, Park City, Utah

For more information on the series and the associated race Websites, you can go to the Mountain Cup site at http://www.mountaincup.com/.

Clockwise from Left: Wmn's Boulder X, Wmn's Wildcat, Wmn's Ultra Raptor

To check out the latest line of apparel, footwear and accessories scan the La Sportiva site at http://www.sportiva.com/ . You can also visit the La Sportiva Mountain Running site at http://mountainrunning.com/ to meet the team, read race reports, search for results and catch up on current La Sportiva news.

In addition to competing in the La Sportiva Mountain Cup Series, the U.S. Mountain Running Championships is on July 6, 2014. It is back in Lincoln, New Hampshire for another assault up Loon Mountain. Having run this course before (see previous blog post), it will be nice to go back to a familiar location. There is only room for improvement given my last performance.

Keeping cozy in the Siren Hoody.

My goals for 2014 are ambitious; endeavors that could not be achieved without the help of many. Over the next few weeks I will be highlighting my sponsors who have volunteered their time and expertise to help me get to where I want to be. I am very thankful for all of these opportunities and I am 100% committed to working hard, performing well and representing to the best of my ability. 

Club Cross Country Championships

The GBRC headed south for the National Club Cross Country Championships that were being held at the River’s Edge Golf Course in Bend, Oregon. After checking the weather on the pass over  Mount Hood, we packed up our Prius C and were Bend-bound by late Thursday morning.

Driving conditions were less than ideal, as the rain pounded relentlessly from Tacoma through Portland. We white-knuckled it most of the way there, and by we, I mean Tad. Heavy rain then converted to snow over the pass. Luckily, our Prius came through and got us there safely by dinner time.

Getting the course race-ready.

The next morning, after a bagel and coffee, we headed to the course to take a good look at this infamous course that race director Max King had laid out for us. Race volunteers were working tirelessly to remove the fallen snow from the previous week’s episode of bad weather. The course started with an uphill climb and then turned sharply to the right to begin a circle of twists, turns, fast down hills, hay bale jumps and long climbs with short, steep sections. I felt very comfortable with the terrain as most of my training leading up to the race was comparable. The challenge excited me and I knew that the conditions were going to slow the times significantly, which played in my favor.

A noon start on Saturday morning allowed for some leisure time which included team bonding, fingernail painting and (a lot of) coffee drinking. When we got to the course the Master’s 10km was in full stride, which prevented us from warming up on the course so we headed to the roads which, fortunately, had cleared sidewalks. For many, this event was a reunion of friends who had run, raced or trained together in the past. All around people were shouting out hellos and offering hugs and high-fives to wish their competitors luck. The positive vibe was truly uplifting and helped to calm my pre-race nerves.

 

The GBRC taking it out.

"Out of my way!"

Due to the challenges the 3 loop course presented, the plan was to go out fairly conservative for the first lap and then start picking people off. In hindsight, I ended up going out a little too conservative as I was boxed in for what felt to be the entire first loop. I was getting increasingly frustrated when approaching the down hills as most everybody turned on their brakes out of fear of falling. Any experienced trail runner would laugh at the reaction of some of the women. At one point a girl yelled out-while racing- “Now, Ladies, just calm down!”

Regardless, I steadily made my way through the masses, found my fellow teammates and ran strong to the finish as the third scorer for my team. The GBRC placed 15^th overall out of an extremely competitive field. I feel that this performance was par with my previous cross races this season. Nothing spectacular, just solid.  I know that if I have a year where I can train injury-free, there will be a shift in my fitness and my performances will reflect what I am capable of.

I am very proud of all my teammates and proud to be on a team with such exceptional women. Now that the cross country season is over we are all back to our respective niche – marathon training, mileage, trail running. It is time to sit down and prepare my 2014 racing schedule, which I am very excited about. I am so blessed to have many opportunities to express my love for running and I know that if I can stay healthy, the sky is the limit on what is in store.

Tad and me ready for some post-race sushi.

Pacific NW Cross Country Championships

Today was the USATF Pacific NW Cross Country Championships in Lower Woodland Park, Seattle. After yesterday’s downpours and unruly winds, today we were treated with the perfect fall day: 50 degrees and sunny. The course was 3 times 2Km loops for a total distance of 6Km. I met my GBRC teammates and we warmed up on the course while Tad’s race was underway. Deciding what kind of shoes to wear for this course was tricky because there were multiple road crossings, but yesterday’s rain made the packed dirt slick, especially around the turns. I decided to go with spikeless spikes, but in hindsight should have opted for small spikes because I was experiencing slippage on some parts of the course.  

The downhill start.

The start was at the top of a hill so everyone went out pretty quickly. The start of cross country races always makes me recall the intensity of the starts of college NCAA Division 1 meets, and the many good times I had with my WVU teammates. (The Mountaineers just placed second in the Big 12 Conference meet this weekend!) Luckily, I love all of my new team members and I know there are many fun times ahead.

Me and Courtney working our way through the field.

I was consistent with my mile splits (5:58,6:00,6:01…), but constantly moved through the pack. The course was challenging, either a gradual uphill or fast downhill.  I worked my way up to an overall 8^th place finish. Our team placed second to Club Northwest, but we will definitely be giving them a race come the National Championships in December. We received $50 for our efforts and rather than getting  $7 each, we are putting the profits into some special celebrating that will take place after Nationals in Bend, Oregon.

 Full results can be found at http://www.pntf.org/ and all of Tad's pictures can be found here. 

Post-race smiles.

Close, But No Cigar

I lost the Lake Padden Trail Half-Marathon today by 15 seconds. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a blow. I was ready for this race, having time-trialed every section of the course and knowing it like the back of my hand. I was confident.  I am not upset with my final time of 1:33:56, just disappointed in the way that I felt.

Loosening up tight hamstrings.

Ever since the 6Km cross country race last weekend, my legs haven’t felt as good as they were prior to. I did everything I could to rest up this week, including getting 2 massages, and I barely ran on Thursday and Friday. Still, on my warm-up this morning I was still feeling ‘off.’ I ran the race pretty much solo. I never had a constant running buddy, only a brief passing by-or being passed by- a couple men. I was caught by the eventual winner at 11.5 miles after leading the whole race. I could get moving on the down-hills, but my ability to power up the hills was absent today and I could not hang in the last mile.

*Photo courtesy of Andy Bronson

Ugh.

No immediate race photos today because Tad was running the race (and did very well - 2^nd in his age group, 10^th overall). Luckily the talented and famed Glenn Tachiyama was there to capture all of the action. Thanks Glenn! I will post some pictures when they become available.

Al Coyle, race director, did an amazing job this weekend bringing together great people for a great cause. If only every community could have an Al. Great job to all of my friends who raced- you guys are awesome! A special shout out to our guest who came up from Bend, OR- Mario Mendoza. Mario and I were on the 2011 US Mountain Running Team together that competed in Mexico. Mario just won the US National 10Km Trail Championships and is preparing to take home the 50Km title on November 9^th in Boulder City, Nevada. Best of luck to you! He is doing a 20+ mile long run tomorrow morning in the Chuckanuts…sorry, Mario; I will not be joining you! I am looking forward to celebrating everyone’s hard work tonight at the post-race party at Poppe’s 360.

Ah, well. You know what they say: “First if the worst, second is the BEST…”

* For more pictures from ANDY BRONSON from the THE BELLINGHAM HERALD of the Lake Padden Trail Half-Marathon, visit the Bellingham Herald Photo Gallery.