In truth, what I really have is summer fever. Out of the last two weeks, including my spring break, it snowed a total of 28 inches. All I wanted was to be down at the lake in my bikini in the warm sun. On the Brightside, snow was much more conducive to getting my taxes done, and I already have my refund!
My first wave.Don't laugh, I know it's microscopic, I don't care!
Things in the running world have not gone quite as planned, although perhaps predictably. Two days after my PR at the Way Too Cool I woke up with a sore throat and a fever. Not so horrendous, except that the illness lingered for more than two weeks and devastated my training schedule.
I pondered my goals for AR50. I quickly revised them. No chance of a PR here, I would just have to consider it a training run. A few days later my head cleared a little more, and I realized no matter how ‘easy’ I ran, that it was still 50 miles. With the exception of the Cool race, I had run approximately 15 miles in 4 weeks, with only 2 1/2 weeks until the race. Not a good training plan for 50 miles. With a few wistful thoughts about the undoubtedly sweet finisher’s jacket that I would not get, I made the decision to drop the race from my schedule. I was sad on race day, and my disappointment was furthered when I recalled that this was one of my events for the Ultra Grand Prix. However, I have a long season planned, no sense getting injured in the first third.
I spent another light running week in Hawaii with Andrew. This may have been the true fuel for my spring fever. It was incredible! My good friend Dayle's wedding was the motivation for the trip, and it developed into a reunion of my dearest friends, affectionatly known as "The Slackers." It was much needed time with girlfriends. I went surfing for the first time in my life and stood up on my third wave! I don’t know how it’s possible that a girl who grew up in SoCal has never surfed before, but I guess if Newport Beach had warm water and small waves like Waikiki that might have been different. The trip was also a great romantic getaway. We stayed in this beautiful place in Kailua, bought local food at the farmer’s market and walked along the beach in the mornings drinking Kona coffee. I am now looking in to what it would cost to move to Kailua. (Ha ha)
Some of our lower elevation trails are starting to appear here in Tahoe, and this is the time of year when I really start to appreciate them. I’m tired of driving an hour each way to find snow-free trails, and with gas at 3.75 a gallon I can’t afford it anyway. The emigrant trail is one of my favorite lower elevation trails, and I managed to catch 14 miles on it last Saturday before it was blanketed in 8 inches of snow on Sunday. I am slowly working my way back into shape!
I have also been contemplating some more revisions in my race schedule. I know the Bishop High Sierra 50 can not be a 50 miler for me. My question has been whether to travel to Bishop to run the 50K course, which I have already run, or to stay closer to home and run the Silver State 50K, a course that I have not run before. When considering the options, I didn’t really feel up for the travel unless it was going to be a new or special event, but the Silver State course looked considerably more difficult and I wasn’t sure how I would fare. When I realized that SS was an event in the Ultra Grand Prix, I let that be the deciding factor and signed up for it. It won’t really make up for missing AR50 because it’s a shorter distance, but it helps. I’m not really competitive in the Grand Prix anyway, but it’s fun to score points!
I was able to run in shorts and a t-shirt today, and my daffodils which were crushed by Sunday’s snow, seem to be coming back. It was 63 today and is forecasted to be 70 by Friday. It’s time to discover what other Tahoe trails are snow free, and rake up the pine needles in the garden!
Andrew and I catch the same wave
