More than me!

Deciding, planning, training for and running a 100 mile race is not, all in all, a solitary adventure. While many of my training miles to date have been solo I have an amazing family and group of friends and supporters rooting me on. To embark on such a journey, as this, time away from family is a given -- countless hours of training in the mountains and on the road is time spent away from my son and husband. I woke most weekdays before they were out of bed to get in a run and many, many weekend days I was out all day while they played and did life without me. It is not always easy to be a spouse of an Ultra runner; it takes patience and understanding, but most importantly it takes time. Steven has driven me to race starts and waited for me at the finish line nearly every race. At Wilson Creek Frozen 50K he waited 2 extra hours in the freezing cold for me to finish. We have traveled several hours to get to races, taking time away from other family activities to make it all happen. I am lucky! While I know that my husband does not fully understand my desire to run far, he does love the me that loves running far. My journey to my first 100 mile race has taught me about love, motherhood, balance in a marriage, push and pull, effort and ease, it has taught me about commitment and true friendship, this journey thus far has reviled to me a drive to be AWESOME! I want to finish what I start not only in the racing sense of the word but also in the life sense. I am making it happen for my family, I am teaching my son that anything is possible if you want it bad enough and if you are willing to work for it. And if you are willing to work for it remember to ask for help and to be willing to show both strength and weakness. With just a few days before I step on to the IMTUF course; I feel grateful that I let people in and that I have shared this journey, even when it did not seem all that interesting, I feel ready in mind and body, most of all I feel supported by a great big handful of people both near and far. I will resist the urge to get up and give me very best Oscar Award winning speech, at least until after the race....

8days, 8th race, 8 Mountain Passes

Eight days from today I will take my first step of what has been a culmination of tens of thousands of steps, I have run fast, slow, I have hiked to massive heights, I have tripped and stumbled and come back for more. Perhaps the most important step I have taken in this journey so far was the decision to try. A good friend said to me the other day "Just signing up for such a race takes so much courage." Perhaps she is right and I know that for me this was the first real step toward something that feels out of reach to so many. As time closes in and the days tick off the calender I find myself in deep reflection, some might even call it mind chatter :) Funny "Mariah" thoughts like what will I think about for that many hours, will I still be counting miles and minutes toward the end, ooooo I could come up with some great recipes on the run, oh and affirmations for Yoga postures, I hope I am nice to my crew, I will smile no matter what, I hope I can eat all the way through, I am so grateful, I know I can do this, I hope I can do this, Oh you can do this, so if I run a 33 hour pace... I cannot wait to see my family at the finish line, this is going to be awesome and hard and crazy and and.... Wow I sound a little crazy, and the truth is that is not even the half of it. I have been asked more times than I can count "Why would you ever want to run that far?" The funny thing is it's not a "Why?" for me in the traditional sense of "Why?" -- truth be told I have shouted to myself on a long and grueling run "Why the hell do you do this!!!!" but it was more a a statement than a question. Fact is, I am crazy in love with running far, power hiking up hills and sometimes flying down hills, I love the training and the challenge, I like to set my sights very high and see if I can humanly achieve my personal greatness, I love the quiet and the chatter of a long run and this will be a long long long long long run.... So as I celebrate the number eight today I look forward to the 8th race and those 8 mountain passes in a short eight days

Race Rocks to Date

The day I made my final decision that I would run and hopefully finish every race in the ITUS I thought about all the nerdy things I like to do, collections, calculations, estimations, silly basic math on the run, food logs, experimentation, blogging, FB posting -- all the good stuff that goes into life as I know it in on the run and beyond. So why wouldn't I commit to collecting a rock from every race! Most certainly another story is born with this collection...

Wilson Creek "Seriously" Frozen 50K "what the french" -- first race of the series! This little gem was collected in the last 9 miles of this race -- things had "warmed" up an my spirits were at the highest they had been throughout the entire race -- I snatched up this rock and ran my heart out. Made it in 8:25:12 WAY longer than I had imagined but still strong and still a great finish.

Pickled Feet 12 hour night run March 29, 2013 - Plan number one run at least 40 miles, plan number two run 50 miles -- Result I ran 51.5! This little beauty was collected on my very last lap at Eagle Island. Caution --- TMI I squatted down to pee, and there it was the most beautiful piece of obsidian I had ever seen. "Oh wow, how lucky am I, the gorgeous rock just sitting here waiting for me to scoop it up." I struggled to get it into my pack feeling not so flexible as I made my way around my final loop of the radical 12 hour run, I was so excited to show this rock to my peeps. The next morning my Mom inquired about my race rock! "Oh YEAH, you will never believe it... I found this awesome piece of obsidian." I retrieved it from my pack and lo and behold it was a piece of charcoal.... BAHAHAHAH my ultra head was out.... Nuf said.

Silver City June 22, 2013 a super rad race with more lessons than I can count today. The first 20 miles was shared with fellow runner and awesome human Rachael Bazzett, we watched the sunrise, ran, walked, got lost (by SHORT DISTANCE) we laughed and climbed, we solved problems and made plans this was my very favorite race starts all year. After our second water crossing she was climbing hard and taking off... again I squat and WOW this time for real I find the most beautiful rock and at the 20 mile(ish) mark, the crystal rock as incredible and made me smile, give thanks and move ever forward -- I love this rock and I loved running Silver City! Finish time 19:32:28 -- pretty good.

McCall Classic July 13. 2013 40 miles morphing into 45 miles... One word on this rock WATERMELON and three more words I LOVE YOU! Strong race, happy runner finish time 12:41:48.

Wild Idaho 50K August 3, 2013, finish time 8:52:44. The ups and downs and all arounds were shiny and gorgeous. I was as happy as could be even in the midst of the climb. I collected this shiny beauty in the first 17 miles on the down, down, down to the turn around. So much sand and rock it was really pretty and nice on the feet. Love this shiny little gem it one for the collection as is this lovely race!

So far so good this year! I love my rocks and my race bibs but most of all I love the connections I have made and the success I have had. I like to say I am not in it to win it but I am IN IT to the max. Rock on people!

19 days to IMTUF

I am nervous, excited, crazy in the head, thrilled, content and peacefully terrified. From here until race day I will keep it real, I will keep moving all the way to the finish line. It will be a long run, many hours for my body and mind. I know I can do it and will be a finisher, I want this too bad not to be. I would be lying to say I do not have fear, in the LONG RUN what is it that I am afraid of.... But wait let me begin with what I am not afraid of.... I am not afraid of injury, the start, the finish, the course, the process, the work. I know I will enjoy the scenery, the forward movement, the Aid Stations, my fellow runners, I know I will have fun and I am smart enough to know that it will be tough at times, I would be a fool not to think there will be times I want to quit, although I can say I am stubborn enough not to.

Now... what is this fear. What am I afraid of? Why bother with fear? Just over 300 days ago I ushered runners through Cloochman Saddle Aid Station, 9.5 miles from the finish; to say I was inspired by every runner would be an understatement. I was over the moon excited and motivated to run far! On that day I vowed to run and finish IMTUF 100 in 2013 and 19 days from today I will be put to the test. My fear -- failure. I like to finish what I start. What is the worst that can happen if I do not finish? Truly nothing, the weekend will pass and life will resume. But I will finish and life will go on with me as a 100 mile finisher. It will likely change me in ways I may not fully know for many days, and weeks to come. I am certain finishing will teach me that I can and will. The process that has gone into this has taught me more about myself than I can explain, I have learned that miles are miles and minutes are minutes and so on-- it is however what we do with the minutes and miles that matters the most. I have learned that every runner has a reason and every runner has a story. I have learned that life is sweeter on the long run. I have learned to balance the ease and effort, I have learned that my life force is dynamic and is driven my many things fear is one of them.

The value of fear for me is the element of "real" -- it is essential for me to keep it real--- fear, patience, peace, madness, joy, pain, frustration, elation all part of the Ultra story. Fear makes me human, it makes me more mindful and connected, fear is defined in different ways, for me in this life event fear is a driving force. I am tough, I will likely feel raw and broken only to be followed by courageous, tough and bad ass. I believe in the process that brings one foot in front of the other, this will no doubt be notable experience in my life.

Wild Idaho Summit

Wild Idaho 50K Endurance Run

Every race is different, every course unique and outstanding in it's own way. A 50K here and a 50K there we can never really compare. One of my favorite things about my races so far this year is the excitement of the mystery, each course, each ascent and decent is new and thrilling. Wild Idaho was no exception! The day started out early with a 3am rise and shine in my VW bus, Pumpkin, with the amazing support of a few buddies I was up and out! I welcomed the one hour drive to the Start/Finish, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the drive getting mentally prepared for a fun race! The 6am start was perfect, 41 degrees felt awesome! The initial climb was bush whacking fun, I loved how the course took the runners to the Summit straight away. The first 17 miles felt pretty "easy" I caught myself thinking wow this does not seem like a Ben Blessing level race.... HA! That was before the epic 8 mile climb in the afternoon under the hot sun. That was crazy stupid in the most awesome way! Now this was a Ben Blessing race, Wet Foot trail was steep and lovely, the 30 minute miles were kicking my butt. My heart rate was jumping off the charts so pausing to rest was invaluable. Zig zagging through the forest to the best Aid Station ever was awesome, Skunk Creek AS was a welcome sight -- knowing this was also my turn around fueled my run that much more -- the watermelon was super tasty too! As I made my way back down to the finish I was as giddy as a school girl as I powered down the hill I stopped a few times to visit with fellow runners -- a highlight for sure and a welcome distraction from the annoying repetition of Little Bunny Foo Foo that echoed in my mind. The 10,200 foot elevation gain was epic, my down hill was stronger than ever and despite the fact that I know we cannot compare race courses however I will say this course was faster than McCall Classic and a great lead up to IMTUF.