Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Lake Sonoma 50 mile


As I sit here at the computer, trying to put together some kind of race report, I am constantly sipping on some horrible concoction as a prep for a colonoscopy tomorrow. Yuck!! My Doctor is graciously squeezing me in for an EGD and a colonoscopy in the morning so I can git er done!! I've had a lot of stomach and upper GI problems for a long time and they are just getting worse all the time. I'm happy to be getting the first of many things checked off my list. As I said in my last post, I just haven't been feeling very good and it's time for a checkup.

Lake Sonoma 50 mile was on Saturday and I drove there not completely convinced that I was going to run the race. My head and stomach hurt and my energy level was flat. I decided that I would start the race and if I was not feeling good enough to put some effort into it, I would slow down and run easy and use the run as a long slow training run.
I enjoyed seeing Meredith, a old Montrail teammate, and several other friends before the start. When the RD said, "Go", we were off and running. I put on my ipod and tried to stay focused on the task at hand. I had my splits from last year to follow if I felt strong enough. As the race progressed and I was ahead of my 2009 splits I decided to just go out there and run comfortable. I was surprised to feel okay as I ran along this tough course. I concentrated on eating and drinking frequently. I felt surprisingly good as I made my way from aid station to aid station. My legs felt good and I felt comfortable just cruising along.

Two thirty mile runs are the longest runs I have run leading up to LS 50. So of course, at about 30 miles, my legs starting rebelling and my legs no longer wanted to cruise, but rather park. That can be a real problem with 20 miles to go, but go I went. At about 2 miles from the finish, Darla, who had been behind me in 4th place passed me. I was okay at letting her pass. She is a strong runner and she was definitely feeling stronger than I was right then. I finished 19th overall. 4th female in 9:08, and I was happy to receive a HUGE bottle of wine for being first old lady.

It was a beautiful day for a race with the weather at 72 degrees and sunny. The race is done well and very organized. What a great day to spend out in the woods!

7 comments:

Olga said...

Honey, running this way on a day you don't feel like it speaks anough volum in its own right. Good luck with colonoscopy. I had it done 5 years ago, and I think I am due for another one. One day, when I find time:)

Drs. Cynthia and David said...

Really awesome Kelly. You are an inspiration (and gorgeous too- not fair!) :)

Cynthia

Jen said...

I love your race report. It just goes to show that sometimes we can do more than we think we can. And if in doubt, do it anyway! Plus-you look like a model in your photo! Big congrats! Jen

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

Great effort! Good luck with the GI stuff.

meredith said...

Great, great run!! Wish I had stayed closer in view so that I wouldn't have made that fated left turn out of the aid station.

I hope your gut survived the fun of testing, and that all news brings good news!

mer

Gretchen said...

That is an awesome finish! Nice job on getting out there and just listening to your body. You are right, Darla is bad ass, so you can't feel bad about being right behind her. I think you rocked it!

HappyTrails said...

Wow. I have been going through the same GI stuff plus a few other things that I feel are related to the GI problems - have had all the tests - so far no answers. Let me know if you are interested and we can compare notes. I hope you get some answers and consequent improvement!
Kathleen