Badwater 135 recap...

   Living and experiencing my dream race through Dale as his Crew Chief for Badwater 135, was the most Amazing Really Cool thing I've ever done, well right up there with marrying my husband and finding out they sell Nutella in the family size jar. What an extreme honor and pleasure to be chosen to head up the most awesome team of people Sami, Carl and Nick to help Dale reach his goal of running the Worlds Toughest Race, 135 miles of scorching dry desert heat carrying all our supplies of ice food and gear for 5 people in one mini van over a 40 hour time frame. WooHoo!! We did it and we all still like each other. 

     The fun stuff began on Sunday as we went shopping and loaded up a pallet of bulk food and water from Sam's Club then on to Walmart for the additional smaller sized food. Ok now... how to pack all this and our running gear for 5 people into the mini van for a 3 hour drive. Well that's where my longevity as a expert flight attendant packer came into play!!  Anything that wouldn't melt in the extreme heat we strapped to the roof of the van. And away we went... off to the desert. Road Trip!! 

     The not so fun stuff... When arriving in Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, California  midday, a scorching 116 degrees outside, we had to unpack the van sorting through what goes where and in who's room. Piles and piles of stuff, some things had to be iced down in the coolers other things stored for later use that week. A quick change into running clothes for a 3-4 mile group heat acclimation run. I was out the door with a bottle of viseine for the dry eyes, SPF lip baum and a full water bottle ... off we went down the road. 

   The exciting stuff... Monday morning after another run to stretch out the legs and a quick trip down to the famous Badwater Basin start line for photos. Runner check in was at 1pm. Dale got his swag bag, bib number and lots of pre race photos. We got to meet/talk with all the running 'Legends' such an Amazing experience. 

       Tuesday night 8pm was race start. A perfect evening for a run. Overhead was a big beautiful full moon, desert style hot dry air and the mountains off in the distance. My months of planning, scheduling, preparation, training  and nonstop worrying paid off. I couldn't believe everything came together without too many hitches. But of course I'd been working with an amazing crew and a very prepared runner. 

    Early Thursday morning Dale started his last big climb. We were all just so bone weary tired a few short hours before. Getting Dale to the finish line was our only goal so digging deep, reenergizing, and staying focused is what we did!! The finish line is at The Portal of Mt Whitney 8,360ft above sea level covering 135 miles in 39hr 23min. Not a dry eye to be had (or maybe it was just allergies) by this crew. 

    The crazy stuff...let me quote you some prices of essentials we paid for while we were there for the week. Gas $5.09 gallon. Bag of ice 10lbs $4. Gallon of water $4. Chef salad $15.  Pizza 10" $28. Canister of Pringles $4. My treat each day a 20oz bottle of Soda $3. I know why they call it the worlds toughest foot race but I think they should rename it 'the worlds most expensive race'. 

   The reality of stuff... I lived and experienced my Dream Race vicariously through Dale. I can now say 'I Went To Badwater' and be happy and content... For Now :) 

  Thank You Dale

  

The Series...

   Part of my busy schedule this summer was dedicated to helping a good friend, Dale reach his goal. My husband and I met him years ago while running the Destin Beach Ultra Run and found out that Dale and I ran some of the same races and had similar race goals. The biggest one being Badwater 135. Dale had already started an eight year running plan that would allow him to apply and get accepted this year. He didn't just want to run only Badwater he wanted to complete the Ultra Cup Series. The first event in the Ultra Cup Series..... Badwater Cape Fear, a solo 51 mile race with most of it run on the coastal beach of North Carolina. The second event in the Ultra Cup Series....Badwater Salton Sea, an 81 mile race which requires 3 runners, Dale, Carl and Nick to stay together the entire time and finish a grueling course of extreme heat in the California desert to a very cold high altitude climb up the Palomar Mountain range. Myself and two other crew members (Yvonne and Sami) helped out with that and drove a support crew vehicle along the race course suppling all their water, food and tons of encouragement throughout their under 24 hour finish. 

    We had so much fun that Dale gathered us back together again for his last race of the Ultra Cup Series...Badwater 135. He runs 135 miles in Death Valley National Park CA while Sami, Carl, Nick and myself were his badass support crew (along with Yvonne cheering loudly from Texas) giving him everything he needed to complete 135 miles.

     I'm was so honored to be apart of it. Heat Training, Crewing and Pacing. I really enjoyed spending time with my amazing Badwater Team... Sami, Carl, Nick and most of all Dale. What an amazing job he did of completing his race. 

   It was awesome to meet and hang with the other ultra runners and crews during Salton Sea and Badwater. The friendships and lifelong connections you make are forever. 

Busy Summer...

  The last few years we have worked on some short and long term goals for our future and retirement life. Since March things have been busy finalizing the sale of our house and getting things in order to downsize into apartment living. 

    Selling the house and was the first step. While downsizing we weeded out, threw away, sold at our garage sale and Craig's listed. You'd think we were hoarders or something. I always thought and took pride in myself thinking that I lived a pretty minimalist lifestyle and didn't collect things. Boy, was I ever wrong, after almost sixteen years of living in the same house it Always Adds Up. My closet alone made me want to laugh and cry at times when I couldn't fit all my clothes into the trunk of the car. I had to fold down the back seat and use that space to get it all in. Omg!!  Now that we're in the new apartment and still getting settled, I'm continuing the process of cleaning out closets... again. Promising myself to be extremely vigilant about staying very minimalist in our new apartment lifestyle. So far I'm right on track. 

   The second step was to spend April through July doing heat training and acclimation for a couple of events I had scheduled to run and crew in extreme conditions. I like being hot but this heat training was a whole new ball game for me. I signed up for Hot Yoga classes. Picture this... A small room heated to 105 degrees and 45% humidity for an hour at a time. Wow, some real sweating going on. I started out slowly and built my way up to at least 4 hours a day on my days off. During the entire class I would be covered head to toe in layers of clothing. Yep, while all my fellow yogi's were dressed minimalist I was fully clothed. My yoga instructors knew what I was doing and understood, and even embraced it. Everyone kept to themselves and didn't give me too many funny looks during class but lots of questions when they found out what I was doing.  I found hotels on my trips that offered dry saunas so I could actually simulate the dry desert heat. Moist heat, dry heat it's all the same its HOT. This was preparing me for Death Valley CA in July. Helping a friend reach his goal. I'd be in 116/120 degree heat for about a week total. Now I'd say that's my kinda fun. 

   Love this... I always try and challenge, push and better myself each and every day. I have struggled this year trying to keep up with everything. Thanks to all who have stayed with me through out my blogging dry spell. 

   

   

Thank You

   I'd like to take a moment to thank you all so much for taking an interest and following this part of my life. It's my extreme passion for running and fitness that led me to writing this blog and my hope is that I can share some motivation, inspiration, and/or just a few entertaining stories. This blog was definitely  outside the box and my comfort zone, but the writing has helped me keep my passions fueled. Knowing that someone actually reads this stuff truly warms my heart. My friend Rachel helped me set up this blog site, I'm not a very savvy computer tech person. She had to walk me through starting a google account so I could get my own gmail address. I have recently found out that if you'd like to 'comment' on my blog you have to also have a Google gmail address. I hope  this helps out and answers the many questions I've had about posting comments, questions etc. and makes it a little easier. 

 

   Have a great Running Day!

Commitments 2015

     May- Badwater Salton Sea, Borrego Springs, CA Crewing for friends on a point to point race beginning below sea level at the Salton Sea and finishing 81 miles later on Palomar Mountain, within San Diego county. It requires a team of 3 runners completing the total distance together side by side within a 28 hour time limit.

     July- Hotter Than Hell Dusk to Dawn, New Orleans LA.  A 10 hour endurance run starting at 8:05pm ending at 6:05am the next day. Putting in as many miles as I can on a 2 mile loop around the Historical Audubon Park in New Orleans. 

     July- Badwater 135, 'the toughest foot race on earth'. Death Valley National Park CA. Crewing for a friend. It's 135 miles of road running from the lowest point in the USA -280 ft below sea level to the portal of Mt Whitney the highest at 8,360 ft. Extreme heat conditions, completing the run within a 48 hour time limit.

      September- Race of Ages Manchester, TN. Crewing for my Husband and friends. Race of ages is a unique endurance race that gives you an hour to run for every year of age- example 48 years old 48 hours to complete as many miles as you can on a flat fast one mile loop. I'll be camping, cooking and cheering them on while their going round and round. 

      September- Maui Marathon I had so much fun last year running I'm going to do it again. It's such a  Beautiful course. 

      October- Huntsville Half Marathon, Huntsville, TX . Those rolling hills keep calling my name and I gotta run with 'my dad' again. 

       December- Snowdrop 55 Hour Ultra Event, Sugar Land TX I'm going for another 100 mile belt buckle with my husband. This year they're even offering a 150 mile belt buckle. Craziness is trying for the 200 mile belt buckle. Woop Woop! 

Destin part 2

       Running the 24hr event last year was a last minute idea as I was already signed up for the 50 mile race. I had run the 50 mile course 2 times before and there were a few slots available for the 24hr run so I decided to give it a try, I had nothing to lose and I had proven myself on the sand at 50 miles. I need to give credit to Nick Holscher for sort of asking me, pulling me and putting forth a well thought out argument to enlist me to his race. Nick is the Race Director's brother (Zane Holscher) and is in charge of 24hr event. I actually enjoy running in the sand so 24 hours sounded like fun. As it turned out I was able to complete 88 miles and that was enough to be the female winner.

     Driving home from Destin last year with my husband/coach we talked at length about the race and some things we could change or improve upon and one thing led to another and the idea came up 'why not train to break the female course record'. I need to also point out that some of that inspiration came in part from Connie Gardner directly. Connie is the current female record holder (which is the female world record in the sand) and a very accomplished ultra runner. Last year she ran the 50K race in Destin on Sunday. She came out and ran the first few miles at the start of the 24hr run on Saturday as a warmup and cheering session. She ran next to me and we talked for the first few miles. Later on Sunday afternoon she came out again and ran with me a bit giving me a ton of encouragement. It might sound a little silly but it meant so much to me that she would take time to help me out on the course. One of the very cool aspects of the Ultra running community as a whole. Everyone is truly interested in helping others achieve their goals. It's a sport where you can run side by side with an elite athlete and one of the top female runners in the world. So, that was my goal and mission for the year. Train and try to break that record.

    Jean's definition of my husband/ coach.... Unconditional love and desire to push me hard and often to find my limits. I'm sure I have pushed back a few times. 

    My friends Kent and Diane who came in from Louisiana, stepped up to the plate this year from the moment they arrived in Destin. Having a very different race plan from last year, they kept me spot on with my hydration and nutrition giving me something every 2 miles. They took care of my gear changes and were ready to take care of any other problems that might have happened. They were also my photography staff and Diane kept others updated through text messages and calls. A very full day's work anyway you slice that up! Diane and Kent also knew I wasn't going to break the record early in the race and still remained my biggest cheerleaders urging me forward when I needed it the most. They kept me laughing and focussed while pacing me up and down the beach on Sunday morning. Thank you Diane, especially since I know that your passion has nothing to do with the sand. Thank you Kent for always being at the ready and never missing a beat. I can't tell my crew enough how much they are truly appreciated! There is a runners social on Monday, a great place to relax, drink a few beers and share all of the weekend's stories! We always visit the local sponsors afterward to thank them for their support so it was even more special this year since we got to share that with Kent and Diane.

       Jean's definition of true friendship.... Helping crew and feed me with continuous encouragement non stop for 24 hours with very little pay, actually no pay at All! 

       I ran with Kevin Kline at the Houston Marathon this year. He created The Snowdrop Foundation, raising money, awareness and providing paid college scholarships for pediatric cancer patients. While we ran, he was telling me stories of people who get the name of one of these children and run their race in honor of them and personally give their medal to that child. I thought that was an AMAZING thing to do!! I already donate all my medals to Bling For Bravery, an organization that works in conjunction with Snowdrop, but I wanted my races to become a little more personal. Having the name and background of a child so I could run for them. It's truly inspirational and will see you through when you need to dig deep. Being uncomfortable, tired, hurting and sore for a few hours suddenly becomes a lot easier when you consider that there are children who feel that way all day, everyday.

     Jean's definition of inspiration... Paige, a 14 year old young lady who is in the middle of battling childhood leukemia. She has had 10 months of pushing through treatments and is now in a maintenance phase that will continue on for another 2years. Just the thought of what she's been through was more than enough help to push me through the night, running with 25 mph headwinds nonstop for 14 hours. In the big scheme of things, not that tough really. Paige is the one doing the real "Heavy Lifting"

A few days ago I had the very distinct privilege of meeting Paige and giving her a necklace I wore through my race for her. She's what inspiration is all about! 

This is the bible verse Paige's mom gave me before the race. She said it has helped them persevere. I wrote it on my arm for the race. Thank You All!!!