Sharing the beauty of running Lake Tahoe & Truckee, California
by Helen 5 Comments
It’s 8am on Sunday and I’m going back to bed. This is not the taper I had planned for Bryce 100.
On Thursday (8 days pre-race,) I had a great run up “The Animal.” I ran hard, but not all-out, and it was still 10% faster than my previous best effort. Unfortunately, this climb really aggravated my on-going achilles/ankle/foot issues. I’d take a few days off.
“Close the computer at 6am,” I told myself, “get that mobility workout done before the kids need to wake up.” Instead, it was 6:33am before I finally sent the last email and quickly changed into workout shorts.
The mobility workout is part of a 90-day distance trail runner’s injury prevention workshop at our community gym (Performance Training Center). The workout calls for running through the sequence twice.
by Helen 4 Comments
[Note: often I write a personal race recap for my coach. It is not meant for public consumption. And yet, I somehow feel compelled to share this raw bit with you, Dear Reader.]
These are notes just for you.
Yesterday I had to work hard to stamp out the negative thoughts. Those chest muscles really hurt so that I wasn’t able to enjoy time with the family. Then I made the mistake of looking at the Mt. Tam race from November and realized that I am 5 pounds heavier than November. And I worked really hard that day. And it seemed like it was going to be alot hotter today.
by Helen 2 Comments
If you are a runner living in or regularly visiting the Tahoe region, then you know that the winter of 2017 has been, well, arduous, to say the least. While the record levels of snow make for a beautiful winter wonderland, the incessant storms have also made it challenging to keep any kind of training schedule.
My keys to keeping up in these conditions are flexibility and gear. Flexibility applies to location, activity and timing. Investing in some simple gear will help support this flexibility.
I struggled to breath about halfway up the first 1/4-mile climb of my hill workout. I am (hopefully) on the tail-end of a nasty cold. The light sprinkle had advanced to dumping rain. Negative thoughts invaded my mind until I forced them out.
“STOP,” I admonished myself, trying to follow the steps laid out in Mark Divine’s “Unbeatable Mind” book. Next I reminded myself, “You are here now. You are not dying of cancer.” And, finally, I reinforced my focus with a mantra.
by Helen 4 Comments
It was a brisk but sunny 20° at the start of the Racing Gnome 5k Snowshoe Run. I intentionally started with no gloves, no hat, only a light wool shirt, and a thin waterproof jacket. Less than half way through the race I was already overheating. This is snowshoe running.