My 37th Year is Complete…

July 5, 2014 by Zucchini Runner in Life, Running | 16 Comments

Let me start out by saying I’m a HUGE believer in celebrating birthdays. I don’t understand those who don’t like to make a big deal about the day that brought them life on earth. It is incredibly significant; and a day – I feel – should be filled with reflection, new direction, (or renewed discipline towards ones goals), and lastly, I think it’s the one day of the year where it should be ALL ABOUT YOU. So, to celebrate me, I’m going to take you on a little journey of how my day has gone so far.

Earlier in the week, I knew I wanted to kick off the big day by working out for as long as my body would allow me. I just wasn’t sure WHAT I wanted to do EXACTLY. I still didn’t know at 1:00 a.m. either. (C’mon, I had to partake in the 4th of July fun too! Check out the app LongExpo for limitless fun.)

Anyway, I had dashed any hopes of getting a really long run in, because I knew I wouldn’t be getting up before the sun, to beat the heat. The most sleep I could muster, and still get out the door at a “cooler” time, was 6 a.m. See below… I managed to get almost 5 hours. WOO HOO! You are starting your 38th year off RIGHT lady. (Can you see me rolling my eyes? I am.)

By 7 a.m. I was out the door and on my way to the trails. My mom had called to wish me happy birthday, so while I was half asleep and talking to her, I was also getting dressed for my run. I pulled out my road shoes… then I thought… no… what am I doing… I want to go on the trails. This is the summer of trail running! I’m coming for YOU South Mountain!!

A quick look at the map at the trailhead, “hmmmm what new trail do I want to check out today… I’ll take a pic to reference later…” (Don’t mind my nail polish, I’m testing out Jamberry nail strips compared to regular nail polish. I think Jamberry is winning, what do you think?!)

Yay for cloud cover!

It’s still hot though…

Whew! Made it to the top… “I’ll take two pics and Photoshop them together…”

Same pic, just focused on the sky… no energy for Photoshop today folks… it’s my BIRTHDAY!

I just ran/speed hiked up that.

Can you tell how steep it is?

No? Maybe this will help…
Love conquering hills and mountains. I’m kinda weird like that…

Tempe/Phoenix in the distance….

“Oh look! Maybe I’ll take that trail back! I think it’s Mormon Loop… that might be fun!”

Awkward lone selfie on the mountain. 🙂

Ok, back to running… I still didn’t know where I wanted to go for sure at this point…

But it sure was pretty on National Trail today… fresh rain last night made everything extra vibrant… and humid… which I actually enjoy! 41% is PERFECT cooling weather!

“My legs are tired. Maybe I should turn around…”

At this point I heard my Garmin alert me of “Low Battery” two times already. I started to think about how I like to plan things, to some degree and then at other times, I fly by the seat of my pants. I have a constant inner turmoil happening and it’s quite annoying! I was wondering why I am that way, and began to wonder if this run was a metaphor for the upcoming year. I told myself, all the heat and hard work would be worth it in the end, that the view at the top would be worth it. A great analogy for life if you ask me. Then I felt this cool breeze, sweeping over the trail and it made me think there was an open area ahead, where I would see my great view! I got excited and pushed up the hill.

This is what I saw at the top… which does not look like much when captured with an iPhone camera. But I could see the mountain ranges off in the far distance much clearer than you can see pictured below.

I knew this was the furthest I’ve ever RUN on this trail and I already felt accomplished, but it wasn’t enough.

I looked at the trail ahead, and could see the South Mountain towers in the distance.

This is where my Garmin died. 🙁 It was a message that this workout wasn’t going to be about speed, but about the journey and the distance. (OR the message was “always charge your Garmin, even if you think it’s charged.”)

At this point I was thinking maybe Mr. Zucchini Runner could just come pick me up at the upcoming trailhead. Can you see the car? After all, I had little sleep, I was tired from all the uphill, and I didn’t really feel like turning around and going back the way I came. It was behind me, and I wanted to keep moving forward. 😉 Plus, my Garmin died.

Then I saw this…

AND THIS… if you click on the image, you will get a bigger image (I think) and you should be able to spot the trail that zigzags up the side of the mountain. “WHERE DOES THAT GO?!”

I was about to find out….
At the Buena Vista Lookout I examined the map and realized I was SUPER close to the OTHER side of the mountain where I first started trail running. I knew that loop so well! “I CAN DO THIS! AND EVEN RUN HOME AFTERWARDS!”

I called Mr. Zucchini Runner to tell him the new plan… well, I guess just the plan… since I was really winging it this whole time.
NOW I actually HAD a plan. And the call was an EPIC fail, since I had no cell service. “WHAT ARE THOSE TOWERS FOR THEN?!” LOL I sent him a series of texts that seemed to go through.

I took Corona de Loma Trail to meet up with Warpaint Trail. 🙂

This was where I started testing my inner strength. I grew up with very loving, yet protective parents. Everything was “be careful”, “are you ok”, “don’t do that, you will hurt yourself”, “where are you going”, “when will you be back”, “call us when you get there safely”, etc. — all of this is ironic too — because they also raised me to be very independent. So, this was a test for me. A test of inner strength and a test to quiet that worried little girl who was always afraid she’d hurt herself if she did anything out of the norm.

Oh, did I mention I hadn’t seen a single soul since the mountain biker in that one picture? Yeah. The moment I got on Corona de Loma Trail, I knew it hadn’t been used in a while – definitely not today. There were shrubs growing in the middle of the trail, debris from the storm on the 3rd still and the trail didn’t have any new footprints or bike tracks. (It was easy to tell, because of last night’s rain.) At one point though, I did see coyote tracks. 8| Then I looked up to the left and saw the spot where I just was probably 30 minutes earlier when I thought “Where does that go?!” And then… I decided to trip and fall… AGAIN. (If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know the story already.)

Luckily, I caught myself so I didn’t hit the ground fully or too hard; but there was a little bush that wanted to blind me… and I did a wonderful job at bending my thumb nail backwards – a lot – while I was preventing the fall. Hey, rather my thumb than my face… gotta protect the face! It started to bleed immediately and I put pressure on it, brushed myself off and continued up the trail. No time to stop here and now!! It’s hot out here folks.

At the top, there was this view of Ahwatukee…

And this amazing view and trail would lead me to my familiar trail. (Still no signs of anyone… which I decided to attribute to the 4th of July festivities and not the heat.)

But come on, seriously? Look at this! I was on cloud 9. Hazy humidity and pollution ridden sky and all, this is my home. I’m lucky.

I started getting service again, so I was able to check my location on the Map app. I’m the blue dot. 😉

On the long, switch-backy, descent I managed to stop once and take a pic…

Once at the bottom, I took a pic looking back at what I just ran/hiked down.

I was so thankful for a normal, flat trail at this point. Not sure how much more my knees could take…

I stopped under a tree to regroup, cool off a bit, text Mr. ZR…

…and take my second serving of Energy Bits.

Then I took a cacti, running selfie… since I still hadn’t seen a SINGLE PERSON… at this point I was one with nature. Thanks for lending a helping “hand” cacti.

In the end, I finished with roughly 8.5 trail miles, with a freakload of elevation change. No wonder it was cooler at the top… hahahaha.

Here is a snapshot of my Moves app. Purple is running, green is walking. 🙂 I was able to use this imagery, to map out the rest of my mileage on Daily Mile.

5.38 miles after my Garmin died… some of it was on the road… but it was getting unbearably hot for me at this point, so I called Mr. ZR to come pick me up…

Deep down, I wanted 13.37 miles today. Should I do it? Should I?

THAT’S RIGHT! IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!

I sweat through another 3 miles, at a 3% incline on the treadmill, at a comfortable pace. Music was my friend, while I pondered why some people are soooooo outwardly religious and others are far more subtle.

I was a happy gal, doing my cooldown walk. Feeling satisfied that I reached (as close as I could tell) 13.something miles.

My Fitbit was my guide, before I mapped everything out afterwards.

And just in case you were wondering… that’s not dirt under my fingernail! 🙂

Lastly, I wanted to do PiYo Sweat! If there were any sliver of doubt that PiYo was going to be good for my running, today sealed the deal.

By the end, I was DONE. Child’s Pose never felt so good.

And homemade breakfast never tasted so good. (Thank you Mr. Zucchini Runner for making exactly what I asked for, while I showered.)

I’m seriously lucky. 🙂 Bring it on 38th year, I’m ready for you!!

What about you? Do you celebrate your birthday or do you brush it under the rug?

Ragnar Trail Relay in the McDowell Mountains

October 27, 2013 by Zucchini Runner in Running | 8 Comments

This race was amazing on so many levels. As I think back on the running, team camaraderie, time alone with nature and just the sheer awesomeness of it all I can’t help but feel completely grateful and content with my life.

I truly haven’t felt this at peace in a long, long while. Maybe this has something to do with it. Below is an excerpt from the Rangar Trail Relay website:

“Nestled in the lower Verde River basin, just northeast of Scottsdale, sits the McDowell Mountain Range. The early Yavapai were known to receive guidance from “Mountain Spirits” that dwell in the McDowell Mountain.

We can’t guarantee that you will commune with spirits during the race. Then again, we can’t guarantee that you won’t. We can guarantee that you will leave this adventure with a clear head and a new outlook on life. Maybe it is the Spirits after all.”

My current struggles of working two jobs and spending countless hours in front of a computer screen, have all seemed to melt away. I feel that getting back to basics is essential for me… maybe that’s why this race report is so long overdue… 🙂

Running, experimenting with plant-based recipes, spending time with friends and family and just taking time to relax and enjoy life — these are the things I love and cherish. These are the things I need to do MORE often.

Now that I have that out of the way, I can let you know how the race went. 🙂

By now you all should have heard me talk about the amazing Missy, otherwise known as Sugar Coated Athlete. True to form that gal did NOT disappoint during this race weekend. By 11:00 a.m. she and her husband Todd had a PRIME spot staked out for the team, nestled right up along the edge of the desert. Not only was it a quiet campsite free of foot traffic, but it also had incredible views of the desert, mountains and the fountain in Fountain Hills! A big thank you to Todd and Missy for being awesome and at-the-ready!!

Here is the fountain up close!

When we showed up to the campsite, Holly the team captain had these waiting for us. HOW CUTE?!

She also had a board with all our loops and the lengths listed out. AWESOME. I love checking things off a list. This also saves me from having to explain how this relay went. 😉

Everything about this race was earth friendly – which I absolutely loved. Below are some of the highlights. Solar panels and bike warm-up station.

I’m gonna go ahead and let you read this on your own. 🙂

The last paragraph? TOTALLY TRUE. These were really quite nice, surprisingly.

Our view from camp. A-mazing.

Look out for these suckers if you are in the desert. They are not friendly!

Ok, enough exploring. Time for the race debrief.

First runner is in the starting tent! That means I’m up next!! AHHHH 🙂

We sent Chad off, hung out by the tent and after about 35 minutes we all went back down to the transition area to wait for his arrival. There was a timing mat on the course at .4 miles out. Once your runner crossed the mat, your team name would display on the screen and the next runner was allowed in the transition tent. After a few minutes of waiting, there we were, team 178 Heavy Breathers! AHHHH Here I go! I get in the tent, I’m swaying back and forth, anxious to go, my heart is pounding in my chest with excitement and for some reason I suddenly remembered I did NOT USE MY INHALER. (I have exercise induced asthma!!) I wasn’t in my normal routine and had just completely forgot.

Without wasting a second, I bolted out of the transition tent to our tent a few hundred yards away, used my inhaler – could barely hold the medicine in because I was so out of breath – threw the inhaler back in my bag and sprinted back to the transition tent. I was standing there for about 5 seconds when Chad arrived to do the transition. I walked over to him to grab the timing belt and team number and asked how it was – he said, “It was hard.” LOL Great! Here I go!

The start to this leg was not ideal – it had my heart racing with adrenaline and therefore I felt overly exerted from the get-go. I was able to turn around and snag this sweet pic though. 😉 Turns out that this loop, the yellow loop, was the most technical of all the loops. In the end, I was glad I got it over with in the daylight and first. There were definitely a couple spots where I needed to walk. It did have a cool pass under a storm drain and at the top of the mountain, you had an awesome view of Ragnar Village. My phone memory was FULL and I couldn’t snag another shot. Dang it! When I finished this leg, I was very hot and out of breath. I wanted to finish quickly, to give the team a good start!!

There was plenty of time to relax until my next leg, which wouldn’t be until 12:30 a.m.

Looking back at camp.

A completely full moon lit the entire campsite and surrounding mountains beautifully.

Just before my second leg! I was pretty excited to run in cooler temps.

And I’m off! The moment I was away from camp, I realized JUST how bright the moonlight was and didn’t turn on my headlamp for the entire leg. It was cool, almost cold at points, quiet and so serene. I passed about 6-8 runners while out on that course. It was SO much easier than the yellow loop, probably because I had a relaxing start and cooler temps, and remembered to use my inhaler. haha I found myself not really in race mode on this leg, and just trying to soak up the beauty of the mountains, nature and the fact I was running alone in the wild. There was something very spiritual about it and I was really enjoying myself!

When I got back to camp after my run, I toasted a marshmallow for Mrs. Sugar Coated (I’m doing a 30 Day Sugar Detox plan right now… so I had to live vicariously through Missy) and they had the movie Unbreakable: The Western States 100, playing on a large movie screen! These guys thought of everything.

After about “four” hours of “sleep” in a recliner chair under a sleeping bag, the sun was up and it was getting close to the start time of my last leg. It was the longest of the 3 loops, but also the least technical, so I was really looking forward to it!

This is a shot of camp, close to the transition tent area and where food was served. Oh yeah! They served a pasta dinner the night before, coffee and hot chocolate were available the entire time (of which I never partook… not sure why) and the next morning they had breakfast burritos and sandwiches available for purchase.

Within 45 second of hitting the trail of the 3rd leg, I realized how tired I actually was. 🙂 The good news is, MENTALLY I was totally fresh so it didn’t matter how tired my legs were. They just sucked it up and did what I told them. It was a beautiful and gradual gain in elevation on the way out, then the last 2.5 miles were mostly downhill. Once I turned on this trail, I HAD to pull out my phone and try to snag a pic. I literally didn’t stop running, pulled my phone out and snapped 4 pictures randomly, hoping ONE would be good. I was pleasantly surprised to see this one when I got back to camp.

The last mile of this leg was rough. It was back to the technical stuff with rolling hills, dodging rocks and cracks and the like. I did pass 22 runners (or so, I lost count) on this leg, so I knew I was doing a little better than average. 🙂 I was happy to be done with my legs so early in the day when it was nice and cool still. The AZ sun is intense! By the time I got to the transition tent, I unclipped my spibelt, not the timing chip/race number belt. WHOOPS. Yeah, I was a little out of it. haha

But not so much I couldn’t pose for a gun show with Missy! I rocked that lap with the fastest pace of all loops, so I was pretty happy!

Missy was runner number 5 and she had the same leg order as I did, so this was her heading out on the longest leg, when it was much warmer!

The whole team at the end. We were ready for REAL showers, not baby wipe showers, and some real food! I was trying to get everyone excited for this pic, hence my goofy face 🙂

I took my mini me runner home, but not before I made her pose in the desert.

I ordered take out from my favorite restaurant Pomegranate Cafe, and picked it up before even going home. Isn’t that medal cool??

My trusty map. I carried this with me on every leg. I have a deep seeded fear of getting lost in the wilderness, so I wanted to be prepared. hahaha I knew the way pretty well! I will definitely be doing this race again next year! It was an amazing experience.

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