Eugene Warm Up (the game plan – sort of)

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Sarah OUaL

EUGENE BOUND RUNNERS! Exciting news!! I’ll be at the Pro Compression booth with SkinnyRunner Saturday from 1-3. They’re having a special giveaway/contest thing to win a free pair of socks during that time so come say hi and make me not feel like a loser with no friends.

If you’re not coming to Eugene, 1) sucks for you 2) you can still get your sock hookup w BLG13 – 40% off and free shipping. (I think that makes it the same as the show special price?)

you can buy two and spend 20 minutes race morning trying to decide which pair to wear! (yellow won)

http://www.procompression.com/products/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now on to actual running deets for race weekend.

The phrase “hay is in the barn” is usually directed in a “trust your training, you’re better prepared than you think!” way. Unfortunately when that hay pile isn’t as abundant as you’d like (welcome to my hay-less barn!) you have to spin it a different way if you don’t want to lose your shit and crumble into a my-goals-and-dreams-are-doomed-I-suck pile on the course.

I obviously wish training had gone better than it did, but I’m going to do the best with what I have. That hay may not fuel the original goals I had my sights set on for this weekend, but it’s enough to put in a solid race if I run smart.

NEW RACE MOTTO : I will run the best race possible within my current capability.

My legs don’t feel great and my training log is singing a much sadder tune than I’d care to admit, but Ragnar majorly bumped my excitement levels, which carried into a couple good runs this week. I’m riding a good high and if things line up even half as perfectly as last year, I think I can do well.

I mean, I KNOW I can do well. Confidence here.

I would love to PR, but realize the perfect concoction of brains, balls, and magical HugeEug fairy dust will be needed to make it happen. If it doesn’t, but I put a race I’m proud of in the bank, I won’t let it ruin my weekend. SWEAR. This trip is about a lot more than the race – reuniting with faraway friends, quality time with good people in a city I love (AND the beer). I won’t let what happens Sunday morning take away from that.

And if its really good? HugeEug better be ready for another monster celebration.

Best of fast wishes to everyone racing – see you out there!

Sarah OUaL

Breaking News : I Still Love Relays (Team Nuun Ragnar SoCal recap)

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Sarah OUaL

I’ve recapped three relays now, each have been (at least) three parts long. This one will not. It will be long, but only one part. Swear on my Brooks.

spoiler : we made it to the finish

To add a little clarity into how the actual “day” of a relay plays out, I decided to post this installment of ‘OUaL Relays : Ragnar SoCal with Team Nuun‘ in clock format, Jack Bauer style.

confession : I actually never watched 24 – I just know it has that clock ticking screen and is a day per episode and was the first time I heard the name “Kiefer”

So hear we go. “Zero o’clock” will be our start time, 10:30am, actual day time in parentheses.

pre – 0:00 || Van One Assemble! Start line in Huntington Beach with runners 1-6. Safety briefing, van window painting, bib pinning, hydration commencing.

one-way trip (click to zoom and see individual leg info)

Van One : can’t-get-off-work-in-time-to-come-to-the-start RER, me, of-course-I’ll-fly-cross-country-to-relay SweatyEmily, I-could-go-for-some-miles SkinnyRunner, still-not-a-blogger Kristina, and who-are-these-girls FJrose

0:00 – 0:45 (10:30am) || Emily leads us off – super fun starting with a big group of other teams since all the other relays we’ve been one of the last out on the course. (at Vegas only one other team started with us!)

0:45 – 1:20 (11:15am) || My first leg as Runner 2, an easy 5 miles on the Santa Ana River Trail. I was “Runner 2″ when we ran SoCal as an ultra team last year, but since we ran doubles I ran the legs of 3 & 4 – so this year I got all new routes! Exciting!

The first few miles were just kind of la-dee-da… It took a while to feel that “race energy” kick in. Finally about half way through, THIS IS A RELAY! YOU LOVE RELAYS! hit me, a dude that had passed me earlier started fading, and I ran the rest reeling him (and a few others) in with a shit grin on my face the whole time. There’re some special endorphins in those slap bracelets – the “baton” you pass between runners – I’m sure of it.

Bonus : best tempo of the year.

sarah-to-sarah handoff at ex #2 (photo cred K & Em)

1:20 – 4:00 (11:50am) || Duck, duck, goose. SR, Kristina, Monica, Fara knock out their legs in the blazing middle-of-the-day heat (wtf socal?!), landing us somewhere east of Anaheim to tag in Van Two.

Monica / Farrah at exchange 5

Just planking at the ex6 Nuun booth with some of Van Two (MayFay’s pic)

4:00 – 9:30 (2:30pm) || Van One rest. Smash some Subway. Hang out with Pam and her kids at a random exchange. Cause a scene in ex12 parking lot and talk more in-depth about portapotties any humans ever should (let alone a dude have to hear about – sorry, Mason). Complain of boredom and need for a run.

9:30 – 10:30 (8pm) || Van One gets tagged back in! Emily departs Lake Elsinore and we all pile back in (FINALLY) for some more action.

sidenote : SR, K, Em and I decided during the 5.5 hr break that running more miles (ultra) >>> waiting more hours. Overall I didn’t feel like the extra downtime as a 12man provided any more rest than we got as a 6, but that’s a tale for another time.

our own personal exchange sign!

10:30 – 11:40 (9pm) || Run #2, leg 14 – 8.5 miles with a decent hill and fast finish through the night.

Night runs are my absolute favorite – the thrill of not seeing exactly where you’re going, chasing after little red tail lights, and sucking cold, crisp air while the rest of the world is out Friday Night’ing it? So dig it.

But apparently my enthusiasm came off a little sarcastic when I yelled “I LOVE NIGHT RUNNING!!” with my arms over my head to my vanmates who’d stopped to cheer halfway through the leg?

No idea why that would seem anything but completely authentic coming from me…

from the start of the run, but the mid-leg exclamation was very similar

11:40 – 15:30 (10:10pm) || SR, K, Monica, Fara. Check, check, check, check. Like clockwork everyone came in – crushing hills, trails, drunks in downtown Temecula.

One of my favorite parts was Kristina coming back from Leg 16, which she impromptu ran with me last year. She and Lee were vacationing nearby, had seen all the vans, and after a few texts realized it’d work for her to run with me – which ended up saving my run. (story here)

So when she came in – blazing fast, btw – jabbering on all pumped up, I had to smile;

“remember the sprinklers on the fairway? they went off again! and that dirt hill? omg I forgot about it! but it was so cool and passed so many people and ahhh I’m so glad you asked me on the team! [hug]…”

a few hours hours after that run, but same cheery, happy, van-loving Kristina

exchange 18 disco waiting for Fara to tag in runner 7

15:30 – 18:00 (2am) || Resist the delicious smell of pizza in favor of ZZZs. Curl up in front seat w legs on dash, blanket over head, and eyes kind of closed. Collect maybe 60min cumulative sleep.

18:00 – 19:30 (4:30am) || Van Two ran faster than planned (so ~~rude~~ baller), so we had a scramble to get ready. Em gets tagged in, makes (wise) choice to forego most of her miles likely due to fitful dreams of Dr Paul’s looming scolding. Skinny “I could go for some miles” Runner jumps in, runs through her next leg, and tags me in for a final time.

low on exchange theatrics, but a smile AND really-running legs captured by Pacer Dave (thank you!)

20:30 – 21:45 (6am) || Final run. Garmin was dead and I was running blind (too tired to study map) so I decided to just take the run a hill at a time, which, excuse the brag, was fucking brilliant.

A guy in sparkly shorts passed me early, but kept getting stopped at stop lights. I’d cruised up beside him just as it turned EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. and he’d take off again. It was hilarious in a sucks-to-be-you kind of way. By the third time he kind of laughed, and made a comment about “5 miles to go” and I’m all,

“wait, we’ve run 3.5 miles already?? sweet! (gets left in dust, again)”

There was a single-track dirt trail, a gate you had to turn sideways to squeeze through, and a long hill I literally couldn’t run up. But each turn was something new, a new body to chase, a few steps closer to my fourth relay (sadly) being over. And no beeping watch telling me JUST how much further.

At the “ONE MILE TO GO” sign I somehow found another gear, just as we turned onto the familiar 101 in Solana Beach. I high fived people running the opposite direction – Ragnarians or not – and with .5mi left rolled up to a light where Mr Sparkle Shorts and a few other dudes were waiting to cross.

“Ugh I KNEW you’d catch me! Just go on, go ahead. Be done with it!”

I grinned at him, gave a challenging look to the other guys, and when the “walk” sign lit we sprinted out in a race for the finish.

And I won.

#runhappy #proof #rarelikeaunicorn

21:45 – 23:00 (7:15am) || As each Van One’r came in, giddy with delirium at being finished, the lunch talks started. Beer talks. Actually sit down and have someone serve you proper food talks. We debated for at least 30 minutes over each local brewery (there are many in SD, btw) based on IPA offerings and proximity to the finish line, which we were suddenly SO. CLOSE. TO.

And then somewhere between legs 28-29 Van Two sent an S.O.S…

that’s what a busted relay van on the side of the highway looks like

Luckily they weren’t too far away. We rescued some of the upcoming runners - Mason staying with Jen and Captain Megan (runners 11 & 12) in the hoopty waiting for the replacement - and we forged ahead. Even though I really wanted to say, “tough shit, got beers to drink byeeee!”

(kidding)

23:00 – 27:00 (9:30am) || I hopped in the drivers seat and played my best bus driver card - Runner 7, check! Runner 8, check! Runner 9, check! Two-point parallel park job, BOOYAH CHECK!

Uhhh wait, is the other van coming? I’m running out of runners.

JUST as we sent off KJ, Runner 10 and the last yet-to-run teammate in our custody, Van Two was rescued and zipped down to deliver runners 11 and 12 (Jen and Megan) with a few minutes to spare.

Talk about close call.

27:00 – 29:00 (1pm) || With less than 12 miles left to run, Van One headed straight to the finish area, finally got down on some “lunch” and rallied one last time for a sprint through the finish led by Megan.

Cold Papa Johns and plastic cup beer on the grass is no Green Flash tasting room, but at that point anything “real” is delicious

the awkward smudging on the left is my half-ass attempt to remove a photo-bomber

29:19 (3:49pm) || Team Nuun crosses the finish line in downtown San Diego, 192.9 miles later.

In no shocking news, I had a GREAT time. Relays are my favorite ever, Nuun is my favorite ever, these girls are my (new and old) favorites ever. And so is perfect SoCal weather and plastic cup beer.

Oh, and as a bonus – even though we weren’t “In It To Win It” like past relays, we found ourselves with the top Womens 12-Person “Regular” time. Holla, WINNERS!

Thanks for a rad weekend, dudes – rain check on Green Flash next time y’all are in town.

Sarah OUaL

The Eugene Pre-Cap

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Sarah OUaL

necessary foreword : I’m no expert – I’ve spent barely a cumulative week in Eugene, OR, but I’ll be damned if every one of those seconds weren’t spent preening the grounds and scouting for future visits as it catapulted to the top of my “favorite places on Earth” list.

I don’t fall often, but when I do it’s fast and HARD.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

My 2012 Eugene Marathon race recap

The Eugene Marathon, now in its seventh year, is a race I’m permanently penning into my calendars from now until something physically forces me from clicking “register”. Or until I have a really shitty race there. Which, having only run it once I guess is possible, but lets not think about that.

Getting To/Staying In Eugene

First, don’t poop yourself when you look up flights into Eugene airport. It’s tiny, with few airlines and flight options. Big brother PDX is just a 2 hour drive away, and you can get a rental car for the weekend for like $60 (keep in mind the cost of gas both ways and whether you’re splitting the costs with someone when weighing your options.) If you fly into EUG cabs and shuttles are ~$30/pp but if there’s more than one of you might as well split the rental costs and have some wheels. I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to have a car in town (we didn’t for the Trials) but it is convenient.

the welcome committee at EUG is pretty rad and worth the propeler plane ride

There are few hotels in Eugene – check out VRBO or homeaway.com for a rental instead. Most times it’s actually cheaper AND you get a whole house instead of a stale hotel room with people on all sides of you. It’s nice to have a more homey set up for pre-race routines (and post-race celebrations) – stocked kitchen, bedrooms with doors, multiple bathrooms? Cha-ching. Oh and don’t be weirded out – most listings are solely rental or vacation units so it’s unlikely you’ll fall asleep with someone’s wedding photo staring at you from the bedside or be confronted with a used loofah in the shower.

Keeping it real Eugene Marathon ‘12 with Em, Margot, and SkinnyRunner

In Town/What to Do, Drink, Eat

Run, duh

Want a few shakeout miles? Maybe scope out some of the course? Good idea. The path along the Willamette River (Ruth Bascom) is easy to find, not get lost on, and includes some of later miles from the race course. Visitor & navigationally-challenged-friendly.

ruth bascom bike path

a few months after our pre-marathon shakeout we unintentionally found ourselves on the same photo-op bridge at the Trials. Kismet.

And maybe you’ve heard of a guy named Steve Prefontaine? He’s sort of a big deal and has his own trail named after him. 4-ish? miles of woodchip awesomeness tucked just outside of campus. It was a little hard to find – there weren’t any “exit here for Pre’s trail” signs, but once you’re there you’ll know.

Garmin data from a Pre’s Trail run (google maps does list the trail if you zoom in far enough)

Eat/Drink, also duh

There are plenty of options in town – from hippie vegan cafes to Subway – you won’t go hungry or have to pack a spare suitcase with your own rations. Below are the places I’ve eaten and would recommend. And remember, if you’re renting a house the grocery store for home cooking is a great pre-race choice.

Breakfast : Off the Waffle, Studio One Café

Lunch/Dinner : Morning Glory (veg), Agate Alley, Café Yum (haven’t tried – only heard)

Liquid carbs & post-race celebration (duh) : Ninkasi, Rogue Ales Public House, Wild Duck

The Course

I vividly remember like 80% of the course. I guess my brain realized it was going to be a special race and afforded me a photographic recount of nearly every step. Paired with Garmin Player I was able to piece together a (hopefully helpful) play-by-play of the marathon. Elevation charts can be deceiving, and sometimes it’s good to have a general idea of what’s coming up beforehand? But if you like going in blind or being surprised go ahead and X out of this window now.

somewhat scary elev chart from eugenemarathon.com

Eugene Marathon – Garmin Connect

(ignore 26.2 on – I threw my watch at a friend before finishing and didn’t stop it until we met back up afterwards.)

2012 start line with my homes SR, fasterbunny, and sweaty

0-1mi : very gradual climb out of chute, quick decline after turn into neighborhoods

1-1.5mi : steep but short climb, right back down

1.5-2.5 : straighten out down Hillyard St

2.5-4.25 : gradual (barely noticeable) climb along quiet, tree-lined residential road. time to lock in!

4.25-6 : quick steep climb (~50 ft) up the turnaround, gradual descend back towards town on other side of road

6-8 : parks, schools, residential cheerleaders. easy miles and changing scenery

8-8.75 : “The Hill(s)” – .3mi +70ft, dip, turn, .3mi +50ft. HUGE cheer area including gorillas handing out bananas, Hayward in view at peak.

8.75-10 : pass by Hayward, the start, the crowds, dip under the highway and out towards the Willamette through industrial land

10-10.5 : duck into shaded tree-covered path, cross bridge over water

- HALF SPLIT - veer left along Patterson Slough (holla, Pre’s Trail), cross Autzen footbridge, back up Agate to Hayward

(FULL) 10.5-12.5 : veer right from split, through the park, hear rushing water, some peeks of river

Margot’s photo (bunny ears!)

12.5-13.1 : suddenly pop out of park into residential, left on 10th, half timing mat in front of big (school?) building

13.1-16 : boring straight shot down commercial road (w centennial/mlk jr) – groceries, shopping plazas, traffic lights, but lots of people. Ran through a water-sprayer arch thing around 15

16-17 : Autzen Stadium sighting! Off-road soft path back towards the water, surprising amount of spectators

17-20.5 : back to covered river trail – past the canal, a movie theater, al fresco hotel restaurant, retirement home… random pockets of people but mostly just quiet and serene by the water

20.5-21 : up and over Owosso bridge (ouch), lined with cheerleaders, ignore the wall fears

21-25 : few “bumps” (~20ft climbs) on windy park path. pockets of spectators. nice group of bushes for a squat break, if required… (this IS a first hand recount)

25-25.5 : path opens up to dead grass and nothing and it’s ‘WHAT IS THIS?!’ and ‘HOW THE FUCK FAR AWAY AM I??’

just keep going…

25.5-26 : the roundabout to the footbridge comes in sight, very faint stadium noises and cheers in the distance. a right turn back up into town, across the highway

26 – finish : the barriers line Agate St and people pack the entire stretch to Hayward. turn in and the final 150m are in front of packed stands on one of the most storied tracks in America. way cool if you’ve got enough energy left to realize it (I didn’t)

BEER TIME. The turf warm up area behind Hayward was perfect for recovering/laying down unable to move and reuniting with friends. PLUS they added a beer garden this year! If I go missing look for me there first.

Thus concludes this excessive and kind of creepy rehash on a race many of us will be dreaming crazy taper dreams of all week. Rest up, get excited, see ya in Eug!

Sarah OUaL

Hell Yeah I’ll be at Boston (…someday)

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Sarah OUaL

By now a lot has been said about Monday’s events in Boston – way more than I can even begin to comprehend. But whatever your level of affectedness – whether you were there, wished you had been, or knew someone that was – I think we (collectively, “the runners”) can all agree this hit way too close to home.

I don’t have much to contribute (having not been there myself) and most of my thoughts are byproducts of the sadistic “what if” game or rhetoric we’ll never have answers to, so I’ll keep it short.

The outpouring of support, love, and fiery resilience from the running community has been astounding. I’m so proud to be part of this peculiar connected-in-miles-but-otherwise-completely-unrelated group people. High fives to all of you being awesome and finding the good in this face of evil.

It makes me ill thinking what the runners whose spectators were injured are going through. Running has a reputation of being a selfish sport, and it kills me that loved ones there to selflessly cheer on the culmination of someone else’s journey were the ones most affected. That unfair sense of responsibility for putting them in harms way? Terrifying.

mom trying to find a nice way to thank me for failing to qualify last year

Related : Jezebel (shockingly) has a great piece on “The People Who Watch Marathons” if you haven’t seen it yet

And finally, I want to run down that finish on Boylston Street more than ever now. Yes, as Emily pointed out, I DO realize that means I’ll have to run another marathon (and then another once I actually get there). I don’t know when or where it will happen, but BQ will be mine. Someday.

Until then I’ll take bittersweet comfort in those 126 seconds that kept me and my family from being there this year, and send all my wishes to those hurting that were.

Oh and also, FUCK YOU to whoever did this. You’ll get what you deserve.

… x10000

Sarah OUaL

The Measurement Tool (+) / Comparison Trap (-)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Sarah OUaL

Confession : I have a new vice. Reading last year’s training log.

you could stage a hostage situation with my master gdoc and I’d crumble and cave to your every demand, promise

I spent my entire lunch break yesterday pouring over cells and cells of run data. 15 months-worth ; 10 and 16 week marathon cycles, Hood to Coast hill training, and this year’s Half progress. Endless numbers and workouts and “oops probably should’ve gone to yoga more”.

This is good and bad. For many – some overlapping, some just crazy – reasons:

it’s gratifying to see the progress I HAVE made
it’s destructive because damnit I was in much better shape last year
it’s motivating because I know what kind of shape I CAN get back into, and that I’m on the path to getting there

See, I promised myself this cycle I wouldn’t fall into the comparison trap – to other people or to the runner I once was. A lot has happened since then, and I really wanted to focus on coming back through the joy of running and enjoyment of the process. Being hard on myself (in a deconstructive way – I still subscribe to the Jillian Michaels Method of motivation) because this year’s times are all slower than last year’s is not the best way to foster an enjoyable cycle.

But as I looked at all those fast times of the past, I felt a fire re-light inside me – one driving me to WANT to work hard, to get faster and be better. Knowing what I was capable of then, and the potential beyond that, is hugely motivating to me.

And as I looked closely – comparing rest times, reps, workouts before/after – I found some silver linings. On the surface the times are different – drastically, even. But yesterday’s workout has more to say than its splits.

The Defender April 3, 2012 – 6×800, 2min rest

3:06, 3:05, 3:07, 3:06, 3:06, 2:58

The Contender April 9, 2013 – 8×800, 90sec rest

3:21 3:17 3:18 3:16 3:16 3:15 3:15 3:15

The desperate convincing “your legs will shake out/warm up/smooth out!” was bullshit – every single one of these 800s felt heavy and slow and HARD. But with four moderate-hard days already taxing and the (accidental) shorter rest it’s a miracle I churned out the consistent splits I did.

Not to mention that my head was in a place to let me.

new shoes always help – upgraded my old 2′s to the Kinvara 3

I’ve gotten away from the detailed workout recaps this cycle, because I thought it boring and also because I was embarrassed of my work (dumb). But someday I’m going to feel helpless and stuck in a rut again, and will need reminded to look either past the numbers or deeper into them. Did Enron not teach us nothing? A little creativity and you can make any data set positive.

I have no idea what this means for Eugene. I’m feeling very hippie “go with the flow” about it, actually. We’ll see how the next two weeks go and how I recover from Ragnar – and if nothing else just hope that Eugene Magic carries me through…

Sarah OUaL

* speaking of Eugene, I’m blowing the dust off those files and plan to have a pre-cap up on what I remember from the race last year. just for all you taperwormed crazies I’ll see in a few short weeks…

Once Upon a (L)ime

it's the life between the miles that counts… [a running and lifestyle blog]

Eugene Warm Up (the game plan – sort of)

Breaking News : I Still Love Relays (Team Nuun Ragnar SoCal recap)

The Eugene Pre-Cap

Hell Yeah I’ll be at Boston (…someday)

The Measurement Tool (+) / Comparison Trap (-)

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