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Name: Stacey
Birthday: 5/22/1981
Gender: Female
Interests: Running, swimming, biking, triathlon?, hiking, camping, travel, wildlife, biology, food...
Expertise: Well, I wouldn't call it expertise just yet, but I know quite a bit about pronghorn, sexual selection, and genetics... Oh, I am an expert in pizza :)
Occupation: Student
Industry: Research
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
3/30/2006
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| Despite what seems to be my disappearance from the running world, I have been around. I just finished my prelims, and I'm officially a PhD candidate!! So, I haven't been updating my adventures, but I have been doing some running. I'll try to keep it short, so here are the races I've done since the Santa Trot:
New Year's Day Run to Bald Knob Cross, back in IL - this "morning-after" run is an annual tradition with the Cobden Road Runners, of which my father-in-law is a member. This was our second year doing the run. It was cold, and neither Kyle or I were doing well on the pavement, but we made it up to the cross (~10 miles), and then stuffed ourselves with brownies and chili - just what we needed after the holidays. Kyle hurt his knee in this run, and hasn't been completely recovered yet.
Freeze Your Fanny 5k - In our 3rd running of this race, I was slow and my lungs hurt. I added about a minute to last year's time, but still came in 3rd in my age group. I finally met the girl, Cassie, who always places just ahead of me. She came in 2nd.
Hagg Lake 25k - "The Mud Run" - What a day! I had originally signed up to do the 50k, but given a lack of training (I hadn't run more than about 14 miles since Baker Lake last Oct), freezing rain, and gusty wind, I decided to just do 1 loop around the lake. I was glad I went that route - I went out slow, but definitely had enough kick to pick it up the second half. The mud was insane! This race is notorious for being the muddiest course in the Pacific Northwest - which if you know how much it rains there, you'd understand that to be the muddies, it must be bad!! You spent every other step trying to regain your balance after sliding backward or sideways, or recovering from stepping in a seemingly benign mud puddle only to find out it's about a foot and a half deep. Yeah, I'm lucky I didn't break an ankle. With the rain and wind, it was the first trail race in which I've seen people using space blankets, and EVERYONE had one! We all gathered around heaters, wrapped in aluminum, sipping hot chocolate or broth. It was quite the sight to see.
Snake River Half Marathon - What was I thinking? Since I registered for the "big one" this summer (I haven't gone public with this yet, so I'll keep it under wraps - but it's a long one!), I'd been focusing primarily on trail running. So, when JS asked me 2 days before if I would be doing Snake River, I said no way - can't take the pavement right now. But of course my competitive side got the better of me, and I found myself lined up next to much, much faster people on a cold, overcast morning in mid-March. Within a mile I knew I had been stupid (I already knew this - I had said it 10 times during the half hour drive to Wawawai Landing) to sign up - I was not going to finish anywhere near last year's time, and I would be lucky to still be walking. The pavement kicked my butt!! Somehow I pulled it together enough to squeeze out a negative split (by about 30 seconds), and finish just under 2 hours - about 8 minutes longer than last year, and minus the wind. Oh well - not my day. Now I know why I run trails!!
Hell's Canyon Survival Run (16 miles) - What can I say about this run? How did I not know this even existed so close to Moscow?! I had never been to Hell's Canyon, but I was ready to make the drive back just 2 weeks after this run. It was awesome! We took a jet boat from Pittsburg Landing in about 16 miles, where we dropped off and left to fend for ourselves the whole way back. In typical fashion, I was stuck at the back of the boat, so I did get motion sick. Luckily it wasn't too bad, and I was feeling good again pretty early in the run. The wildflowers were beautiful, and the weather perfect! It was just a nice easy run in the canyon - so spectacular!! Next year I'm definitely doing the 30 mile option, just so I can stay in the canyon longer!
Spokane River Run 50k - So one reason I didn't do the 30 miler at Hell's Canyon was because I had already signed up to do SRR again. The other reason was that I was studying for prelims, and my running had taken a back seat. Well, thinking the extra weeks would give me more time to prepare, I signed up for SRR. Of course, my orals ended up being scheduled for April 20, and SRR was on the 22nd. HA!! Not only was I exhausted from the exam itself, but I went out to celebrate on Friday, with the intention of having only 2 beers. Of course, we wound up with a few too many pitchers, and then JB bought the car bomb. Mental note: Irish car bombs = BAD!!! I was done for. I spent Sat morning at the spa, having a massage and my nails done. Yes, it seems reverse, but when I made the appointment, it made sense. The rest of Sat was spent lounging around the house nursing one heck of a hangover. We were up bright and early Sun to make the drive to Spokane. At this point, I was still debating whether to actually attempt the 50k, or just call it quits after one 25k loop. The first loop was fine - my heart rate was exceedingly high if I picked up to a run at all. This freaked me out, so I just kept a slow jog, walked all the hills, stopped and filled up at each aid station, pet the dogs, stopped to look at the Rocks of the Moon (the highlight of the course)... I pulled into the start/finish at 3:20, and went to my drop bag, still not having decided if I should call it quits or go out for more. I gave in (like I always do), and went back out. The second half has a lot of scenic points, but it also has a stinky water treatment center and a firing range, so I prefer the first half. Outside of those two things, though, it's great! It runs along a lot of the Spokane River, and there are several open fields - the arrowleaf balsam root was in full bloom - gorgeous! It was much cooler this year, so I never felt nauseous or dehydrated. I kept up with water, electrolytes, grub... The only major problem I had was my knee - which has been hurting especially after the downhills lately. Not sure why - it sucks! Anyway, finished in just over 7 hours - DFL!! But hey, at least I finished, and I still came in 3rd in my age group! I was sore and tired afterwards, but I figured if I could do the 50k just after having done prelims, I could definitely do what I signed up for this summer!!
Pictures are soon to follow.
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The annual Santa Trot in Colfax, Washington: would it be another dry year, with your typical 5k on clear roads? Or would it live up to its name and be a true winter cross-country Santa Trot? Much to my excitement, Mother Nature decided to hand us a bit of snow the week around Thanksgiving.  
This meant that we wouldn't have another Freeze-your-Fanny incident (a Feb race in which temps reached into the 60s). No, we were to have quite a challenging 5k ahead of us.
The morning of the race, temps were in the 20s, with a wind chill probably in the teens. I pulled out the fleece tights, and my new Brooks quilted jacket, along with a couple other layers, a hat, gloves... I debated about wearing YakTrax, but decided that in most places, the snow was too powdery and I would just sink anyway. I did go with my new Asics Gel Trabuco trail shoes, since they seemed to have the best grip on the icy patches. We waited in the warmth of the car until the last possible minute, than hopped out to do a quick warm up. I could tell it was going to be a tough race - breakfast wasn't settled, the legs weren't cooperating, and oh yeah, we were sinking into 6 inches of snow in most places! We finally made our way to the start, where we were described the course and its 50 turns in 3.1 miles... Then the RD gave his famous last words, "Don't worry, everything's well marked - there's no way you'll get lost." HA! I've heard that one before! And as I recall, those words inevitably lead to someone (sometimes me) getting off the course, adding miles and minutes...
We started off by crossing the 2 sports fields and then heading over the levee. At this point, .5 miles into the race, I was in 4th and fading fast! The snow made it fun, but very difficult. I didn't even try to time myself, but instead went by effort. After the levee, we headed into the town park for what should have been a series of end-to-end zigzags. However, the guy shouting out times failed to move for us to see the arrow pointing into the park!  So, we all ended up circling the park on an unplowed road, only to learn of our mistake on the other side. So, we backtracked, and I met up again with Kyle, who had pulled ahead, but lost ground when he missed the turn. We made the loops through the park and back onto the levee. It was at this point that I actually had to walk up the hill onto the levee! I was so tired, and the footing was sketchy. Back into the park (on the correct trail this time), then around the fields in reverse order. They had 2 benches set out on the field that we were supposed to jump as hurdles. I made the 2 jumps on the out, but by the time I came back, I had to actually step over the hurdles - my legs wouldn't go that high!! Had I tried, I'm sure I would have had a snowy facefull of bench - not my idea of a rewarding treat. The course ended with a 3/4 lap around the track. I must have pulled ahead of the 3rd place woman when we got lost, as she came cruising up behind me on the final stretch. She cruised right on by - there was no trying to stay with her. When I finished, I had that horrible bloody metal taste in my mouth - the lactic acid had built up. Final time: 30 something? 30:16? Not too sure, but I was averaging about 10 minute miles.
We hung around for awards. Kyle came in second in his age group, and I came in 3rd (4th overall female). There was some debate as to how to present awards, since it seemed that some people had actually cut the course short when they realized they were off-track, rather than going back and correcting. I don't know what the big deal was, though. It was just a 5k Santa trot, not a Boston qualifier! Most people were fine, but some sure were pissy!  Anyway, they gave out ribbons to age groupers, and plaques to the overall winners. Then they had a drawing, and I got another water bottle and a Clif bar. Kyle got a dry-release shirt that says "Run Naked." We traded  So, a good time was had by most. I thought it was fun! Afterwards, we headed to Spokane to get x-country skis!! Despite being exhausted from the race, we did try out our skis on a night ski ( full moon and snow reflection) on the Bill Chipman trail. FUN! We've been twice more since.
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| I asked myself this question as I toed the line for the start of the Doc Sears Fall Classic 5-miler yesterday morning. 5k - just go all out, it will be over soon enough. 50k - start out slow and then taper, there's a lot more trail ahead! But 5 miles??? How do you pace for that?
I had yet to determine the answer when the RD yelled start, and we were off. Several men and a couple women pulled ahead immediately, and I fell into a decent clip just a bit behind Kyle. I decided I would try to keep up with him as best I could - drafting off him, or at the very least, using him as a pacer. We hit the first mile marker in 7:45 - WOW!! I would have to slow down if I was going to finish the race without bonking!! But somehow, I maintained the pace for the next 2 miles, despite the cold air causing me to hack and drip (EWW!).
At about mile 3, we had to climb to a bridge. There were actually switchbacks on this part of the trail, and pushing up them took its toll. As I ran over the bridge, with the traffic flying by on my right, and the river flowing slowly to my left, I became very dizzy. I tried to run with my eyes closed, but decided I would probably either fall into the water or the road, so I just dealt with the vertigo. Thanks to physics, what goes up must come down. So, on the other side of the bridge, there was a nice bit of downhill that allowed me to cruise along, catch my breath, and stretch out my legs for the final mile and a half.
I hit the 4 mile mark at 32:05 - meaning I had to run a 7:55 mile if I were to break 40 minutes, my new goal. So, I upped the cruise control and rocked out to some Gorrilaz. My lungs HURT, but my legs weren't ready to give up. We hit the final stretch, and Kyle pulled ahead (as usual), and I was able to gun it a bit more for a ~39:50 finish!! Woo Hoo! Good enough for 2nd in my age group. I was happy - I went sub 40, placed in the top, and even got a medal!! Lots of fun! 
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| Kyle and I decided to make a weekend out of the race, so we headed up
to Concrete, WA early Friday afternoon. Word got around to the
principal that Ky was running a 50k, so he got a half day!! The drive
was fine - uneventful... Made it to our hotel, had dinner, then to bed
early.
Saturday morning: It was still dark when we left the hotel. Had some
coffee and a bagel en route. Picked up our race packets - nice
technical t shirt with a picture of the lake, Mt. Baker and a bear!
They had already done the raffle: Kyle won a Nathan Hydration pack, and
I won a Montrail hat! It was kinda chilly on this clear fall day. I
went back and forth between a short and long-sleeved technical shirt,
and pants or shorts. Finally decided to just stick with a short sleeve,
light Brooks jacket, shorts, and gloves. This was my first race with my
new Nathan backpack - I love it!! It holds 2 liters of water and has a
couple small pockets for snacks, gels... Very comfortable; no strap on
the stomach to cause issues like I had in Elkhorn.
The first .5 mile was on pavement and went over the Baker Lake dam.
Nice view of the canyon, but I'm never too impressed with huge man-made
structures... The next mile or so was on dirt/gravel forest road - this
was fine on the way up, but not so much on the way down. We climbed a
bit here, but most of the runners took the start relatively slow. Kyle
and I settled in near the back of the middle pack.We finally hit the
trail, and it was off into classic Pacific NW forest!! The trail was
nice, though it was actually a bit rockier than I expected! One guy was
doing the race without shoes!! I'm not sure how he fared - never saw
him finish... I was just thinking that those rocks would be a killer on
barefeet! And not to mention the chance of rolling an ankle!
The trail section was about 14 miles long along Baker Lake. We went to
the end of the lake, crossed a suspension bridge, hit the only aid
station on the course, and turned around to run the same course back.
The course itself was never flat - it was constantly rolling up and
down. This meant you were using a variety of muscles, which was nice,
but it did wear on my knees. We were keeping a good pace until about
mile 13, at which point Kyle started to bonk. He hadn't been training
for this as much as I had. So, I knew the A/S was coming up, and I
pushed him to keep going - I was feeling great and didn't want to slow!
The frontrunners had already been through the A/S and were headed back.
This was interesting, as the trail is very narrow, windy singletrack -
sometimes with a steep drop to one side! For the most part, we gave the
frontrunners the right of way and we veered off the trail. This didn't
help us to keep a good pace at all, but if we hadn't moved, I think we
would have been plowed over!! We finally made it to the A/S. I changed
socks, since I was starting to get a couple hot spots. Had some salty
snacks, and Ensure, refilled the water... Kyle started back a couple
minutes before me with the intention of walking until I caught up. I'm
always so slow at the A/S! I need to work on this... And Kyle wasn't
doing too well at this point - his legs were already done. I convinced
him to just keep going, walk if needed, but to just keep moving
forward. At one point, I stopped to hug a tree and Kyle went on without
me. Took me awhile to catch up! I ended up having to stop again to
empty my shoes. I had on my hot pink Dirty Girls (gaiters), so trail
junk wasn't the problem - I'd put on too much foot powder! So, finally
caught up to Kyle. He was still walking at this point, but had started
to throw in some skipping!! Who knew you could skip even when your legs
didn't want to run!?! I was still feeling good, so I ended up
pulling ahead. I was alone for much of the race after this. I was sad
to leave Kyle, but it's also kinda nice to just get into the run and
space out. Every now and then Mt. Baker, one of the Cascade volcanoes,
would come into view. I tried to take a peek now and then, but found
myself tripping over lots of rocks and roots!! So, finally I just
stopped and stared in awe. The mountain looked so big, and was covered
in snow and glaciers. It was gorgeous! And the fact that it wasn't
covered in fog was amazing!!
I had to keep moving. I played leap-frog with a couple other runners. I
ended up running with a guy from Fox Island - why is that familiar?? We
chatted a bit, whined about our knees... Finally I decided to pull
ahead, and as I left he mentioned his name was Kent. Kent! I ran with
you at the Spokane River Run!! So, again, Kent had kept me company
through some of the loneliest section of trail!! I love meeting people
at these races, and then running into them (no pun intended) again
later. What a small world!!
At some point I was passed by a lady - she cruised right on by. I don't
know where she came from! She was flying! She was out of my sight a
couple minutes when I heard her yell - she had taken a nasty fall and
hit her head. I helped her up and made sure she was okay. She was fine
- glad she hadn't poked out an eye! She shook it off, and we were on
our way again. She soon passed me, but not at the speed she had before.
About this point, we made it back to the road. They had set up a little
A/S there, which was a pleasant surprise! At first, I thought I
wouldn't stop, but the RD offered some Coke, which sounded perfect
right then. I had some coke, grabbed a gel, and was back on my way. By
this point, the pounding on my knees had caught up, and I was whincing
with every step. The road went downhill, so it was really pounding my
legs. I ended up walking, but that didn't help much, so I shuffled
along in the grass when possible. A few more people passed me through
here, but I didn't care. I knew I was almost done, but it was killing
my knees! When I hit the dam, I made myself pick it up a bit to the
finish - 6:52!! Not too bad!! I was quite happy with my time, given the
hills on the course. And really, I had a great race! No stomach
problems, hydration was fine (I peed 4 or 5 times on the trail!!), and
I still had energy at the end! If my knees weren't so unhappy, I'd have
called it a perfect race. But what fun would it be if all races were
perfect?? There'd be no challenge.
I grabbed some water at the end, walked a bit to cool down, then went
back to the car to get on some warm clothes, thinking that Kyle would
still be awhile. I just happened to look up and see him coming in
already, and he was cruising!! I whistled to him as he finished, and I
think I got everyone's attention but his! He made it in about 7:02 -
just 10 minutes after me! I asked him about it, and he said he actually
had to walk/skip most of the way back, but then got a second wind about
5 miles out and was able to pick it up. He did the last 1.5 on the road
in less than 10 minutes!! I was glad to see him finish that soon, and
still able to run!! He did awesome!
When we got back to the hotel, we had pizza and watched TV - we
deserved a night off! The next day drove the long way home, through the
North Cascades. It was gorgeous! I'd never been before, and wish I had
more time to go and hike! We stopped at a few pullouts for pictures and
a couple short walks.
I was really only sore for a couple days after the race, and I ran
again maybe 3 days after it. But my knee (my right knee, which actually
swelled up near the end of the race) is still sensitive And I don't
have all my energy back. I think I need to take it easy this fall (is
that possible !?!) and let my body recover a bit - I've done a lot of
long runs/hikes lately! It's just so fun!! Anyway, hope the knee is
okay...
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| After
discussing with my husband and friend Josh how 9 more miles (not 12,
like I originally thought), wasn't really all that much when you've
already done 31, we decided to go for the Ultimate Dash! 
On Sunday morning, we got up at 4am, had our breakfast and coffee, and
headed to Logan Pass. Hit the trail about 5:45, headlamps on, voices
warning the grizz we were coming... The temps were cool, and the
sunrise was gorgeous on the mountains.
 McDonald Valley from the Highline
We made it to the chalet in time
to wake up those staying there - much to their surprise. Through the
Trapper Creek Fire area (from 2003) - saw some deer, a few hawks... Not
much else. We took a side trail up to Ahern Pass - had a great view
down to Elizabeth Lake and the backside of the Ptarmigan Wall - worth
the extra effort!
 View from Ahern Pass
Came to a snowfield crossing that had been undercut
by a stream - quite the obstacle to get around, as someone before us
had obviously broken through. 
Finally made it over, but Josh slipped on some wet rock and tweaked a
knee - nothing major, but we did slow a bit. Then it was up Fifty
Mountain pass - really cool boulder field at the top.
 Fifty Mountain Pass
Stopped for
another big snack, sock change (we were soaked from the last stream
crossing), pictures... Then it was down into the Fifty Mountain
meadows. Lots of bear diggings here - it had been posted for a bear in
the area, but we never saw one 
More pictures, pumped some water, had a snack... Then into the trees
again. We were a little behind schedule at this point, since we had
made so many stops, but not too far. Cruised downhill, through some
really thick thimbleberry bushes that had been trampled - lots of noise
when we passed scat on the trail (piles of both bear and cougar scat -
but still none spotted)... Hit the Goat Haunt ranger station with
plenty of time to catch the boat, but we all still had some miles in
our legs so we went for it! We got about 3 miles from the ranger
station when Josh got sick to his stomach - not sure what hit him, but
there was a lot of wretching over the last few miles.
 Delirium sets in at the Swath - Mile 37ish
We slowed a lot
at this point, and had to make quite a few stops, but we still made it
into Waterton before dark! Stops included, we finished in about 15
hours. Grabbed some pizza, and made it to the border with 5 minutes
until the crossing closed! I'm a little sore today, but really not all
that bad. I have one hip that seems like I may have pulled something,
and (as usual) some blisters on the feet, but I'm feeling pretty good! 
Things
that may have helped me not get tummy problems this time around: I
drank nothing but water, kept a slower pace, temps were nice, and it
wasn't a race so I didn't have nervous jitters.
So, hopefully, the next long race I do goes as smoothly as this! What a great end to summer at Glacier!  | | |
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