Sept 2014
The Bear 100, Hardrock qualifyer. Apply for Hardrock, don't get in, no surprise.
May 2015
Move to Oklahoma for dietetic internship.
May 2015 - November 2015
5k road training to stay in shape during internship. PR in road 5k and half marathon.
December 6, 2015
See this appear on Twitter during the Hardrock 100 lottery that I was half paying attention to: "Never Started 26 -30: John Horns, Ellen Silva, Matt Horsley, David Peterman, and Matt Schrier are in! Congrats!"
Graduate from dietetic internship, move home to California. Finish training for Napa Marathon (which I had signed up for, not expecting to get into Hardrock). Wonder if Hardrock is just a pipedream. Have no idea where will be living or where/when will find job, and if manage to find a job, have no clue if will be able to get time off.
Run Napa Valley Marathon, start running on trails consistently again for the first time in a year. Pass RD exam!
April 2016
Run a trail marathon and 50k at sea level to ease into training. Completely destroy toe. Have issues with it a few times during training when the blister under the nail begins to fill up again. Perform self-surgery a few times.
May 2016
Land a job in Santa Fe, NM, move halfway across country again. Attempt to find way on trails and be foiled multiple times. Develop runner's knee in both knees and be forced to rest and be careful. Run Jemez 50 miler and Cactus to Cloud 50k as training. Get sunburned a lot. Experience incredible mountains and crazy weather. Meet great people on the trails. Ease into work as a clinical dietitian. Notice pants are getting considerably tighter in the quad region...
June 2016
Learn not to look at course profile and elevation as it prevents sleep at night due to anxiety. Start to believe I may actually get to the starting line?! Have trouble planning and preparing because it's too stressful! Get sick the last week of June. Enjoy seeing Instagram posts of elites training for the same race I'm doing, but stress a little that they're always out running at high altitudes while I'm working! Oh to be a pro!
July 2016
While sick and practicing hiking with poles, displace rib. Be in constant pain for 3 days, unable to sleep, do any running or hiking (or much of anything) for 4 days. Freak out. Be uncertain once again about even making it to the starting line of Hardrock. Have great friends help identify the problem and solve it. Cry with relief when realize it might heal before July 15th. Don't even worry about drastic taper. Start bringing yoga ball to the office. Beg anyone who has done Hardrock before to share any words of wisdom they have on tactics for finishing, or advice on a logistically smooth race.
I'll never feel ready for Hardrock, but I can honestly say I did close to the best I could in training, all things considered, so I can at least be proud of that! The last thing I wanted to do was half-ass train. I wanted to give it my all and give myself the best shot at finishing. If I don't finish I'll feel pretty bad about not giving my spot to someone who was actually ready to get into the race. Since I started training on March 14th, I have done one 14 hour run, seven 8-11 hour runs, five 5-7:30 hour runs, four 3-4:30 hr runs and about 33 substantial runs under 3 hours. Though, there was also that one week I ran 8 miles. And another were I ran 13 miles... I say runs, but these were really just hikes. I actually kind of MISS running! I started out at sea level, but since moving to Santa Fe in May, most of the long hikes were at 9-12k feet. So in 8 days, we'll see if it was enough! If you haven't seen it yet, don't miss "Kissing the Rock"
Some photos from the past 4 months of base-building and exploring Santa Fe and the East Bay California! What fun!