tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47677375920750180352024-03-13T04:28:44.387-07:00Running as PrayerJulie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-29554467677162113872020-05-08T10:36:00.001-07:002020-05-08T10:36:10.521-07:00Favorite ThingsI've been listening to a new podcast recently, <a href="https://treelinejournal.com/tag/run-hard-mom-hard/" target="_blank">Run Hard Mom Hard</a>, hosted by Nikki Parnell and Stef Wenninger. It's nice listen on my long runs. I appreciate getting to hear ultrarunning moms chatting with one another, since my runs nowadays are either with the baby or by myself. Listening to this podcast while on my runs almost takes the place of getting to run with friends who are moms -- almost.<br />
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Nikki and Stef begin each episode of the podcast by naming their current favorite things. I like hearing what running gear the hosts are finding helpful, and it made me think about what my favorite running things are in this season of my life. Here's what I have come up with (in no particular order). I've provided links for each.<br />
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<b>1. The toys I keep clipped into the jogging stroller</b><br />
Right now I have two toys clipped into the stroller, to help keep Teddy, my 6-month-old, happy during runs. Well, maybe not happy, but at least mildly entertained. They are a soft, crinkly version of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/World-Eric-Carle-Hungry-Caterpillar/dp/B002LZZ7IM" target="_blank">The Very Hungry Caterpillar </a>and a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/AmazingM-Teething-Pacifier-Silicone-Teether/dp/B07ZDJNSR7/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SETN4F21JSPT&dchild=1&keywords=llama+teether&qid=1588953034&s=baby-products&sprefix=llama+%2Cbaby-products%2C166&sr=1-2" target="_blank">llama teether.</a><br />
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<b>2. Aquaphor</b><br />
Nothing fancy, but <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Aquaphor-Advanced-Therapy-Ointment-Protectant/dp/B0107QPFBU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=aquaphor&qid=1588953114&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyUjBWWFhZSkcyWFJFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODI3NDAyRlgxVUE2MExKN0UxJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5OTk1NjYzT1dPOVdJMlVFQ0czJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==" target="_blank">Aquaphor</a> has been saving me when I wear sports bras that aren't necessarily the best fit for me. A little on my chest where the band rubs is enough to prevent nasty chafing.<br />
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<b>3. Brooks Dare Racerback Run Bra</b><br />
As a nursing mom, I currently have a bigger chest than I've ever had before. For several months, I continued to run in my old compression sports bras, and I just lived with the inevitable chafing I got from every run. When I finally acknowledged that I deserve to be comfortable when I run, I didn't have a clue what my actual bra size was anymore, so I tried several different bras from Lululemon and Brooks. I had to return a couple before I finally found a winner. It was the <a href="https://www.brooksrunning.com/en_us/dare-run-bras/?&prefn1=cupsize&prefv1=DD&prefn2=bandsize&prefv2=36&prefn3=braFinderCups&prefv3=built_in" target="_blank">Brooks Dare Racerback Run Bra</a>, in an embarrassingly large cup size. It doesn't chafe, even on a 22-mile run without lube.<br />
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<b>4. Lacrosse ball</b><br />
My feet have felt pretty tight lately, so I've been using a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Sports-Official-Lacrosse-Balls/dp/B07HH5B4TW?ref_=s9_apbd_omwf_hd_bw_bEKH5&pf_rd_r=WPSBS5VKGHM0PZ840SC5&pf_rd_p=32c74ab8-4e2a-50a0-b602-0bce6830c9e4&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=3414531" target="_blank">lacrosse ball</a> to help release tension. It feels really good to stand on it, hit different tight spots, and raise and lower my toes while on the ball to loosen things up. A lacrosse ball is nice and hard, and it seems like a good size to provide pressure.<br />
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<b>5. Old Smartwool shorts</b><br />
These shorts must be five years old, but I only wore them a handful of times over the years -- until these last couple months. For whatever reason, I tried them out again on a long run, and ever since then, they have been my go-to shorts for all my long runs. I haven't had any chafing from them, and I like how they are nice and light, with a zippered pocket in the back. Unfortunately, they no longer carry the exact short, but <a href="https://www.smartwool.com/shop/merino-wool-shorts/womens-merino-sport-lined-short-sw016142?variationId=092" target="_blank">these ones</a> look similar.<br />
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<b>6. Headphones - Trekz Air</b><br />
I have <a href="https://aftershokz.com/products/air?variant=608144818202" target="_blank">Trekz Air </a>headphones, by Aftershokz (disclaimer - they are a Team TROT sponsor). I listen to podcasts on almost all my runs, and these ones are great because they are bone-conducting, meaning they do not sit in the ears. This leaves me free to hear traffic noises, bicyclists, etc.<br />
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<b>7. Salted watermelon Gu</b><br />
My husband Joe says his favorite Gu flavor is strawberry banana. I can't imagine how that could be anyone's favorite! But to each their own. Mine is <a href="https://www.backcountry.com/gu-energy-gel-24-pack?CMP_SKU=GUS0002&MER=0406&skid=GUS0002-SALWAT-S24PA&mr:trackingCode=DDB9ABAC-440E-E511-BDDA-BC305BF82376&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=plaonline&iv_=__iv_p_1_g_50632581527_c_224542778599_w_pla-367561475446_n_g_d_c_v__l__t__r__x_pla_y_7811_f_online_o_GUS0002-SALWAT-S24PA_z_US_i_en_j_367561475446_s__e__h_9028089_ii__vi__&CMP_ID=PLA_GOc001&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PLA&k_clickid=_k_Cj0KCQjwhtT1BRCiARIsAGlY51LM_VCE74ra7ULGTP-fDxlzdAqe-Zl4cx6FSKsh1YSEb2DRxZzSuucaAjy5EALw_wcB_k_&rmatt=tsid:1042790|cid:213416677|agid:50632581527|tid:pla-367561475446|crid:224542778599|nw:g|rnd:15748769465752938023|dvc:c|adp:|mt:|loc:9028089&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhtT1BRCiARIsAGlY51LM_VCE74ra7ULGTP-fDxlzdAqe-Zl4cx6FSKsh1YSEb2DRxZzSuucaAjy5EALw_wcB" target="_blank">salted watermelon </a>lately. I had an epiphany a couple weeks ago -- when I fuel properly, my long runs go a lot more smoothly. Gee, what a concept!<br />
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<b>8. RunCool Ice Convertible Gaiter by Nathan</b><br />
I tried using a regular buff as a face mask one day a few weeks ago, since the greenway trails are so crowded now, and it was way too hot and scratchy. Then I tried using the <a href="https://www.nathansports.com/products/runcool-ice-convertible-gaiter" target="_blank">RunCool gaiter by Nathan</a> (disclaimer - they are a Team TROT sponsor), and it actually felt cool and breathable. Now I bring it on every run. (Pro tip: I wash it in the shower after each run so it's clean for the next day.)<br />
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<b>9. Skechers GOrun Razor 3 Hyper</b><br />
Just like with my running bra situation, I put off getting new running shoes for a long time, despite getting notification after notification from Strava that it was "time for new shoes." Part of the reason for this is that I was buying so many things for Teddy (mostly in vain attempts to find that "one thing" that would keep him happy and prevent him from being so darn irritable 24/7) that I felt guilty about also buying anything for myself. Anyway, due in part to the foot soreness I was experiencing (see #4), I broke down and bought a new pair of shoes. <a href="https://www.runningwarehouse.com/Skechers_GOrun_Razor_3_Hyper/descpage-SGR3002.html" target="_blank">This</a> is the pair I chose. Bonus is that the red ones are discounted! They've been great on the roads, although I must admit I have slid back down a couple hills in them when I've ventured onto mountain bike trails. They have little traction, so best to stick to roads in these.<br />
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<b>10. Nike sheer running shirt</b><br />
In San Antonio, the highs have been in the 80s or 90s since March. My Nike sheer running shirts are super old, but they look like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/NIKE-Womens-Sleeveless-Running-Reflective/dp/B07211TG5B/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Nike+Womens+Cool+Breeze+Sheer+Sleeveless+Running+Shirt&qid=1588958167&s=apparel&sr=1-1" target="_blank">this one</a> available on Amazon. They are super light, and I love that they have a little bit of shoulder coverage (as opposed to a tank top), since I get sunburned on my shoulders super easily.<br />
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That's it! I'd love to hear what other gear people are finding useful lately. Leave a comment and let me know!Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-45794914176374957642020-03-29T13:44:00.002-07:002020-03-29T13:44:56.451-07:00A week in the lifeUpdates<div>
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Our little one is 4.5 months old, and my postpartum running journey is still in the base-building stage. I'm trying to do about 6 miles of running each day, with a longer "long run" on the weekend. It's been a little tricky lately, as our always "high need" little guy is especially irritable from teething. Here's a snapshot of a "typical" running week for me right now.</div>
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Monday </div>
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At 11am, I took Teddy on a stroller run in the Thule Urban Glide 2 my parents very generously bought us. I clipped in a teething toy and a crinkly cloth book to keep Teddy occupied, and put on some children's music on my iPhone. It kept him entertained for a few miles, but then he started crying (and screaming) about 1 mile away from the house. I only take him on runs within a 1-mile radius of the house for this reason. Unfortunately, it still made for 10 or so minutes of screaming for the neighbors as I hustled him back as quickly as I could. Total: 4.6 miles. Later in the day I also took him on a 2-mile walk in the other stroller, in which he got a decent nap, and two 1-mile walks in the carrier. Some good "time on feet" at least.</div>
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Tuesday</div>
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At 8:45am, we had a very successful stroller run! I put on the children's music, and after a few miles, he got fussy, so I switched over to a lullaby on repeat. He fell asleep, so I kept on going until he woke up and got 7 miles. Also did two <1 mile walks with him in the carrier in the afternoon.</div>
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Wednesday</div>
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We did our stroller run at 8:24 in the morning, and used the same technique as on Tuesday. It worked again, and we got 6.2 miles done. We also took a 1-mile walk in the carrier in the afternoon. The carrier walks seem to calm him down and get him ready to take a nap, which is nice. Plus it's extra exercise for me -- like wearing a 20+ lb weight vest!</div>
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Thursday</div>
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We got a later start to our stroller run today, as Teddy took his morning naps in the bedroom. We left at 10:22, and only did 1.7 miles (with mild amounts of fussing) before Teddy started crying very loudly. I had the same toys clipped in with him, and tried the same tricks of children's music and then the lullaby on repeat, but he wasn't having it. So 10 minutes or so of screaming as I hustled us home again. I took him on a 2-mile carrier walk at 11:30 to much greater success. Then I waited until after dinner to go on a 3-mile run by myself while Joe watched the baby.</div>
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Friday</div>
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It seems to be the trend that stroller runs are more successful earlier in the morning. However, we left for a stroller run at 10:45 today, and it was just as successful as Tuesday's run. We did 7 miles again, with Teddy sleeping from miles 4.5 to 7. There were a ton of people out walking and running in the neighborhood, thanks to the "stay at home" mandate. It's kind of nice to see so many people out and about, although it also makes for a bigger audience for Teddy's crying at times.</div>
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Saturday</div>
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I wanted to get in a long run today of about 15 miles. But Teddy was pretty irritable in the morning. I was up with him 4:30-5:30am, and then got him back to bed for a while. Then Joe took him for an hour so I could get extra sleep, and I awoke to Teddy crying inconsolably, despite a healthy dose of Children's Tylenol. Poor Joe couldn't find a way to make him stop crying. After calming Teddy down by nursing him, I was skeptical that he would be okay while I went out for a run that might be almost 3 hours long. So I decided to do the run in loops (which is what I did last Saturday as well). I did 6 miles, came back and checked in, and Joe was with Teddy in the front yard. Teddy was perfectly fine, so I left for another 6 miles. When I came back, Teddy was in his swing, swaddled and supposed to be napping, but wide awake and fussing. I took him out, nursed him, and then did the last 3 miles with him in the running stroller. He fell asleep in the stroller, and I finished off my 15 miles, just in time for a Zoom call with Joe's family in Houston. I was able to keep Teddy asleep in the stroller during the 40-minute call by pushing it back and forth constantly. He seems to like motion. We also did a 1.5-mile carrier walk in the afternoon, which got him nice and sleepy for a 2-hour nap before dinner. Joe and I took him on a second carrier walk after dinner. </div>
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Sunday</div>
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In the morning, I focused on getting Teddy to take two naps, with a bath in between. Then we live-streamed a Mass with the girls. So I didn't get out for a run until the afternoon. I did 6 by myself, which is always a treat. There's a nice 6-mile loop I can do along Leon Creek (from our house), that involves a couple miles of trails. The really nice thing is I got to chat on the phone with my parents for 4.5 miles of my run. That's how we've been doing our weekly calls lately, and it makes my run much more enjoyable! I use my Aftershokz Trekz headphones, which allow me to still hear traffic, mountain bikes, etc. </div>
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Weekly Total - 63.2 miles (52 miles running, 11.2 miles walking)</div>
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(30.7 of the miles run or 59% were with the stroller, 21.3 without)</div>
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I'm blessed that all my runs felt good -- no aches or pains, so I'll keep on staying this course, maybe aiming for a 17-miler next weekend. </div>
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Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-2816484927533778152020-01-25T13:08:00.001-08:002020-01-25T13:08:16.972-08:00Postpartum running: How it’s going Our little Teddy is 11 weeks old today. Here’s a quick update on how it’s going trying to be a runner again after taking about 6 months totally off (plus 4 months of preggo-paced jogging).<div><br></div><div>I started jogging/walking again when Teddy was 4 weeks old, and was happy with how quickly I progressed to jogging 5k without walking. Then I started bleeding again at 5.5 weeks, so I stopped running and only walked, thinking maybe I was doing too much too soon after my c-section. (My midwife definitely felt like I was.) </div><div><br></div><div>Eight weeks or so postpartum I started jogging again, and I’ve settled into a nice 4.5-mile route from the house. I usually take one or two 2-minute walk breaks, and my pace is somewhere in the 11-minute per mile range. It’s a good day when I take no walk breaks. </div><div><br></div><div>It feels great to get out of the house for an hour each day. Joe is great about encouraging me to leave for a run and telling me kind affirmations about my progress. I generally feel so tired and slow on my runs that it doesn’t feel like I’m getting anywhere, and I’m definitely rethinking my dream of doing an ultra distance at Brazos Bend in April. But the consistency of getting out there every day for a run and doing my strength/mobility exercises is helping me feel stronger and more like an athlete again, anyways. </div><div><br></div><div>The big challenge for me going for a run every day is that, since the little guy is too young to take him in the jogging stroller, I have to wait until Joe is home (after late meetings, picking up the girls, attending basketball games, etc.) before I can leave for a run. This means most of my runs come at night, after a long day of taking care of a fussy baby. I find it really hard to get myself out the door, although I’m always happy that I did it once I’m out there. </div><div><br></div><div>Another challenge is that Teddy is so fussy, and won’t take a bottle or pacifier. So poor Joe has few tools to keep him happy when he decides he’s hungry while I’m on a run. I usually come home to a crying/screaming baby, which makes me feel super guilty about leaving. As Teddy approaches the 3-month mark, I’m hoping this gets easier and easier. </div><div><br></div><div>It’s been years since I’ve been at the top of my game worth ultrarunning. I really believe I can get back to where I was in, say, 2017, but I feel like I’m probably years away from getting back there. Once Teddy is older and I can get away for longer stretches, and I have had time to rebuild a strong base, I believe I can get back. At least that’s what I’m telling myself!</div>Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-83440159081419722782019-12-14T17:48:00.000-08:002019-12-14T17:48:02.099-08:00Return to running!I haven't run since June, when I was four and a half months pregnant and gave it up, as it was no longer comfortable and walking felt better. I've been so excited to try to pick it up again. This week, just over 4 weeks after giving birth to Teddy, I began jogging/walking, which makes me very happy. <br />
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What's been surprising to me is that it feels like my legs no longer remember how to run! My limiting factor seems to be my legs, rather than my aerobic capacity. What I am doing is more of a shuffle, it feels -- it's hard to propel myself forward in a running motion. But it's been so nice getting out there -- both to be running again, and to have a brief break in the day from taking care of the baby. Of course, getting out the door takes some timing and luck -- Joe has to be home and free to watch Teddy, and Teddy has to be fed before I get out the door. (He refuses to take a bottle.) But we've managed to find 30-60 minutes for me to get out each day this week.<br />
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Yesterday I was able to jog 5k without walking, which I'm proud of. My pace, however, is so shockingly slow that it's hard to see that number and not believe I walked a step. Joe is so encouraging and reassuring, and gave me the advice to not even worry about my pace at this point, but just keep doing what feels good to my body.<br />
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I'm already realizing that doing the 50-miler at Brazos Bend in April will likely not be in the cards. I'm hoping I could do the 50k, but even that might be too aggressive. I'm not writing out a training plan, but will just continue to do what feels good, and hope that I will make steady progress.<br />
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I haven't felt in great running shape since September of 2017, really -- ever since the one-two punch of the Tahoe 200 and J&J 100k, both in that month. Since then, I've been an on/off runner, and have only done a handful of races. I don't have any delusions of getting back into great shape in these next few months, or even this year, but I do hope that I can get back to being able to run ultras and feel strong doing so.<br />
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Today I also resumed doing some hip mobility/strengthening and core exercises. I realize these will be important as I start running again. I've already noticed some weaknesses in my legs during my runs, so I am making a commitment to myself to keep up these exercises to regain strength and prevent injury. I'm hoping that wearing Teddy in a baby carrier for 2-mile walks each day is also helping strengthen my core!Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-48637900033197034762019-09-12T09:43:00.000-07:002019-09-12T10:34:09.618-07:00Return to blogging? And reflections at week 33It has been a long, long time since I've written a blog post. I've steered clear for more than one reason, some of which I have a hard time articulating.<br />
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For one thing, I think that from this current place of happily married life, and expecting my first child, I've been looking back on how I handled recent struggles, namely the question of Joe getting an annulment, and the gloom of infertility, and have been judging myself pretty critically. Now that everything has gone our way -- the annulment granted, our wedding held in the church in 2017, and a healthy pregnancy achieved after 14 months of trying -- I've been feeling a bit ashamed, like I was weak and without faith in how I let those struggles get me down.<br />
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I'm finally getting to a point, though, where I can be a little gentle with myself and affirm that I did show strength in getting through those tough times, in that together, Joe and I didn't give up, but persevered, doing whatever we could to make our dreams a reality.<br />
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In the last few months, I've been thinking about starting to blog again, but I've debated whether I should post publicly anymore, or whether I should just continue to journal privately. I am leaning towards continuing to write occasional blog posts, because I have encountered people on the trails, at packet pickups, and at aid stations who mention that they've read my blog and enjoyed it. It's hard for me to imagine that -- again, I'm super-critical of my writing -- but if my posts can provide any useful information or entertainment for a couple people, that's great. And if no one wants to read my posts, that is perfectly fine, too -- they are still good thinking exercises for me.<br />
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So here's a quick rundown of some key reflections related to running and this pregnancy, from week 33:<br />
<b>1. Running during pregnancy is hard! </b><br />
I started off feeling like I could keep running (jogging) my entire pregnancy -- despite the fact that the day <i>before</i> I took the positive pregnancy test, I DNF'd a 3-mile run. I maintained my confidence through about month four, when I was reduced to walk/jogs consisting of <i>maybe</i> half a mile of jogging at any given time. I tried a belly band and didn't feel like it helped much. My problems include breathlessness, GI issues, and a lack of energy. I had been inspired by women I'd read about online who said they ran all throughout their pregnancies (one lady said her pace slowed about 30 seconds per mile, boo hoo), but at the 5-month mark, I gave up. It actually was a relief to feel like I didn't need to force myself to try to run every day. In this third trimester I've found that I can jog about the length of a block, so when I'm feeling especially good, I will jog the downhills during my walks. Even jogging for short bursts gives me a quick happy feeling that I'm still a runner and will one day be able to really run again.<br />
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<b>2. I have enjoyed staying active in other ways.</b><br />
I joined the Y and have been swimming about 2 days a week for 30 minutes at a time. I have also made a habit of doing prenatal strength videos on YouTube, pretty much every other day. I'd especially recommend those by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/BodyFitByAmy" target="_blank">BodyFit by Amy</a>. When I feared my center of gravity was making me clumsy, I pulled my balance board out of the closet holding my "Useless Exercise Equipment" (Joe's words). I balance on each foot for one minute, and then on both feet for one minute. (See, it's not useless, Joe!) I also walk for 30-90 minutes about 6 days a week. We were blessed to enjoy great hiking all summer on our various trips, including in the San Juans in CO, Glacier National Park in MT, and Washington state. I'm hoping that by staying active and maintaining strength and conditioning, it will be (slightly) easier to return to trail running after the baby is born.<br />
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<b>3. I am itching to be a competitive trail runner again. I don't know whether that will happen. I think I'm okay with that.</b><br />
I've already signed up for my first ultra post-baby: Brazos Bend 50. I've already expressed to Rob Goyen that I want to be part of Team TROT again in 2019-2020. It feels like it's been forever since I've actually been a successful ultrarunner. I felt like I broke myself two years ago, after running Tahoe 200 and J&J 100k in quick succession -- both in September 2017. DNFing the Cactus Rose 100 the following month was a tough blow, as that is traditionally my favorite race, and one I had completed four times previously.<br />
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I spent 2018 trying to recover from burnout. I ran only 4 ultras that year, including 2 of the Capt'n Karl's night races that I love, and the Alamo City 50k. The night races went well -- I think I got a 4th place and a 2nd place -- and then at Alamo City I felt like I could barely make a forward motion with my legs. That entire race was a painful death march in the hot sun. It left a doubt in my mind whether I will ever be able to be an ultrarunner again. It's hard to imagine how I could ever have done 50 mile or 100 mile races, when even running 5 miles seems hard. I know that post-baby it will not be easier. But I also have such wonderful role models of women who make working, raising kids, and training work, and who are then able to show their children an invaluable example of grit, work ethic, and perseverance. These women inspire me to give it my all, and I plan to. I don't know what that will look like in my case, whether I will ultimately get back to being able to run long distances well or not, but I am looking forward to trying.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge to Heaven trail, CO - Photo by Joe Prusaitis. 4.5 months pregnant. I look taller than Joe!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LEWNiX5_N8/XXpygMphOeI/AAAAAAAA1VQ/M45UehaOPUkqYDzUG2_l2BnE6uZ5-EK6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/msh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="1440" height="197" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LEWNiX5_N8/XXpygMphOeI/AAAAAAAA1VQ/M45UehaOPUkqYDzUG2_l2BnE6uZ5-EK6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/msh.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. St. Helen's National Volcanic Monument. 6 months pregnant. Photo by Joe.</td></tr>
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<br />Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-17657437015420030092019-09-02T14:56:00.004-07:002019-09-02T15:15:15.557-07:00Official Race Recap: 2019 Whataburger Challenge <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"><b>WBC4: Greatness Redefined</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">The 4th Annual Whataburger Challenge is in the books, with history-making performances achieved!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">With only 6 competitors this year, it was the first time that the WBC had more spectators than athletes, much like you’d see in any professional sporting event such as the Super Bowl, NBA finals, etc. All but one of the six were return competitors; the one-and-done folks that couldn't face up to the extreme nature of the race have been winnowed away, and only the hardiest of the hardy, the elite of the elite, remain.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Some top storylines this year:</span><br />
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Matt "The Assassin" Smith, fresh off his wins in the 2019 Rockhopper Beer Mile and the 2019 Ice Cream Challenge, had the first ever attempt at the Triple Crown lined up with a win here.</span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Mike "The Ringer" Ruhlin, winner of the Taco Cabana Challenge, as well as WBC2 in 2017, was trying to become the first-ever 2-time WBC champ.</span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"><span style="font-size: normal;">Chris "Cactus Kid" Russell was purely driven by the desire to stop The Assassin from winning the Triple Crown, and would have to do so without his usual harem of followers.</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Franz The Vegetarian and Matt The Assassin (PC: Jess Winnett)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">At 9:07 sharp, the gun went off and the gorging began. Chris was done with his #1 in under 3 minutes and took off, with Joe "Schmo" and The Assassin right behind him. Those three were followed shortly after by Mike, then Franz, and finally Wimpy Rich.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Matt went directly into Assassin mode, screaming down DeZavala at 6-minute pace, leaving the other competitors so far back they could no longer see him after a couple miles. This aggressive gamble, typically ill-advised, paid off for Matt as the second restaurant was not ready for the volume of WBC orders. This second store always seems to be the wildcard! While Schmo and Franz (Franz was competing in the first-ever Vegetarian division) arrived 3-5 minutes later, their orders were more like 10 minutes behind Matt's. "Sweet" Chris was heard to say that Denny's service was faster, and that he hoped Matt choked on that third burger. One must wonder if any collusion took place with store employees.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Matt finishes up #2 while everyone else waits</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Matt departed the second store before anyone else even received their #2 combo! Legitimate worry began to permeate the dining room. Mike "The Ringer," despite arriving 5th, was the second to leave, albeit 16 minutes behind Matt. A minute later, Schmo and Franz finished and took off, very slowly, after the leaders. Blaine Adams, one of the spectators, seeing pools of sweat forming, foolishly offered Chris a towel from his vehicle - Chris sat on it while dining and once complete with his #2, gave it back to the regretful Blaine.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Chris at WB #2, with Mike Ruhlin in the background</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">The heat took its toll on Rich, and he was the race's first casualty, a DNF partway through his #2 combo; but true to his persevering nature, he still managed to run all the way to the third restaurant with his partially-eaten burger for the weigh-in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">The Assassin arrived light years ahead of the others, but the tide had turned. As Franz and Schmo finally arrived, both having been reduced to a pathetic walk/jog during the run, they saw Matt's entire #3 combo just sitting there, untouched. Brian "Banjo McNaturepants" Ricketts, winner of WBC1 like a million years ago, was texting fellow WBC1 finisher (but WBC 4 spectator) Tom "Bro-ling" Bowling to get updates - he asked how Matt was doing. The response: "Scott Rabb-like," referring to Rabbers' (also a WBC4 spectator) WBC1 performance in which he could only stare at the tray of food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Paralyzed. A familiar scene at WB #3 (this was also the 3rd different shirt Matt wore?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Mike The Ringer arrived a couple minutes after Schmo, and the race's fate was set. At 2:07, the 4th-fastest time in WBC history, Mike became the competition's only 2-time champion! Greatness.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsKR07dEXwY/XW2KsIZswxI/AAAAAAAA0nU/wQNrabDbxqoHMB08_TBaeYdDhSdbTltsQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0028.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsKR07dEXwY/XW2KsIZswxI/AAAAAAAA0nU/wQNrabDbxqoHMB08_TBaeYdDhSdbTltsQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0028.PNG" width="179" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"> Victory! Again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">The prize he chose for 1st? A Rockhopper hat (take that TrailZen)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Schmo, having previously decided not to even order the #3, changed his mind when he saw the opportunity for his best finish, place-wise. He ate all the fries, slowly, and stopped with the 3/4 pounds of burger remaining, to grab 2nd place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Then things got interesting. Chris had made the same decision as Schmo, but saw the opportunity to complete his mission of taking down the Assassin, as Matt bowed out already. Chris made it through half his fries to grab the final podium spot, just ahead of Matt, who took 4th.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">The podium (L to R: Schmo, The Ringer, Cactus Kid)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Franz made it through the veggie version of the #1 and #2 meals - a disgusting pile of fried hashbrown sticks in a standard Whataburger bun - and definitely deserved first-place vegetarian honors, even though he was the only competitor in the division.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Franz selected Spicy Ketchup for his Veggie feat</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Finally, the coveted DFL (and WB Ketchup bottle) went to WBC2 podium finisher Rich, who showed up for his 2nd WBC event, joining a short list of elite competitors to ever attempt this race more than once.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Rich with his #2 bag of deliciousness</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">A note for those considering a WBC5 entry: you can do this - be sure to train throughout the next year, so you may too have your name forever inscribed in Whataburger lore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;"><b>Final Results:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">1st - Mike "The Ringer" Ruhlin - 2:07</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">2nd - Joe "Schmo" Schmal - 0.74 pounds remaining of #3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">3rd - Chris "Cactus Kid" Russell - 1.13 pounds remaining of #3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">4th - Matt "The Assassin" Smith - 1.16 pounds remaining of #3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">DFL - "Wimpy" Rich Mihalik - 0.93 pounds remaining of #2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">1st Vegetarian - Franz "The Vegetarian?" Konczak - DNF before #3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: normal;">Historical (four-year) DNF rate: <b>78%</b></span></div>
Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-49207199649363626142019-05-18T18:01:00.002-07:002019-05-18T18:01:56.644-07:002019 Ice Cream Challenge Race Recap<br />
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Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ice Cream Challenge
2019<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Race Recap<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second annual Ice Cream Challenge dawned bleak and
humid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the surprise of everyone, Matt
“The Assassin” Smith was the first to arrive at the starting line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He even brought his own spoon, for some
reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other competitors trickled
in prior to the 10:00am race start . . . except for the Spleens, who maintain
their own schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a repeat from last year, “Sweet” Chris had his entire
Chipwich in his mouth immediately after the starting gun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fellow competitors and spectators looked on
in awe, having only taken a bite of their own Chipwiches, as Chris took off on
his first lap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom was next to leave,
followed by Mike “The Ringer,” Matt and Jason, and the rest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It quickly became obvious that Matt would dominate the race
the entire way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was first to arrive
at the start/finish, with a 10:40 loop one (1.7 miles).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next in was Blaine “Grizzly” Adams, followed
by “The” Steffan, who also made up time on the run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the competitors ate their second novelty treat,
a Klondike Bar, Steffan made the first of many complaints that his “teef hurt.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ye8yKfWbnXA/XOCp3Hnmc3I/AAAAAAAAyIU/WvSx78ubTvA9-_FIwU9iHDT2syRm2Yt_ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ye8yKfWbnXA/XOCp3Hnmc3I/AAAAAAAAyIU/WvSx78ubTvA9-_FIwU9iHDT2syRm2Yt_ACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8660.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The third novelty treat was a Drumstick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By this lap, it was already a race for
second, as Matt arrived in 22:40, and took off for his third loop in less than
3 minutes, long before another competitor was even in sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second place at this point was Blaine,
followed by Joe, then Tom, with Chris hot on his heels.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m4JFO0oH6yM/XOCp9wq-6yI/AAAAAAAAyIY/QQF0ESFBsccAEUWAWIcjKUmyXEmWtOYZACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m4JFO0oH6yM/XOCp9wq-6yI/AAAAAAAAyIY/QQF0ESFBsccAEUWAWIcjKUmyXEmWtOYZACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8662.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The first to finish was Tanya, the smartest one of the
group, having signed up for JV, which ended after three loops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When asked why she didn’t upgrade to Varsity,
she responded with a litany of reasons, each of which were very good, such as
having just completed Miwok 100k two weeks ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, she was miffed upon hearing that Jason (who also did Miwok) was
dropping down to JV as well, calling his decision “ridiculous.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, since he dropped mid-race, this
earned him a DNF.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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Runners slowed down in the fourth and fifth loops – Snickers
and Popsicle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is, except for Matt,
who proclaimed, “The ice cream still tastes good” while eating his Snickers
treat, and took off just as fast as ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While Chris’s running had slowed down (he was heard to complain that
“This course has too much running”), he was just as fast in eating as he was at
the start of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steffan captured
the overwhelming feeling of the spectators with his one comment about Chris’s instantaneous
consumption of his Snickers bar: “Oh shit!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Around this time, Matt came in for his final challenge: the
lap 6 pint of ice cream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had the easy
confidence of a winner, remarking, “This [pint] is going down easier than I
thought.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was around this time, too,
that he declared his decision to take on the Triple Crown: having won the beer
mile and now the ice cream challenge, he was now throwing his hat into the
Whataburger Challenge ring well in advance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Taking off on his last loop, he would ultimately lap every competitor
except for Tom, and finish with a new course record of 1:18:26, decimating last
year’s CR of 1:37.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His victory speech: “This
is the biggest day of my life.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl8wTxXmQXY/XOCqGFcCz0I/AAAAAAAAyIc/KdKEoG1Og2gwCmDtI6lzU_jx7PU2oU06gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl8wTxXmQXY/XOCqGFcCz0I/AAAAAAAAyIc/KdKEoG1Og2gwCmDtI6lzU_jx7PU2oU06gCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8675.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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As runners ate their 5<sup>th</sup> treat, a Popsicle, they
were asked for their pint flavor request, as there was only one of each
flavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris asked for mint chocolate
chip and then took off on his 5<sup>th</sup> lap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steffan was then asked for his flavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also asked for mint chocolate chip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When told that he’d have to beat Chris back
in order to nab this flavor, Steffan got a determined look in his eye, and
proceeded to outrun Chris by a good margin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had already started into his minty ice cream when Chris arrived and
was told, to his chagrin, that mint was taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With an intensity driven by resentment, Chris plowed through his pint of
chocolate chip and took off for his final lap before Steffan was halfway done
with his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the way out, Chris muttered
to Steffan, “That’s for eating my mint.”<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wv_djh7ZSJg/XOCqRg6kxKI/AAAAAAAAyIo/SymA8rHyVLIeEpUNCwApTa1fCDVaeRv-gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wv_djh7ZSJg/XOCqRg6kxKI/AAAAAAAAyIo/SymA8rHyVLIeEpUNCwApTa1fCDVaeRv-gCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8688.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: center;">
Daniel handing
Steffan his mint ice cream. The smile wouldn't last.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite arriving second after loop 5, Schmo left in fourth
place after eating the pint, with Tom and Blaine severely outperforming his ice
cream intake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom would maintain his
lead for 2<sup>nd</sup> place, but Schmo passed Blaine during loop 6 to take 3<sup>rd</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blaine had the honor of “Biggest Bonk” for
the race, slowing down to a crawl at the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He professed that “The sugar doesn’t bother me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just tired from running.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Tom finished, he noted, “5 minutes faster
than last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was my ‘A’
game.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His wife Michele could be seen
beaming with pride near the finish line.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DA59XXl6JCE/XOCqfe-aHAI/AAAAAAAAyIw/XgcdZ9rjb60sArMEYUeEVaHaE3-_Ph36ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DA59XXl6JCE/XOCqfe-aHAI/AAAAAAAAyIw/XgcdZ9rjb60sArMEYUeEVaHaE3-_Ph36ACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8680.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qQveggNbY6M/XOCqfffbtmI/AAAAAAAAyI0/UZJ24sMKFQAH4aOHEyhky64yo1nlxyhHwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qQveggNbY6M/XOCqfffbtmI/AAAAAAAAyI0/UZJ24sMKFQAH4aOHEyhky64yo1nlxyhHwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8694.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
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Poor Chris was having a bad day in general.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He complained about his legs hurting, being
undertrained, not getting his preferred ice cream flavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, he was happy with his finish, since
he beat his arch nemesis Steffan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
first words after crossing the finish line were, “Well, I beat Steffan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s all that matters.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Mike came in next, for 7<sup>th</sup> place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point during the race he lamented that
he really has not been running lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately, there was 10 miles of running, and Mike was not able to
get redemption from last year’s 4th-place finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bryan “Lacy’s Husband” finished despite a
pounding headache,<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> </span>which he attributed to
eating so much dairy, and earned the coveted DFL.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i2JTb2eruqY/XOCqphx7suI/AAAAAAAAyI4/WRiVm4Esxa0QlS1oMr7pqbEeuBv-FM8nwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i2JTb2eruqY/XOCqphx7suI/AAAAAAAAyI4/WRiVm4Esxa0QlS1oMr7pqbEeuBv-FM8nwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8690.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: center;">
Bryan fought hard
all day<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next in the eat-and-run series will be the 4<sup>th</sup>
annual Whataburger Challenge, on Labor Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stay tuned to see whether Matt can pull off the unprecedented Triple
Crown.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DH8tFJ21VUk/XOCqp4pwNQI/AAAAAAAAyI8/pom1pbqTcB0k_BnGqchQBZ8FGyO4pM4mACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DH8tFJ21VUk/XOCqp4pwNQI/AAAAAAAAyI8/pom1pbqTcB0k_BnGqchQBZ8FGyO4pM4mACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8697.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 9pt;">The podium</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Results<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Varsity<o:p></o:p></div>
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1<sup>st</sup> place – Matt “The Assassin” Smith 1:18:26
(Course Record)<o:p></o:p></div>
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2<sup>nd</sup> place – Tom “Bro-Ling” Bowling 1:32:01<o:p></o:p></div>
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3<sup>rd</sup> place – Joe “Schmo” Schmal 1:33:23<o:p></o:p></div>
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4<sup>th</sup> place – Blaine “Grizzly” Adams 1:34:36<o:p></o:p></div>
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5<sup>th</sup> place – “Sweet” Chris Russell 1:44:22<o:p></o:p></div>
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6<sup>th</sup> place – “The” Steffan Andersland 1:50:00<o:p></o:p></div>
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7<sup>th</sup> place – Mike “The Ringer” Ruhlin 1:59:30<o:p></o:p></div>
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8<sup>th</sup> place – Bryan “Lacy’s Husband” Buchorn
2:18:04<o:p></o:p></div>
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JV<o:p></o:p></div>
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1<sup>st</sup> place – Tanya “Head Spleen” Espalin 46:00<o:p></o:p></div>
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2<sup>nd</sup> place – Jason “Spleen” Espalin (dropped down
from Varsity) <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-25104079242946724942018-12-19T12:11:00.000-08:002018-12-21T12:55:18.942-08:00Running & Infertility <i>Note: I wrote this post back in November. As an update, I'm now off the medication described below, giving my body a chance to "reset" for a cycle, and I'm finally able to run again after four weeks off. My poor legs and lungs feel like they've atrophied a bit, but I'm motivated to build back speed and endurance over these next six weeks.</i><br />
<br />
At the very beginning of this year, I settled into the idea that this would be a non-ultramarathon-focused year. The plan was that Joe and I would try to have a kid. Honestly, I'd burned myself out doing too many ultras too close together in 2017, and I needed a break, so it seemed like perfect timing. As it's turned out, though, it's not that easy to just go have a kid for some couples -- including us. Man, that's a bummer discovery to make at age 36, when you feel the pressure of the clock ticking down.<br />
<br />
It's a given that pregnancy destroys your running. But you have a baby at the end of it, so who the hell cares? What's interesting has been the discovery that infertility, too, can hijack your running. Let me count the ways.<br />
<br />
<b>But first I'll start with the positives.</b><br />
1. I'm definitely getting a rest and mental break from running. So whenever I'm able to return, hopefully I'll feel the fire and be able to work hard towards some "A" races.<br />
<br />
2. Through this bummer of a year, I've gotten to see the amazing support of people such as Victor Ballesteros and Jena Rose, of Victory Sportdesign, who are committing to keep me on Team Victory, and Rob and Rachel Goyen, of Trail Racing Over Texas, who are keeping me on Team TROT -- despite the fact that I haven't won a single race in 2018, and am not sure I'll be racing in 2019 either. I'm not keeping up my end of the bargain, so to speak, in terms of getting out there and doing well in races, and yet they continue to support me, which feels like a huge act of love on their part.<br />
<br />
3. Over the past five years, my identity has become so closely aligned with being an ultrarunner that it's almost like I didn't think I had an identity beyond that. Take that part of my identity away, and now I've had to find out what else makes up the core of who I am. That's probably not a bad thing to have to figure out.<br />
<br />
4. Without the pressure of training for races, I've been able to just walk out the door and go any distance I feel like during my daily runs. I've even gone watch-less a couple times, and haven't posted them to Strava, which is very unlike me. (Did these runs even count??) Running has just been about maintaining fitness and enjoying being outdoors, instead of feeling the pressure of a quota of miles to hit for the week.<br />
<br />
<b>And then, of course, there are the challenges.</b><br />
1. Not being able to plan for the future messes with my running and racing, as well as my motivation. Take, for example, Cactus Rose, which was at the end of October. I have run 450 miles at Cactus over the past 5 years, and was thinking I could do some distance, maybe the 50 miler, this year. I asked my nurse if I could run it, and she told me I wouldn't be able to, because I'd be taking a medication at that time in my cycle that wouldn't allow for the bouncing that running involves. So I didn't sign up, and didn't train. As it turned out, I wasn't put on that medication at that time, so I could have run it after all. Now I'm being told I'll be taking that medication probably at the end of November. It's just a moving target that causes me to not be able to plan for any races at this time.<br />
<br />
And I certainly am not able to make plans for next year, either. Joe's thinking about racing another Hardrock qualifier, while I'm sitting here hoping my brains out that I'll be pregnant by then. And if not, I'll still be stuck in this purgatory of fertility cycles. Who knows? I'll likely as not end up not getting to do any races, for no good reason, as happened with Cactus. That's pretty frustrating.<br />
<br />
2. That motivation part is hard some days, when it's not clear what the point of my run is. Without a race to train for, I can easily tell myself that just going for a 3- or 4-mile run is fine, and not push myself to go farther or faster. In allowing myself this slack, I miss out on the pleasure I used to feel in pushing myself to accomplish things I wasn't sure I'd be able to do.<br />
<br />
3. I do feel the loss of my identity as an ultrarunner. I know that I can come back to it, whether that's at age 40 when we give up trying to have kids, or here and there when we have a break from cycles of trying, like I did this August. But that doesn't allow for ramping up to ultramarathon fitness and achieving my best efforts at races. I can finish ultra-distance races by fitting them in between cycles of medication, but I can't really hope to win races with this sporadic approach. There's something disheartening about knowing you're putting in less when you remember how it used to feel in the past, to give it your best and succeed.<br />
<br />
4. I'm also feeling a little bit of a loss of community. As soon as I moved to San Antonio, I started running with folks; that's how I met people here and made friends. The Rockhoppers have felt like my family here, and I love hanging out with them at group runs and races. This past year, I've still gone to some group runs, I did a couple races in August, and I volunteered at a race in the spring. But I've missed a lot of races, and have avoided a lot of social media, such as Facebook and some people's Instagram accounts (because I can't stand to see posts about people who have kids), so I do feel a little "out of the loop." However, at the same time, I know I'm still part of the Team TROT and Rockhoppers family, so it's a bit of a stretch to put this item in the "negatives" column.<br />
<br />
<b>Reflection</b><br />
Typing this all out has been a good exercise. It's helped me see there are as many positives as negatives in this process -- even though the negatives (especially #1) feel a lot weightier than any of the positives. My comfort zone during this whole process has been Negative Nancy -- because it's easier than being positive, getting my hopes up, and having them slammed down again. It would be an improvement, at least, to be Middle Ground Mary, and at least consider the positives as well as the negatives -- maybe I'll strive for that.<br />
<br />Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-40840611518343061622018-10-04T14:13:00.000-07:002018-10-04T14:13:08.873-07:00Grand Canyon R2R2R 2018Joe and I just got back from a wonderful trip to the Grand Canyon with the Rockhoppers. A bunch of us did the rim-to-rim-to-rim journey. It was my second r2r2r, and Joe's first -- in fact, his first trip to the Grand Canyon, period. I love the desert scenery of the canyon, and it was fun being on those trails again, and especially fun to get to share the adventure with Joe this time around.<br />
<br />
Going into this run, I was only about 75-80% sure I'd be able to finish it -- it's a real challenge, and I haven't been feeling very fit lately. Since my expectations about my ability level were pretty low going into it, I'm even more stoked about whole thing.<br />
<br />
You can read <a href="https://jbschmal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Joe's report</a> for more relevant (and probably more accurate) information. My report will mostly focus on the things I personally found entertaining.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Inauspicious Start: South Kaibab</u></b><br />
The day got off to a rough start when our drivers pulled into the South Kaibab parking lot -- led by Rich, right past the "Do not enter" signs -- and we all got yelled at by the park ranger. He commanded us to all get back in our cars and drive back to the road.<br />
<br />
Here's a typical portrait of the differences between me and Joe:<br />
My reaction: I got back in the car.<br />
Joe's reaction: "Get your stuff, dude. Get out of the car!"<br />
<br />
Everyone scattered into the bushes, and we started down the trail. It seemed like there were two or three other large groups starting at the same time as us. It was crazy crowded for a couple miles, which was annoying. It was very different from the last time we did r2r2r, in 2014, when we were the only crazies out there at 4am.<br />
<br />
The number of people all around us made it hard to relieve ourselves, which was an urgent need. This resulted in us having a version of Paul McCartney's song in our heads for most of the day: "Pee on the Run."<br />
<br />
Possible verse:<br />
"When you have to go, so you go in your clothes,<br />
in front of everyone . . .<br />
And you pee on the run"<br />
(doo-doo-do-do-doo-do-do)<br />
<br />
*Note: This verse is not representative of what actually happened.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Adventure-filled Middle: South Kaibab to North Kaibab</u></b><br />
I accidentally left my poles by the water spigot at Phantom Ranch when we filled up there. I didn't realize it until we'd left the area, and I didn't feel like backtracking. I wrestled for a moment with the worry that they'd be in people's way, versus the relief at not having to carry them through the relatively flat stretch of the box canyon. In the end, it worked out perfectly: I didn't have to carry them through the box canyon, and they were still there, exactly where I'd left them, when we returned to Phantom Ranch on the way back. I had them just when I needed them, for the hike back up to the South Rim.<br />
<br />
Random thoughts from this stretch:<br />
<br />
Best comment from passerby:<br />
"You could beat us going down. But I could beat you in an arm wrestle."<br />
-Mustachioed, cowboy-hat-wearing mule train driver to Joe<br />
<br />
Most memorable conversation related to a tunnel:<br />
"There's some shade! We can rest!"<br />
"That's Supai Tunnel."<br />
"I'm gonna Supai the shit out of that tunnel."<br />
<br />
Most-used phrase by Joe: Bony old Behind!<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fRPe9I4bRHk" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
On our way up to the North Rim, we ran into MJ, who entertained us with her story about picking up hitchhikers on her drive to the rim. She, along with Jeanie and numerous others, were Good Samaritans who helped a lot of people over the course of the trip. It was nice getting to catch up with her, as she used to live in our neighborhood but has recently relocated to Colorado.<br />
<br />
Joe and I topped out at the North Rim around 12:30pm. I ate a good meal of a sandwich ball (in ball form because of its position at the bottom of Joe's bag), chips, and a big cookie. We had fun catching up with the Rockhoppers who were already resting at the rim, and cheering for each new Rockhopper who arrived while we were there.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Friend-filled Finish: North Kaibab to Bright Angel</u></b><br />
On our way down from the North Rim, at Coconino Overlook, a ranger named Beth asked me how far we were going. When I responded that we were going back to the South Rim, she looked really sad for me and told me, "You don't have to do that." Despite her concern, we forged ahead.<br />
<br />
Somewhere around Supai Tunnel, Stefan and Edward decided to slow up and run with me and Joe. Together, we waited out the three mule trains coming back up to the rim, dodged the enormous pools of mule piss, and trotted back down to Manzanita Springs.<br />
<br />
Coming into the springs area, the wind picked up. It was blowing my floppy hat right off my head, blowing my hair all crazy, and blowing dust into our mouths and noses. But it was so fun. The whole experience -- to be running with friends, out in this beautiful landscape, and sharing it all with my husband.<br />
<br />
By the time we got to the springs, we were quite warm, so we took a dip in the springs as Joe helped filter and refill water bottles for some hikers that had only brought 16.9-ounce plastic water bottles into the canyon for some reason.<br />
<br />
Other ways Joe was a super hero:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>He carried (and ran with) a full-size backpack for 50 miles. In the backpack, he carried my sandwiches, as well as a full-size bag of chips. </li>
<li>He let me run and hike ahead and set the pace. He never left me behind, even though he is much faster than I am.</li>
<li>He filtered all our water throughout the hike, so I didn't have to bother with bringing my own filter.</li>
</ul>
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Places we soaked in the cool water on our way back to the South Rim:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Manzanita Springs</li>
<li>Cottonwood</li>
<li>Ribbon Falls (I soaked my head only)</li>
<li>Phantom Ranch (where I got my trekking poles back -- a r2r2r miracle!)</li>
</ul>
<div>
Each of these water stops was refreshing, as even in the shade of the box canyon, it was quite warm. The heat seemed trapped in the canyon, with no breeze. In between, we mostly jogged. Edward and Stefan would pull away, and then they'd sit and wait for us to catch up. I was fueled by my Snackzel<span style="font-size: xx-small;">TM</span> -- a conglomeration of melted chocolate-covered pretzels that had fused together into a log. Brought to me by the makers of Snacklog<span style="font-size: xx-small;">TM</span>, which was Edward's invention during Bigfoot 200.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I was eager to get to the Colorado River before dark, and we made it just in time. I love watching the water roll past under my feet while walking across the silver bridge. The glow of the setting sun on the mountain was pretty magical, too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At the Colorado River, Edward and Stefan pulled well away from us. Joe and I slogged through the sandy trail up and back down, and then up toward Indian Garden as darkness set. It seemed to take forever before we made it there. By that time, the stars were out, and they were incredibly brilliant. We took advantage of some benches, refilled, saw Edward and Stefan take off, and then headed toward the next landmark, the 3-mile hut.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At the 3-mile hut, I wanted to sit and rest a moment, but Joe was raring to go. "Let's get this shit over with." So we continued power-walking to the 1.5-mile hut, where we saw Stefan recovering from a bonk. This time Joe wanted to stay lying down, looking at the stars, but Stefan mentioned that the pizza place at the South Rim was open until 11pm, and it was only about 9:15pm, so I made Joe get up and get going. Joe, Stefan, and I stayed together until the Bright Angel trailhead, where of course, Jeanie was waiting for us. It was about 10pm; the hike/run had taken us 17 hours and change. Jeanie stayed up all night greeting Rockhoppers as they finished, bringing us into her warm room, feeding us, and driving us back to our rooms.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Joe and I went straight to the pizza place. We enjoyed trying to convince the people at the table next to us that we'd done a double crossing of the canyon. They'd smile and nod, and then ask us again a couple minutes later, "So you went all the way to the river and back?" After a bit, Rob and CJ joined us, and Rob took over the task of trying to explain to them the silly thing we'd done.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The real end of the story came the next day, around noon, as Rich, Don, and Janet finished, to the cheers of all the Rockhoppers who were gathered at the Bright Angel trailhead. It was incredibly inspiring to see this group of 60+ years-young runners who had persevered through the heat of the canyon, the unending climbs to the rims, and a sleepless night to finish this monumental task. I sincerely hope Joe and I can be as strong and full of life as we continue to age.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At the end of r2r2r, as soon as we finished, we agreed that we'd never do it again. "Good job! Now let's never speak of it again."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FCf1Pi6tyNA" width="560"></iframe><br />
But never say never, right, Joe?
Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-23414358645659156172018-09-03T14:38:00.005-07:002018-09-03T14:48:29.862-07:003rd Annual Whataburger Challenge -- Race Directors’ Recap<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">3rd Annual Whataburger Challenge </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Race Directors’ Recap</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">The thunder was rumbling in San Antonio this Labor Day morning . . . or was that the sound </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">of </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">competitors' stomachs anticipating revolt?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">Twelve hungry competitors vied for the coveted title of Whataburger Challenge Champion </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">this </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">year, to the delight of numerous spectators and photographers. Notably missing was </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">much-touted course-record-holder Brian "Banjo McNaturepants" Ricketts. Ricketts has </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">turned </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">out to be a one-and-done eat & run challenger. Some critics have been overheard </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">wondering </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">whether his first win wasn't a fluke, since he refuses to toe the line for a rematch. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">He was seen </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">at the final WB location today, driver there perhaps by fear of losing his CR.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">Another noted absence was Matt "The Assassin" Smith. Although Smith vehemently </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">protested </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">recent criticism that he is all talk and no walk, he "pretty much validated </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">everything </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">you guys </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">said" by failing to show up on race day, according to Chris Russell, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">an objective </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">source.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">After a quick pre-race briefing by RD Joe Schmo, the gun went off at 8:12 and the gorging</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">began. The first racer out of his chair was John Denny, heretofore unknown by </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">Whataburger </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">competitors -- a ringer brought in by The Sheriff to compete in his stead. By </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">his speed in </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">putting </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">away his #1 combo, though, he was clearly The Sheriff's superior, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">thereby earning </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">him the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">nickname "Chief." The other competitors soon followed down </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">Dezavala Road, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">highlighted by </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;">Sweet Chris and his usual harem of female supporters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JR3onhmD42I/W42nILg_utI/AAAAAAAAuOA/ioccFqEztV0W-zdyX21MLHIz_a-bpzm1QCEwYBhgL/s1600/Eric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JR3onhmD42I/W42nILg_utI/AAAAAAAAuOA/ioccFqEztV0W-zdyX21MLHIz_a-bpzm1QCEwYBhgL/s320/Eric.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric, feelin' fine at WB1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leaving the first WB location, Steffan lamented, “I’m already kind of full” -- a sentiment that unfortunately hinted at the poor showing he would have. Meanwhile, Zmolek noted with confidence that this challenge was far from the most disgusting thing he’d ever done, having once eaten a stick of butter for $5.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WLOyD-QvF_s/W42nfTQj1tI/AAAAAAAAuOo/OfYz-X2LR6kQdsYgVt2zyPL-bUF80-saACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_6437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WLOyD-QvF_s/W42nfTQj1tI/AAAAAAAAuOo/OfYz-X2LR6kQdsYgVt2zyPL-bUF80-saACEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_6437.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zmolek, not at all intimidated by all the Rockhoppers</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the third year in a row, Schmo was the first to arrive at WB2; but for the first year ever, he was also the first to finish the #2 combo and leave. Joe T and first-time WB entrant Edgar Gonzalez arrived at WB2 together a few minutes behind Schmo, and ordered their food as Schmo started eating. It was here that the drama increased -- Charles S. (possibly irked by his 12-1 pre-race odds) was the 4th to order, but when the next tray of food came out, he claimed it ahead of Joe T and Edgar, at which point he hurriedly zipped outside to eat. In his defense, he gave the WB employee his number as the food came out, but the employee still handed it off; nevertheless the nickname “Hamburglar” was born.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bf0A62QeAPE/W42oKIpnKII/AAAAAAAAuOs/gXeE_bveLEUpLxeVlSe4k8zJ2O3LWrtugCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_9E2C542214F2-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="155" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bf0A62QeAPE/W42oKIpnKII/AAAAAAAAuOs/gXeE_bveLEUpLxeVlSe4k8zJ2O3LWrtugCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_9E2C542214F2-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hamburglar dining al fresco</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Zmolek and Steffan both quit before finishing their 2nd meal, while Edgar, Tom, and Larry persevered through their 2nd meal only to DNF by not ordering a #3. Although an admirable technique, Edgar’s trick of dunking his burger patties, buns, and fries in water, in a dip-dip-chew pattern did not ultimately help his race as he got lost on the way to the third WB. Even WBC veteran Tom “Wrong Way” Bowling added a bonus mile due to a wrong turn on the way to WB3 (although in light of his longstanding nickname, we suppose that isn’t so surprising).</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0koTMw3Ocs0/W42nR25UmXI/AAAAAAAAuOg/e_kpgZ3h1uoCrxc1vs7AH-C4PoB5gPBSACEwYBhgL/s1600/chris%2Br%2Bfeeding%2Bchris%2Bp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0koTMw3Ocs0/W42nR25UmXI/AAAAAAAAuOg/e_kpgZ3h1uoCrxc1vs7AH-C4PoB5gPBSACEwYBhgL/s320/chris%2Br%2Bfeeding%2Bchris%2Bp.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris R trying to pawn off some of his fries to Chris P at WB2</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the run to the 3rd WB location, Joe T was practically flying. He passed John and Charles, and was gunning for Schmo, fueled entirely by hamburger grease and raw fury over his mistreatment at WB2. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-6adb964e-7fff-5e3a-6b18-c34600568ff8" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Schmo, although not moving quite as well as before, arrived several minutes ahead of the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">others at </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">the third restaurant and ordered the #3 combo (triple patties) that has plagued him </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">so severely in </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">years past.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Joe T arrived second. After ordering, he remained at the counter, hovering there to ensure </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">t</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">hat he </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">(and only he) would get his order as soon as possible. When he finally took his seat, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">he carefully </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">chose the exact seat that had been graced by his meat sweats on this day two </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">years ago.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rng6uxChRAc/W42nTAmC0nI/AAAAAAAAuOY/lvWoqfVOGQI9ot40zTomEfoRUFDeP3Y8ACEwYBhgL/s1600/joe%2Bt%2Bopining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rng6uxChRAc/W42nTAmC0nI/AAAAAAAAuOY/lvWoqfVOGQI9ot40zTomEfoRUFDeP3Y8ACEwYBhgL/s320/joe%2Bt%2Bopining.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe T ordering at WB3</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QS0hMij01cc/W42nUR5Ag7I/AAAAAAAAuOg/6upIXOIfFKABJdn3EgTDexF18GIcrg4RwCEwYBhgL/s1600/sweat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QS0hMij01cc/W42nUR5Ag7I/AAAAAAAAuOg/6upIXOIfFKABJdn3EgTDexF18GIcrg4RwCEwYBhgL/s320/sweat.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The meat sweats</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joe T bore down immediately while Schmo hit the wall (as usual) halfway into his burger and slowed significantly. Demonstrating the same awe-inspiring greatness of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Michael Phelps, Joe “Jose Mañana” Tammaro became the 3rd annual Whataburger Challenge champion with a time of 1:56! Upon finishing, he immediately power-walked outside to puke (in front of several delighted spectators) and came back refreshed, grinning from ear to ear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-57FBZR9smxw/W42nSMD58kI/AAAAAAAAuOU/GtXYrAXKveg4ePTtHFNgk_KgBQNyNQjbgCEwYBhgL/s1600/joe%2BT%2Beating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-57FBZR9smxw/W42nSMD58kI/AAAAAAAAuOU/GtXYrAXKveg4ePTtHFNgk_KgBQNyNQjbgCEwYBhgL/s320/joe%2BT%2Beating.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Without pain, there is no joy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometime while the two Joes were battling it out, the Chief arrived and started eating his #3. He was starting to regret how quickly he’d eaten his first two meals, and his underling, the Sheriff, was protesting how many fries the WB employees had heaped on John’s tray -- no doubt thinking they were doing him a favor with their generosity. Although he looked almost as miserable as Schmo early on, even stating “I don’t think I can finish it,” at some point he got a second wind and toughed it out to finish his meal in a time of 2:25.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IkaEB2-nPK0/W42nRWN_ZqI/AAAAAAAAuOg/M_6A-IwDOUMHj_XSXMyeKnEoBiPH6mFQACEwYBhgL/s1600/chris%2Bp%2Bsupporting%2Bjohn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IkaEB2-nPK0/W42nRWN_ZqI/AAAAAAAAuOg/M_6A-IwDOUMHj_XSXMyeKnEoBiPH6mFQACEwYBhgL/s320/chris%2Bp%2Bsupporting%2Bjohn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris P encouraging the Chief to press on at WB3</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VliN_X8EEPU/W42nfjkAgUI/AAAAAAAAuOo/DJGMi33P8YgrH3YdkVVCnePMTk8Ns6NgQCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_6469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VliN_X8EEPU/W42nfjkAgUI/AAAAAAAAuOo/DJGMi33P8YgrH3YdkVVCnePMTk8Ns6NgQCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_6469.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chief, taking care of bidness</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, Charles visited the restroom for a routine evacuation, only to be overwhelmed by the terrible smell and spontaneously lose all the food he’d so carefully piled into his stomach. Not wanting to order a penalty Patty Melt, he called it a day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ojqGhG4oTAc/W42nRHPGOgI/AAAAAAAAuOk/kGE1a8uSUvIcXsyHj989kebL98mSbO_ywCEwYBhgL/s1600/don.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ojqGhG4oTAc/W42nRHPGOgI/AAAAAAAAuOk/kGE1a8uSUvIcXsyHj989kebL98mSbO_ywCEwYBhgL/s320/don.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don Flynn, listening to Jock Rock vol. 2 for motivation (we presume)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Schmo kept plugging away, determined to slay his past WB3 demons, and finished less than 10 minutes before the 11am cutoff in 2:39 -- the slowest recorded finishing time to date.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wn-TPE0KiJg/W42neCBVuRI/AAAAAAAAuOo/ofZuQC4iPoIXtgI1KzgoXsIZ0_gIXFj1wCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_6498.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wn-TPE0KiJg/W42neCBVuRI/AAAAAAAAuOo/ofZuQC4iPoIXtgI1KzgoXsIZ0_gIXFj1wCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_6498.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schmo giving a speech and wiping away tears before consuming his last fry</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Schmo would be the last finisher, but ageless eater (well ok, he’s age 63) Bleeding Don Flynn again destroyed most of the younger competitors, earning a 4th place finish based on the weight of uneaten contents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fnu6lfw75Qg/W42nT-pijqI/AAAAAAAAuOk/GGiyUEbcY_Ivo_9lSQ86HyeTJd23j0PCgCEwYBhgL/s1600/podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fnu6lfw75Qg/W42nT-pijqI/AAAAAAAAuOk/GGiyUEbcY_Ivo_9lSQ86HyeTJd23j0PCgCEwYBhgL/s320/podium.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The podium</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6BCzcZgCg5g/W42nO9MaO-I/AAAAAAAAuOc/XaqQet1Y5KAVuFyoljkkvmk6DGlkTDjMwCEwYBhgL/s1600/applause%2Bfor%2BJoe%2BT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6BCzcZgCg5g/W42nO9MaO-I/AAAAAAAAuOc/XaqQet1Y5KAVuFyoljkkvmk6DGlkTDjMwCEwYBhgL/s320/applause%2Bfor%2BJoe%2BT.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Applause for the champion</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3P1k1DMAIk/W42nUuXQUDI/AAAAAAAAuOc/Gf8lqcp3jbUgjeUM8UkQg1NXFzmZIDZhwCEwYBhgL/s1600/wb%2Bgroup%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3P1k1DMAIk/W42nUuXQUDI/AAAAAAAAuOc/Gf8lqcp3jbUgjeUM8UkQg1NXFzmZIDZhwCEwYBhgL/s320/wb%2Bgroup%2Bphoto.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whataburger love</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Results</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-bcff18ba-7fff-3e31-e79f-6815a509a1f1" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="64"></col><col width="330"></col><col width="199"></col></colgroup><tbody>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Place</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Runner</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Time/Food Remaining</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">1</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Joe “Jose Mañana” Tamarro</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">1:56</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">John “Chief” Denny</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2:25</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">3</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Joe “Schmo” Schmal</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2:39</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">4</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“Bleeding” Don Flynn</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">0.686 lbs remaining of #3</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">5</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Eric “Game Time Decision” Lamkin</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">0.818 lbs remaining of #3</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">6</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“Sweet” Chris Russell</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">0.875 lbs remaining of #3</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">7</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Charles “Hamburglar” Steinkuehler</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Puked at WB #3</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">8</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Edgar “We Run” Gonzalez</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">DNF after WB #2</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">9</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Tom “Wrong Way” Bowling</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">DNF after WB #2</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">10</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Larry “Ocean” Kocian</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">DNF after WB #2</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">11</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Matt “Put the Wet Stuff on the Red Stuff” Zmolek</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">0.115 lbs remaining of #2</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">12</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“The” Steffan Andersland</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">0.675 lbs remaining of #2</span></div>
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Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-91083226515369100772018-08-28T12:39:00.001-07:002018-08-28T12:39:47.169-07:00Runniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At last weekend's Capt'n Karl's race at Reveille Peak Ranch (RPR), two runners got married on top of the granite dome during the 10k. Although Joe and I didn't get married at the ranch, it's also a special place for our relationship. </div>
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We started dating the night before RPR in 2016. On Saturday (race day), we carpooled to the race together, ran our races (Joe did the 30k, I did the 60k), drove back to San Antonio together in the early hours of Sunday morning, separated for a few hours so Joe could buy a washer and dryer and I could get one hour of sleep, and then we got back together for Mass at the Cathedral, a walk on the River Walk, dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, games at Main Event, and finally a Rockhopper picnic. Whew! It must have been new love fueling that big weekend. Nowadays, we don't have nearly that much energy.</div>
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Another key remembrance about the RPR 60k in 2016 was that Joe had to wear a t-shirt of my choosing, since I won our bet about the Fossil Valley 9-hour race. We had Chris Russell help us figure out a handicap for the bet, and we ended up saying Joe would win if he ran two more laps than I did. It turned out that we ran the same number of laps, so I carefully chose a My Little Pony shirt, which I gave Joe the night before the race, as his punishment. He dutifully wore it for the entire race, and actually got some nice compliments on it. I think the fact that he wore it with such confidence is what won people over.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-okTo9hyUNq4/W4WgsCk1vnI/AAAAAAAAuGc/cMtQgCxPM_Q0PW6MUcJTbEszRucfzhgkwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_6375.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-okTo9hyUNq4/W4WgsCk1vnI/AAAAAAAAuGc/cMtQgCxPM_Q0PW6MUcJTbEszRucfzhgkwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_6375.PNG" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FB reminded me that this was our first photo together!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jqZ-Oygkqc8/W4WgsZuDvgI/AAAAAAAAuGg/vSlxR3rJtVAHGknBNp_-v-Icj6N3OLAgQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20160827_183809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1197" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jqZ-Oygkqc8/W4WgsZuDvgI/AAAAAAAAuGg/vSlxR3rJtVAHGknBNp_-v-Icj6N3OLAgQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20160827_183809.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made him stand in a boat for some reason.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nQsTv3440A8/W4Wgsdmt1PI/AAAAAAAAuGk/1WIftMX7ptIASQjRfsFooWywAIhw3XoRACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20160827_183916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1197" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nQsTv3440A8/W4Wgsdmt1PI/AAAAAAAAuGk/1WIftMX7ptIASQjRfsFooWywAIhw3XoRACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20160827_183916.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's so adorable. 💕</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hopefully in 2019 we can both run the race together again -- and for many more years to come! Love you, Joe!Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-35881438454165223152018-08-28T12:17:00.001-07:002018-08-28T12:18:15.971-07:00Reveille Peak Ranch 60k - my 6th year in a rowOn Saturday night, I ran the 60k at Reveille Peak Ranch. I love that race. However, on Saturday afternoon I was still feeling like I'd rather stay at home with Joe and the girls than leave by myself, drive up to Burnet, and stay up all night running.<br />
<br />
In the end, of course, I'm glad I went. I felt like I was able to push myself to keep running much better than I was able to a few weeks ago at the Colorado Bend 60k. I know that I still have a ways to go to get back to the ultra-ready type of fitness I've had in the past. But maybe my plan of "racing my way" back into fitness is showing some results, anyways. I've also been doing one hill repeat workout a week, which I hope will pay off as well.<br />
<br />
According to my GPS, this year's course was 34.5 miles. (A 60k is the equivalent of 37.2 miles.) The ranch is under construction, and the course had to be re-routed slightly, so I wanted to go back to my old data to see whether it was drastically longer than in previous years. I can't compare it to my GPS data from 2017, because my watch had died mid-way through that race. However, in 2016, my data said the course was 35.4 miles, so maybe it's always been a bit short.<br />
<br />
If this year's course was shorter than last year's, that's sad for me, because that means I'm not only slower than I was last year, I'm even slower than my times indicate:<br />
<br />
2018 - 7:59:23<br />
2017 - 7:30:14<br />
2016 - 7:57:01<br />
2015 - 7:43:20<br />
2014 - 7:39:31<br />
2013 - 8:11:00<br />
<br />
Ultimately, the wins for me are that I was able to keep running during the race -- although I definitely slowed down on the final loop -- and that I was able to come into the finish strong. I'm nervous about this weekend's 50k, because unlike Reveille and Colorado Bend, Alamo City will be in the daytime heat, and it's 5 loops, which will be tough mentally. At least it's at a beautiful place where I have happy times running with Joe and the Rockhoppers. And I know <a href="https://www.freetailbrewing.com/" target="_blank">where I can get a cold beer </a>after I finish!Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-69840247339010834512018-08-17T12:10:00.001-07:002018-08-17T12:10:15.748-07:00Powerlines run and TMIToday has turned out to be that day each month when the reality of our infertility crashes down on me in full force. Although the doctors have told us that we have essentially a 0.8% chance of getting pregnant each month (compared to about a 15% chance for typical couples where the woman is my age), I still pray and hope for a miracle. When it inevitably doesn't happen, I crash hard.<br />
<br />
One of the things that really gets to me is, the last two times this has happened, it's been during a run where I had big goals. Last month, I had set out to do a 50k on Leon Creek. Today, I was planning to do 18 miles on the Powerlines. The 50k was doomed because my cramps became so bad, I could barely walk. Today, I honestly could have kept going past mile 12, despite the cramps, but I was too upset to continue. When I sat down and cried at mile 11.5, I knew for sure I was calling it a day. When this happens, I feel like the universe is telling me, "Not only are you a failure at getting pregnant; you're also a failure at running." <br />
<br />
That feeling is a big part of why I've been trying to up my training lately. Partly, I'm doing it because I want to be prepared for our Grand Canyon run. But really, I just want to have something that I'm successful at again. I don't know if that's realistic, to get back to where I was before my burnout last year, but I want to try.<br />
<br />
In the midst of our personal challenge, it's easy for me to lose sight of the bigger picture -- that Joe and I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm so thankful for our marriage, for our family, for our home, for our health. And if we are able to ever have children, I'm sure all our struggles will make us that much more grateful. One of the things I do on almost every run is think of 7 things I'm thankful for, and for each one I say a "Glory Be" prayer. It's never hard to come up with 7 things. At the same time, I can't deny that there's one thing I want with all my heart and cannot have. And that's what makes me sit down and cry in the middle of a run.<br />
<br />
All I can do is promise myself I'll get back out there tomorrow and finish that Powerlines run, and just keep praying that I'll be better at trusting in God's will for us. Thanks for any prayers you can send our way!<br />
<br />
<i>Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit</i><br />
<i>As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,</i><br />
<i>World without end,</i><br />
<i>Amen.</i>Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-26919500769537113752018-08-07T07:49:00.000-07:002018-08-07T07:49:46.865-07:00I finished an ultra!I knew that running the Colorado Bend 60k would be a good litmus test of my fitness and my preparedness to run Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon at the end of September. I honestly wasn't sure I'd be able to finish the race, as I haven't done that distance (or anywhere remotely close to that distance) since February. <br />
<br />
The good news is, I finished! I feel happy to have the reassurance that I can still cover an ultra distance. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to keep running for so long into the race, as I've really struggled with much shorter runs of late. <br />
<br />
It felt great to be running a race again, to be out on the trails under the bright stars all by myself for the first loop, and then to be running with Joe on the second loop. I have so many great memories of Joe pacing me at races. I couldn't even say how many times he's done that service for me, it's been so many. It's so fun to chat and laugh about silly things together during races. <br />
<br />
Despite these happy feelings, I also felt and still feel disappointment over my race performance. I've run that particular 60k enough times that I have some data to compare my times to. Here are my five finishing times from Colorado Bend:<br />
<br />
2013 8:03:24<br />
2014 8:33:09<br />
2015 8:02:11<br />
2016 7:28:29<br />
2018 9:06:43<br />
<br />
Clearly, I'm not in the ultra fitness I once was. I sure felt that during the race, too. While I was still making a running motion on the second half of the final loop, it was much closer to Billy Crystal's power walking in <i>When Harry Met Sally</i> than to actual running.<br />
<br />
I hope this is a good starting point, and that I will be able to race myself back into ultra fitness. I'm registered for two more ultras in the next month, so time will tell . . .<br />
<br />Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-4051833399474799532018-08-04T08:38:00.000-07:002018-08-04T08:38:02.097-07:00Dead legs and HICTMy legs have felt dead all week, which I'm blaming on last weekend's 5k. I haven't made myself run that fast in a long, long time, and I think my legs were angry with me. I've struggled -- I mean, really struggled, in my runs this week. I did a 10-miler on Monday, which involved about 6 miles of straight-up walking, because my legs just didn't want to work.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Needless to say, I was hesitant to go into the gym this week. I didn't want to trash my legs even further in advance of my 60k this weekend. But I haven't been to the gym since mid-June, thanks to our travels, a busier work schedule, and my desire to spend my free evenings with family. And my gym time is important to me -- it makes me feel strong, and I enjoy the social aspect of chatting and laughing with the folks there. So I texted Phil, the gym owner, and made plans to come in on Thursday.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When I got to the gym and explained my "dead legs" problem to Phil, he recommended that I do the light program he had laid out for me, and then cap it off with HICT (high-intensity circuit training). For that, he had me do two rounds of 6-8 minutes of biking -- with the bike's resistance set to 24, and one pedal push every 1-2 seconds (with 5 minutes' rest in between sets). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The gym time was super fun -- especially because my friends Travis and Martha happened to come in at the same time, and we got to chat and catch up. And my run the next morning, though admittedly only 3 miles, actually felt really good. The one downside is that the backs of my legs -- hamstrings and calves -- are a little sore from the workout. But I really believe the HICT took away that feeling of my legs being filled with lead. Hopefully they'll feel quasi-okay for the 60k . . . but who am I kidding? That race is going to be a sufferfest of epic proportions. Stay tuned for the race report . . . and wish me luck!</div>
Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-7478796296941193502018-07-30T15:35:00.000-07:002018-07-30T15:35:38.121-07:00Uninspired running, uninspiring bloggingLast week I did not feel inspired to write a blog post, despite just having made a commitment to blog at least once a week. To make up for that, I'll write two blog posts this week.<br />
<br />
On the Saturday before last, I went out for a long run, intending to do 30 miles on Leon Creek. I ended up cutting it waaaay short, around 12 miles, because I had such bad cramps. I'm glad I ran what I did that day, though, because I really needed that mental and emotional processing time that running alone, without headphones, can provide. The next day I got out there and finished up, doing 18 miles, so at least I felt like I got a good back-to-back, even though I didn't have the long-long run I had wanted.<br />
<br />
I guess my running lately has been a tale of good thing/bad thing. I've had some good consistency, but a lot of just plain crummy-feeling runs. I don't know how much of it is lost mojo, dating back to overdoing it last fall, and how much of it is the summer heat's fault. Probably a mix of both.<br />
<br />
This morning I did 10 miles. Joe and I ran our first mile together, as we like to do, and then after we separated my run proceeded to turn into a run/walk, followed shortly by a walk/walk. With 6 miles to go, I decided that I cared more about getting as much exercise outside as I could than about my pride, and the 15-16 minute power walk pace started in. I tried to envision Billy Crystal in <i>When Harry Met Sally</i>.<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ht7p1hBHAgA" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
As of this moment, I'm planning to do a 60k race this weekend. That's a really scary thought, coming from someone who struggled to put together 10 miles this morning. But we have the rim-to-rim-to-rim trip to the Grand Canyon coming up, so I figure I need a kick in the pants in my training. The kind of kick in the pants a 37-mile night run in the woods in 90-degree humid temperatures can give someone who hasn't run an ultra since February. I honestly do not know whether I can finish the race. But I'm darn sick of DNF-ing, so here's my vow: If I do start the race on Saturday, I will finish it, even if it's Billy-Crystal-style. Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-53896749866444045372018-07-16T09:37:00.001-07:002018-07-16T09:37:21.848-07:00Regular blogging -- I can do this!In my work as an educator, I see how people process their thinking in different ways. For some, it's through quiet reflection, for others, it's through conversation, for some, sketching, and so forth. I think for me, writing is how I best process my thinking. That's why I started this blog a few years ago.<br />
<br />
For a long while, I was using my blog mostly to process my thoughts about races. For maybe five years, I was running about one ultra a month, so my blog posts were pretty frequent. Now, however, since I haven't been racing, I haven't been blogging. While I keep a daily journal, most of these entries are bullet points, and it's just not the same as typing out my thoughts in a slightly more formal way, with the possibility of a real-world audience. (Even if it's just my mom, who I know subscribes to my blog posts. Thanks, Mom!)<br />
<br />
So I'll start with an update. Over the past 7 weeks, I've averaged 52 miles a week. The longest run was 26.9 miles. I feel like I'm getting back the consistency that's key to ultrarunning. However, I still am not at all confident that I could finish an ultra at this point. When I do a 10-mile run, I slog and plod, wondering in disbelief how I was ever able to do 50- and 100-mile races. Running is hard! I can barely accomplish double digits right now.<br />
<br />
I had seriously considered doing Muleshoe Bend 60k last weekend, just to gut it out and see if I could finish. (That would have been my longest run since February.) . But Joe and I looked at our calendars last week and realized that that was the only weekend this whole summer where we could take the kids up to Houston to see their grandparents, so we did that instead. I'm still hoping to do Colorado Bend and Reveille Peak Ranch 60ks and be abundantly humbled, but also get good training in for our Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim adventure at the end of September.<br />
<br />
Joe (who has also been taking a break from serious training and racing) recently commented that he feels like he has good balance in his life now. I think I feel that way, too. In the past, running played such a huge role in my life -- in terms of time, energy, money, and also as the generator of and connection to many friendships. Ultra running became a huge part of my identity, and played a big role in my self-worth, as well as helping me find a niche in my new community after moving to Texas. Running definitely played too big a role in my life for me to say that my life was "balanced" -- and yet, I was pretty happy with that lack of balance.<br />
<br />
Now, my identity has shifted so greatly. Since December, I have taken on new roles as a wife and a stepmom to two girls. Running has taken a backseat to family commitments. And I gratefully accepted this shift, as I was really burned out, mentally and physically, after last year's ultras. I think my recent uptick in mileage has been good for actually bringing running back into my life. Not as the forefront, anymore, but as a complement to (and therapy for) the newer parts of my identity.<br />
<br />
I do hope that I can have success in ultras again, but I can't say when that will realistically happen. Probably not this year. But I think keeping consistency in my running mileage will be key to coming back to ultrarunning at some point in my future. (It could happen, right?!)<br />
<br />
So here's to more frequent blogs, as Joe and I both try to become runners again. Thanks for reading, Mom! :)Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-73394354371260243382018-07-08T12:37:00.001-07:002018-07-08T13:01:21.909-07:00Mt Sneffles for Dummies"Are you okay, Jules?"<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
"Um . . . yeah. [Long pause.] I don't know what you mean by 'okay.' If you mean, 'Am I certain I'm not going to die," then no. If you're asking if I can keep going, then yes."<br />
<br />
This exchange happened somewhere on the way up Mt. Sneffles last week. I don't know what prompted Joe to ask me if I was okay -- whether it was just the incredibly slow speed with which I was crawling up the boulders, or whether my anxiety was showing that clearly in my face. But he had asked me a few times before I finally tried to clarify what exactly he meant by the question.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JWt8hYrrJSw/W0JgXGX7x6I/AAAAAAAAsPs/z1Y61VlJQVQQBQdjBlVgw14gu8tXTj2nACEwYBhgL/s1600/up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JWt8hYrrJSw/W0JgXGX7x6I/AAAAAAAAsPs/z1Y61VlJQVQQBQdjBlVgw14gu8tXTj2nACEwYBhgL/s320/up.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't see the anxiety on my face, but it is there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---The Prelude---</div>
<br />
When we had decided that we were going to do the Blue Lakes trail to Mt. Sneffles the night before, I was only a tiny bit nervous. We read in the guidebook at our Airbnb that there was one tricky part that was "pretty exposed," where you had to climb up a "chimney" of rock about 150 feet below the summit. The guidebook author went to the trouble of even suggesting the placement of your feet at this part, to step with your left foot first, and then shimmy around to the right, et cetera. He wrote that you may feel inclined to turn around at this point, before reaching the summit, but that if you just make it past this tricky obstacle, the rest of the climb wouldn't involve any technical climbing. After reading that, I was a little nervous about that chimney, but other than that, I just imagined a steep hike up a mountain, not really a big deal. I had no idea what the reality would be like.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---The Hike to the Base---</div>
<br />
When we started our hike at 9,000+ ft elevation that morning, we had a glimpse of the mountain towering in the distance. Joe tried to point it out to me, but I refused to look. I have an anti-telling-me-how-far-we-have-left-in-our-hikes policy, and this seemed like borderline violation of the policy. I did not want to contemplate getting up to that peak; it seemed impossible. And I told Joe as much.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-93byx-qCqK8/W0Jhv45CVEI/AAAAAAAAsRA/-ILDRekLY2EfQZ3A2LxYJumz2TwYFNg_wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-93byx-qCqK8/W0Jhv45CVEI/AAAAAAAAsRA/-ILDRekLY2EfQZ3A2LxYJumz2TwYFNg_wCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_3797.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe took a picture of Mt. Sneffles from the start of our hike. I preferred to ignore the mountain in the distance, as it is clearly impossible to get to.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We passed by the Lower and Upper Blue Lakes, which were very pretty, and then headed up the switchbacks to Blue Lakes Pass, elevation ~12,900 ft. The trail up to the pass scared me, because the singletrack was alongside a mountain, and very eroded, so with every step on the loose scree and dust, I worried that I would slip and tumble all the way down to the lake. I asked for Joe's reassurance that I wouldn't die if I slipped here. Poor Joe granted me reassurance for what would be the first of about 1,000 times that day. Little did we know.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-48QMhJRowwQ/W0JgYL3JkII/AAAAAAAAsPs/yXi72RyqZoUNOLw8nkCoBAWYETYgm73_ACEwYBhgL/s1600/blue%2Blakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-48QMhJRowwQ/W0JgYL3JkII/AAAAAAAAsPs/yXi72RyqZoUNOLw8nkCoBAWYETYgm73_ACEwYBhgL/s320/blue%2Blakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty blue lakes! I was already getting nervous at the top of the pass.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---The Ascent---</div>
<br />
Once we got over the pass, we could see Mt. Sneffles in all its 14,150ft glory. I still refused to look too hard at it; I figured if I just focused on one step at a time, I would get there, without freaking out too much about the danger.<br />
<br />
Joe's trail map/GPS app told him that from the base of the mountain, there is only 0.6 miles to get to the summit. Now, having summited, Joe and I both agreed that this is bull***t. It's not just the fact that we had a 1:08:29 mile and a 2:31:01 mile (as in two hours and thirty-one minutes) while ascending and descending that make me say this; it also looked and felt like way more than 0.6 miles each way.<br />
<br />
On the way up, we encountered many people on their way down. They were spread out all over the side of the mountain facing us. There is no trail; people were just choosing their line of boulders and scree. Some parts of the mountainside were strewn with larger boulders, some with smaller scree, and some parts were just loose dust, due to weathering and erosion. I don't know how many of these people made it all the way to the summit; perhaps many only made it to the ridgeline and then headed back down. We passed a father with a child wearing a helmet pretty close to the base of the mountain; she already looked scared and probably didn't make it too much past that point.<br />
<br />
After Joe and I had picked our way a little up the scree field, a lady gave us the advice to cross over to the left, because the line we had chosen would get worse and worse the higher we ascended. To cross to the left meant leaving the larger rocks and scrambling over a loose, dusty section. That was pretty scary for me, even wearing trail shoes -- I slipped a bit, and by this point, the side of the mountain was very steep. Poor Joe was worse off, footwear wise -- his trail shoes had lost all their tread by this point in our vacation, to the point where he commented to another hiker, "I might as well be wearing loafers!"<br />
<br />
Once we painstakingly made it to the ridgeline, Joe said that we had to turn left. For the first time in the hike, I tilted my head up and to the left, in the direction of the summit. And, holy sh*t, there was another ascent just as long and difficult-looking as the one we had just accomplished. Once we proceeded up it, I realized it was actually more difficult, because it involved rock climbing. We ran into some more folks on their way down. One of the men we passed told us he planned to buttslide the entire way down. "I don't even care," he added. This comment alerted me to the very scary fact that I had to not only get to the top of this mountain, but that I would also have to GET BACK DOWN! As soon as that terrifying thought crept into my head, I pushed it back out again, vowing not to think about that until the time came. I kept my head down, looking only at the rocks directly in front of me, not down the mountain or up to the summit, and answered Joe's questions about whether I was okay as best as I could.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0wSYivCXxKE/W0JgULAH4HI/AAAAAAAAsPo/gvyP19l8gi8OVQy2i6QdsndhrsA_Y3C3QCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_5933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0wSYivCXxKE/W0JgULAH4HI/AAAAAAAAsPo/gvyP19l8gi8OVQy2i6QdsndhrsA_Y3C3QCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_5933.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view after we turned left. Still not at the top!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Finally, after gingerly climbing up the rock face for what seemed like forever, we reached what seemed like the top. We had a great view in front of us -- if you cared to look over the edge -- and steep rock face to the left and right of us. Joe was wondering how to get up that rock face, and starting to climb up it, when a lady climbed up to where we were and commented that where Joe was heading didn't look do-able. She had summited once before, years ago, and she didn't remember exactly where you were supposed to go up, but she was pretty sure it wasn't where Joe was.<br />
<br />
After a minute of searching, she called out that she thought she had found the place. It also looked impossible, but at least there was evidence that it had been trafficked by others. We followed her to the place she pointed out, and Joe took the lead, followed by me, and eventually this lady and her two friends. This was that "chimney" obstacle mentioned in the guidebook. It did, indeed, appear impossible. But impossible doesn't mean anything to Joe, so he shimmied right on up and then called to me to follow. I asked, "Are you sure??" but followed, and it was, in fact, do-able. From there to the top of the peak, though, felt very exposed, and I suddenly was very, persistently, aware that we were on top of a 14,000+ ft mountain, that we would die if we fell off, and that we would have to get back down somehow, which would be even scarier than the way up -- and that the entire way back down would carry the fear of falling off the mountain to a gruesome death.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---The Summit---</div>
<br />
Once at the summit, I took off my pack and sat tight near the metal box that held the summit logs. I pretty much didn't move from that spot the entire time we were at the summit. In the meantime, Joe walked all around, appreciating the view of the blue lakes in the distance, taking photos and video. The only time I moved around was when the ladies offered to take our picture. I tried to make my least-frightened face for the camera so we could get the traditional "Hold the cardboard sign" photo. Joe gently admonished me for not looking at the view, so I gingerly crept toward the edge and gave it a quick glance. I figured I'd wait to appreciate the view until we were safely back on the ground and I could appreciate it by looking at Joe's photos. Joe ate lunch on the summit, but I was too scared to linger over my sandwich, so I gobbled down a banana and waited eagerly to leave. The sooner off the summit, the sooner back on solid ground, I felt.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eoQu7PmJZh8/W0Jg6tZmYJI/AAAAAAAAsQY/zt_R2dYC_tcTy3b1ulJDdeR1PIAR48QPgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eoQu7PmJZh8/W0Jg6tZmYJI/AAAAAAAAsQY/zt_R2dYC_tcTy3b1ulJDdeR1PIAR48QPgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5939.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My view. In the distance, Joe enjoying the actual view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I joked with one of the ladies that I'd be happy to spring for a helicopter to take us back down. She agreed, and Joe commented that if we split the cost a few ways, it would be relatively affordable. I took comfort in the fact that this lady seemed as scared as I was. It was with bitter reflection about 30 minutes later that I realized she must have been nowhere near as scared as I was, because she moved down the mountain much faster than I did, and seemed to have no trouble. I, on the other hand . . . well, as I've stated earlier, we had a 2:31:01 mile on our way back down.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N56IxzgoFQg/W0Jg4_d6-zI/AAAAAAAAsQk/JMBonG1UEUwP6wnZt5O7npx25GqZyq36ACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N56IxzgoFQg/W0Jg4_d6-zI/AAAAAAAAsQk/JMBonG1UEUwP6wnZt5O7npx25GqZyq36ACEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3841.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Requisite summit picture. Joe looks so relaxed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O5yA1_A7Jt4/W0Jg6J_VOVI/AAAAAAAAsQs/qdO_Dgh3RWoCJGt0qaHzBlt9f7fiiXKDwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_5934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O5yA1_A7Jt4/W0Jg6J_VOVI/AAAAAAAAsQs/qdO_Dgh3RWoCJGt0qaHzBlt9f7fiiXKDwCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_5934.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One more of Joe taking in the view. "I can see our car from here!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-riv-au76mNs/W0Jg4WrUvfI/AAAAAAAAsQw/kuj4oVlFhTQlrqmxla61T0d26UiUq3gFgCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="640" height="106" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-riv-au76mNs/W0Jg4WrUvfI/AAAAAAAAsQw/kuj4oVlFhTQlrqmxla61T0d26UiUq3gFgCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3836.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe takes the best panos. See, I'm admiring the view now!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---The Descent---</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The lady who had summited this peak before seemed like she knew what she was doing, so we were hoping to follow her back down. However, as she and her friends started down -- a different way than we had come up -- a man asked Joe to "spot him" as he traversed down the chimney. Except he kept calling Joe "Tom." Joe got a weird vibe from him, and didn't want to get caught behind him, so Joe watched him start going down the chimney route, and then we set off to try to follow the girls. I was creeping so slowly over the rocks, though, that we soon lost them, and Joe was having to do the route-finding himself. The climbing got steeper and steeper, and I was already freaking out and feeling unsafe, when Joe told me to stay put and climbed up a rock to peer over the edge and find the route. What he saw, I don't even want to picture, but basically he realized that there was no way down from the rock ledge we had gotten ourselves onto. He says that at this point was when his stomach clenched and he got a little nervous. He turned back to me and told me we had to retrace our steps and climb back up. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Joe says I didn't really have a "panic attack" at this juncture, but it may be the closest I've come. He climbed back up until he was above me, and when I tried to move to follow him, I found that I was frozen with fear. I just kept repeating the same things over and over again: "I don't think I can do it, Joe. I don't know where to put my foot. I'm sorry, Joe, I shouldn't have come. I can't do it." Just those 3-4 sentences on repeat. Joe reminded me later that I even apologized to God at this point, which I do remember doing -- it was a slip of the tongue, as I was saying "Oh, God" and apologizing to Joe at the same time. When he saw that I really could not climb the steep rock face on my own, he held out his hand to pull me up. I don't know how I can stress this enough, but we were on a sheer cliff with a few thousand feet of fresh air between us and the ground, and all I could think was that if Joe took my hand, we would both fall to our deaths. But I couldn't pull myself up, so I had no option but to trust that Joe could lift me up safely. I grabbed his hand, and he hoisted me up to his level. He had to repeat this once more before we were able to cross over to the couloir that the other ladies had gone down. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Once in the couloir, my terror did not really subside much. We had to cross from one side of the gully to the other, over boulders which had about a 50% chance of moving and rolling downhill when you put your weight on them. Whereas on our way up, we saw plenty of people, on our way down, there was no one else on the mountain, so we had no reference as to which lines were best to follow. To say that I took it slowly would be the understatement of the year. I practiced my forwards-crab-crawl the entire way back down to the ridge where we had to turn right . . . and then the entire way back down the mountainside. Meanwhile, Joe was standing upright, choosing the best route for me to follow, and periodically reassuring me that we wouldn't die. I remember one exchange:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
"Joe, do you think we'll get down alive?"<br />
"I think our chances are 100% at this point. They might have slipped down to 99.5% at one point, when we were on the ledge. . ."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
About mid-way down the mountain face, I asked Joe to give me a hug once we were back down. When we reached the boulder field at the bottom, he turned to give me that hug, but I just looked at him, shook my head, and said that it didn't feel safe yet. A little further down, I apologized for rejecting his hug, and claimed one from him. But I didn't really feel safe until we were back at the juncture where the "0.6 miles" to the top had begun. (Bulllllllsh******t!)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Once we'd hiked away from the base of the mountain, we looked up at it, and Joe asked me if I could see the path we'd taken. I said, "We didn't go up that way, did we? That's impossible!" </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEwiZHLyHt4/W0Jg5b1hf3I/AAAAAAAAsQs/wf_0l5tm1vUaWnHqM3ofkDPLvUQuJYpmQCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEwiZHLyHt4/W0Jg5b1hf3I/AAAAAAAAsQs/wf_0l5tm1vUaWnHqM3ofkDPLvUQuJYpmQCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3843.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're alive! Praise God! Now let's never do that again.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
---The Hike Back---</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We had a long denoument -- it was almost 7 miles back to the Blue Lakes trailhead where we left our car. Due to my SKT (slowest known time) down Mt. Sneffles, it was already dinnertime as we shuffled back over the pass, down past the blue lakes, and back through the treeline. We were too exhausted to go out to eat, so we went to the grocery store instead and got a couple steaks -- which Joe grilled to perfection -- and some ice cream. It was a perfect end to the day, just what my frazzled nerves needed. And I vowed to never do something that adventurous again. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
---The End---</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-40360831492592851312018-05-20T15:37:00.001-07:002018-05-20T15:38:51.020-07:00Ice Cream Challenge 2018: Race Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Joe and Julie Schmal, RDs<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A humid day dawned on Saturday, May 19.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hungry competitors gathered for the annual
spring food challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moments before
the starting gun, a sound chimed through the starting corral: the ping of a
text message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Race directors checked
their phones, and read the fateful text from favored competitor Chris Russell:
“Going to be 5 minutes late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fat
fingered address.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back at her house, Sheila, watching Netflix, saw the same
text, and thought . . . “Am I supposed to be somewhere?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she scrambled to change into running
clothes and head to the race, her fellow competitors began their quest for
greatness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DkhC7f96uME/WwH2OBx6fkI/AAAAAAAArRM/yZL5K79zONw3C7ldaYojy0FBDg44XGzhwCLcBGAs/s1600/bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DkhC7f96uME/WwH2OBx6fkI/AAAAAAAArRM/yZL5K79zONw3C7ldaYojy0FBDg44XGzhwCLcBGAs/s200/bike.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Runners gathered at the start, tackling the first ice cream treat.<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">MJ on lead bike.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cactus Kid asked the rules committee a seemingly
innocuous question after the race briefing – “Can we start running with our
mouth full of ice cream, or do we have to fully swallow it all before
leaving?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not seeing much of a
difference either way, the committee responded that you just couldn’t leave
carrying ice cream with you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The gun went off and the Chipwich was the first treat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a matter of seconds, the Cactus Kid was
running down the driveway with nearly the entire cookie-ice-cream combo in his
mouth, along with MJ on the lead bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The remaining competitors stared in disbelief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things had gotten serious very quickly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joevonne “The Kid” took off after Russell, but made quick
work of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This pattern would continue
each loop: Joevonne would come in first; Tom would come in second, eat, and
then leave before Joevonne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only
person quicker than Tom in the aid stations was Sweet Chris.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steffen, a race-day entry, was strong from
the get-go, steadily plugging away through the eating and running, despite his
feeling that “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meanwhile, in the JV race, Patrick Hayes was kicking butt
and taking names, flying up and down the hilly course with his son, Karl, in a
jogging stroller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris “The Sheriff”
Porter speculated that the stroller must have been equipped with an engine,
because it seemed like Hayes was being pulled up the hills, he was so smooth
and strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the trash-talking
directed at Patrick before the race motivated his strong performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As was noted at the finish line, “Winners
don’t need to trash talk.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EipFjIBmlV0/WwH297pvELI/AAAAAAAArR8/U8ry1WWUtQMHtu85VpBG7Yn7uCstAHVvgCLcBGAs/s1600/sheila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EipFjIBmlV0/WwH297pvELI/AAAAAAAArR8/U8ry1WWUtQMHtu85VpBG7Yn7uCstAHVvgCLcBGAs/s200/sheila.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheila demolishing her Chipwich.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="height: 327px; margin-left: 442px; margin-top: 415px; mso-ignore: vglayout; position: absolute; width: 245px; z-index: 251662336;"></span><span style="height: 327px; margin-left: 442px; margin-top: 415px; mso-ignore: vglayout; position: absolute; width: 245px; z-index: 251662336;"><br /></span><!--[endif]-->Despite Sheila’s late start (she
arrived 5 minutes after the official start), she pulled off a 2<sup>nd</sup>
place finish in the JV competition, somehow packing away those novelty ice
cream treats in her small frame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had the
race committee been a little stricter, she would have been awarded 1st place,
as Patrick’s son was observed to be eating some of Patrick’s ice cream for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Sheriff held steady at 3<sup>rd</sup>
place in the JV race, and his son Joe and Joe’s girlfriend Lauren brought up
the rear, having downgraded to the JV race so they didn’t feel too ill to
attend prom later that evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
prom daydreams were the cause of their missed turn and off-course excursion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And perhaps, as the Deputy himself commented,
“I need to start training more.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, as
his dad said, “He needs to start training at all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEtlsiqQHR0/WwH2PAhDvJI/AAAAAAAArR0/ihQ6az6uSiglpvwZtSSsNq3jovjOuzDDACEwYBhgL/s1600/pat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEtlsiqQHR0/WwH2PAhDvJI/AAAAAAAArR0/ihQ6az6uSiglpvwZtSSsNq3jovjOuzDDACEwYBhgL/s320/pat2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reason for the asterisk . . . to be fair, it was this or a tantrum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p>Both the varsity and JV racers endured the Chipwich, Klondike
Bar, and Drumstick loops. Varsity
runners continued on to the Snickers, Popsicle, and finally, pint of ice cream
loops. Runners in the varsity
competition pretty much held their positions through the first five loops – Joevonne
in first, Tom in 2<sup>nd</sup>, Steffen in 3<sup>rd</sup>, Chris in 4<sup>th</sup>,
Joe in 5<sup>th</sup>, Mike in 6<sup>th</sup>, and Jason in 7<sup>th</sup>. Everyone knew the race would really come down
to the pint.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The advantage to finishing the 5<sup>th</sup> loop the
fastest was in getting the first pick of pint flavors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joevonne, coming in first, chose vanilla,
thinking the bland taste might be easier to swallow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, his 14-year-old stomach just
didn’t have the same capacity as the bigger guys’, and he admitted defeat
partway through, despite his strong showing up to that point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, both Joevonne and his mom Yvonne
continued the run, taking off for their 6<sup>th</sup> loop after DNFing the
ice cream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One must wonder at their
opinion of the Rockhoppers, this being their first impression of us . . .<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lNsR7oBObd0/WwH2OGov2uI/AAAAAAAArRw/G0KUq8hBTHMq4NB2zO_NKFoEZhaOa0pLgCEwYBhgL/s1600/joe2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lNsR7oBObd0/WwH2OGov2uI/AAAAAAAArRw/G0KUq8hBTHMq4NB2zO_NKFoEZhaOa0pLgCEwYBhgL/s320/joe2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joevonne, still looking strong with his pint . . .</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rJaY4v3zs68/WwH2PLuJh9I/AAAAAAAArRs/yzT9GOkt8nIaLAbXxqH3OoQZi0PxkgiIwCEwYBhgL/s1600/joevonne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="539" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rJaY4v3zs68/WwH2PLuJh9I/AAAAAAAArRs/yzT9GOkt8nIaLAbXxqH3OoQZi0PxkgiIwCEwYBhgL/s320/joevonne.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">. . . and then things took a turn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="page-break-after: avoid;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Bowling came in second from loop 5, and chose strawberry, as
a change for his palate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Third in was
Steffen, who settled on mint chocolate chip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sweet Chris, surrounded by a harem of 3, came in fourth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where things took a turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With all competitors seated and working on
their pints, Bowling was the first to spring out of his chair, looking as
strong as he did on lap 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hushed
silence followed, and as the awe-inspiring Bowling took off on his final loop,
the collective goose bumps of the crowd indicated something truly special was
occurring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The race was over at that
point; Bowling had established himself as the winner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sqtGR94ixzI/WwH3jSiLa4I/AAAAAAAArSI/UqJC_CQQ7PUkWszwMdRnqzwaVeAKjda7gCLcBGAs/s1600/tom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sqtGR94ixzI/WwH3jSiLa4I/AAAAAAAArSI/UqJC_CQQ7PUkWszwMdRnqzwaVeAKjda7gCLcBGAs/s320/tom.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom, with victory in the bag.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back at the aid station, Russell steadily shoveled in his
ice cream. Despite coming in after
Steffen, he took off next. Russell ran
scared the entire loop, pushing hard to each turn so Steffen wouldn’t be able
to see his 6’8” frame. The tactic paid
off, as Steffen figured Chris had an insurmountable lead, and gave in to a
walk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was no surprise to the gathered spectators and recovering JV racers to see Bowling smash the tape at the finish line. (Tom’s finish line comment was, “All right! I lapped Jason!”) There was still speculation about who would be seen next. Lo and behold, it was Sweet Chris, with Steffen following three minutes later. There was some heckling from bystanders that Chris was phoning in his finish – had he “dug deeper,” he would surely have broken 1:40.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ruhlin, who has dominated every Rockhopper eat and run
challenge in which he has participated until now, might have finally met his
match in the ice cream challenge. He
finished in a strong 4<sup>th</sup> place, and was awarded an honorary Rockhopper
t-shirt by Rockhopper swag entrepreneur, Tom Bowling. Perhaps there weren’t enough calories in the
race for Ruhlin, who it is rumored, stopped off at Dairy Queen on his way back
to Austin, to satiate his appetite.<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Schmal, who looked like death from the beginning and talked
about dropping after loop 2, found a second wind and finished the race in 5<sup>th</sup>
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jason, who chose banana nut for
his pint flavor, because “I always eat bananas at aid stations,” finished DFL
in his first eat and run competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(We hope it’s the first of many.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bowling, in interviews after his big win, commented that
this food challenge was easier for him than others have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He credited the ice cream with his strong
running performance, saying, “The sugar fuels your run!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strava data confirms the strength of his
running; he had a sub-8-minute-mile in the second lap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Sheila commented, the big guys – Tom and
Chris – dominated this race; maybe something to do with their proportionally
larger stomachs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Russell’s summation of
the race included the comment that “At least we finally beat Ruhlin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We brought the title home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_x2RSCAI2uY/WwH2PQumpmI/AAAAAAAArR4/iwNyh7PxmtYDzC5-EgtPEsxktWR-9jykwCEwYBhgL/s1600/podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_x2RSCAI2uY/WwH2PQumpmI/AAAAAAAArR4/iwNyh7PxmtYDzC5-EgtPEsxktWR-9jykwCEwYBhgL/s320/podium.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The podium.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p><b>Results</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Varsity</b> (10
miles, 1900 calories)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1<sup>st</sup> place – Tom “Wrong Way” Bowling 1:37:12<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2<sup>nd</sup> place – Chris “Cactus Kid” Russell 1:40:00<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3<sup>rd</sup> place – “The” Steffen Andersland 1:43:00<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4<sup>th</sup> place – Mike “The Ringer” Ruhlin 1:44:30<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5<sup>th</sup> place – Joe “Schmo” Schmal 1:46:02<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
6<sup>th</sup> place – Jason “Spleen” Espalin 1:54:53 DFL<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DNF – Joevonne “The Kid” Juarez (DNF’d the pint; ran all 10
miles) 1:53:34<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DNF – Yvonne “The Shrouded One” Juarez (DNF’d the pint; ran
all 10 miles) 1:53:34<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">JV</b> (5 miles)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1<sup>st</sup> place* -- Patrick “Manpris” Hayes 44:13<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2<sup>nd</sup> place – Sheila “Cowgirl” Pinkson 50:48<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3<sup>rd</sup> place – Chris “The Sheriff” Porter 53:33<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4<sup>th</sup> place – Lauren “Prom Queen” Love 1:26:24<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5<sup>th</sup> place – Joe “The Deputy” Porter 1:26:29<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-68801182583195546172018-04-09T15:07:00.002-07:002018-04-09T15:07:18.523-07:00Open doorsIn my last blog post, I talked about the joys of taking a break. But now it's been a full two months of not training for anything and not running every day. That includes five weeks of running 20 miles or less per week, and I'm starting to get restless. I think there are a few key reasons for this restlessness.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One: Although I have enjoyed getting to do other activities, like yoga and the gym, they are harder to fit in the schedule than running. If I find an extra hour in my day, I can much more easily shove my feet into sneakers and go for a run than look up the yoga class schedule and get myself there, or schedule a session at the gym and drive there. So the last couple weeks I haven't made yoga happen, although I have stuck to my gym routine. But on the whole, I'm doing less activity now than when I was running more consistently. Which leads me to #2 . . .</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Two: I can feel the "freshman (-year-of-marriage) fifteen" creeping up, yet I refuse to sacrifice our marital commitment to Ben & Jerry's pint night (which is every Sunday at our house). So I feel the need to raise my activity level to balance out my Half Baked consumption.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4iDLjY7oeYE/Wsvg3GIFQwI/AAAAAAAAm8s/dJG9kOT0XuIgQoTPrI1T2paQc-ZoQ9LcgCLcBGAs/s1600/half-baked-detail.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="374" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4iDLjY7oeYE/Wsvg3GIFQwI/AAAAAAAAm8s/dJG9kOT0XuIgQoTPrI1T2paQc-ZoQ9LcgCLcBGAs/s320/half-baked-detail.png" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet, sweet Half Baked. I never knew it was possible to eat an entire pint by myself, until I met Joe. Bad Joe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Three: It's kind of a stressful time now, with transitions. Last week I defended my dissertation. This week I'm putting the final touches on formatting and submitting it to the world (via ProQuest). I submitted a letter of resignation to my beloved employer today, and accepted a position elsewhere, which I'm incredibly nervous about. I feel like committing to a training plan might give me some direction and a bit of stress release at this time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I had never put a min. or max. on how long my rest break from running would be. I figured I would just know when I was ready to fully commit again. I hoped that I'd start to itch for running every day, and that would be my sign. I think I'm there now. . . . but if I start again and realize otherwise, I give myself permission to change my mind -- especially since the rest of adult life is decidedly anti-mind-changing, which makes things difficult. (Did I mention my stress over leaving my job??)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In sketching out my training plan for the rest of the month, I decided to start small. Like, really small. I haven't been the same runner who could run a 50k on any given weekend, no problem, for a long time -- like September of last year. I figure it'll take a while to get back there. I haven't chosen a goal race or anything; I just plan to regain consistency and see how it feels. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's my goal for this week:</div>
<div>
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Week</div>
<div>
4 5 4 4 3 3* 3* 26</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
*We'll be traveling to Rhode Island to stay with Joe's aunt; he'll be running the Boston Marathon!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And the rest of the month's weekly totals:</div>
<div>
April 16-22: 30 miles</div>
<div>
April 23-29: 30 miles</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'll see how it goes and adjust accordingly. So far, 4 miles done today on trails made me very happy. I'm actually already looking forward to tomorrow's run, especially since it's become <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1488281197" target="_blank">my weekly trail run with Joe</a>. And because it's always followed by socializing at Freetail Brewery. Yeah, that might have something to do with it.</div>
Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-47663210062096230282018-03-27T08:03:00.001-07:002018-03-27T08:18:38.886-07:00The evolution of a breakIn February, I decided to put the brakes on racing ultras for the time being (despite the fact that I was already registered for two 100k races in March). It was too stressful trying to race at suboptimal fitness and worrying about how these races might affect trying to conceive. And did I mention the suboptimal fitness? My last few races (Cactus, Bandera, Tarawera) had not gone well. I hadn’t felt good during them, and I hate the feeling of not doing well at races. <div><br></div><div>So although I wouldn’t say I used the family planning as an excuse to cover my real reason for taking a break from ultras — I don’t think that was the case — I will say that the timing worked out for the best. It’s the right time for a break from racing. It’s a decision I should have made after I DNF’d at Cactus. Or after not feeling great at Bandera. But I might never have made that decision if not for the other excuse. <div><br></div><div>At the end of October, after I took a DNF at a race I’ve always said was my favorite ultra of the year, Joe told me he thought I was burned out. He suggested that doing Tahoe 200 and J&J 100k so close together may have resulted in me just being plain tired, and said maybe I needed a break. So I took one, not racing in November or December, but I refused to believe I was burned out, and I continued to train as usual (which is to say, not well, but consistently).</div><div><br></div><div>During this time, I ran into my friend Edward on a run, and he said the same thing as Joe — that maybe I was burned out and needed to take a break. But like, a real break. Once again, I refused to listen to someone who knew me better than I knew myself. </div><div><br></div><div>Ultimately, I couldn’t make the decision to take a full-stop break from racing until it was no longer just about my running performance, but about someone — the possibility of a someone — besides myself. <br><div><br></div><div>When I made that decision in February, I was planning to continue running as usual. That next week, Strava shows I did 61 miles. The following two weeks I ran 35-40 miles a week. Definitely not up to my usual weekly mileage, but still decent. I went in and changed my “weekly goal” in Strava to 45 miles. And my intention was to continue in that manner. </div><div><br></div><div>But the week after that, I finally realized that this is the perfect time to take a break from the stress of meeting any weekly mileage goals. Now would be the time to do those yoga classes I’ve been wanting to do, enjoy hiking and biking, and go to the gym more often. All those things I’d never have time for when all my free exercise time goes toward trying to hit a weekly mileage goal. </div><div><br></div><div>So that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s been great, and somehow I’m already in my fourth week of this running break. My running mileage these last three weeks has only been in the teens. I’m not sure how long I’ll continue the break. Maybe until I start to miss running every day. Maybe that’s the best signal that I’ve turned the corner from burnout and I’m renewed and ready to begin training again. </div></div><div><br></div><div>When I do start training again, I’m thinking about doing something Joe Prusaitis recommended to me a few years ago, at the lodge in Bandera. To choose a goal race, and legitimately train for it. What a concept. I’m excited to try that out, as opposed to just racing an ultra every month and running during the week with no specific plan or intentionality in mind. </div><div><br></div><div>My other motivation will be to prepare for a R2R2R trip with the Rockhoppers in late September. It will be my second time, and Joe’s first. I figure, if we aren’t able to have a kid, at least I’ll have adventures like this to look forward to. A consolation prize, of sorts. Our last R2R2R trip was a blast, and it would be exciting to do it again with Joe. </div></div><div><br></div><div>Life is good. </div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_8e7a_fdaf_e384_3199" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D7oGcyXf6p0/WrpdRFU_bKI/AAAAAAAAm4U/VqjqKYrt06MUrh0wVC1a_iNut6bqsQe6gCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br>R2R2R 2014<br><img id="id_5e3d_4000_16eb_5a7a" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VUdK0nxMj6U/WrpdQ1PwjfI/AAAAAAAAm4Q/zfYDbDRAmqYAyvzBOwkDeXR_57Ms76UNgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br>Ribbon Falls, R2R2R detour<br><img id="id_bfd8_fbd6_c3fe_f152" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V5m4aiYrhFc/WrpdRMUbQ-I/AAAAAAAAm4Y/DfDhmMsu2JwPxw3bYLs6Cqhs28d_czbPACHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br>Rest break on the North Rim<br><br></div><div><br></div>Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-69898659826187861412018-02-10T10:10:00.001-08:002018-02-10T12:28:27.993-08:00Tarawera 62k (Alternate title: Bighorn 2: Bighorn’s Revenge)We came to New Zealand as our “engagement trip” (i.e., the trip we paid for using the money we saved by not getting an engagement ring), and we decided to do a race as long as we were here. Joe had never heard of the Tarawera Ultra before, but I had, and was eager to check it out. <div><br></div><div><img id="id_c895_9578_9fcf_c80e" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kp-XF1MD2Fk/Wn9UaSbzcmI/AAAAAAAAidI/uzyTgXCfInQZkdDB56dprxjJ8sIv_g1BQCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br>Joe at packet pick-up, before his weigh-in <br><div><br></div><div>We had both registered for the 102k distance, but as the race approached, I was really nervous about doing it. As Katie Grossman put it so well in her recent article (I don’t know how to insert a link using this app, so here it is: <a href="https://www.trailsisters.net/2018/01/18/the-choice/">https://www.trailsisters.net/2018/01/18/the-choice/</a>), I’m trying lately to make my body a friendly, hospitable environment in case someone else would like to take up residence there for nine months. Running 102k in the pouring rain, in the mountains, with 10,000ft vertical gain, didn’t seem conducive to that. </div><div><br></div><div>The day before the race, as I stressed about it and Joe and I talked about it, he encouraged me to try to separate it into two decisions: decide first whether you don’t want to do the race because it’s going to be a miserable suffer-fest in the rain, separately from whether you don’t want to do it because it might impact conceiving this month. But I couldn’t separate the two; it was BECAUSE it was going to be a strenuous muddy suffer-fest, in the chilly rain all day, that I was especially worried. I decided to ask at the expo whether I could drop down to the 62k, and then I’d feel better about it. Happily, they did let me, no hassle at all, and I felt so relieved. </div><div><br></div><div>Come race day, however, it was impressed upon me how prideful and silly it was to think that running 62k (40 miles, according to my Garmin) with about 6,000ft of vertical gain, in the rain and slippery mud (AHH! Bighorn flashbacks!) would be comfortable. I had thought, going into it, that I’d just keep a conversational pace, and manage my food and drink intake, and my body wouldn’t be too stressed. But it seems I’m just not able to keep control well enough in an ultra. Over the course of the race, I ran out of calories between aid stations that were 10 miles apart, became light-headed, got my heart rate up really high on the long climbs where I kept sliding backwards in the mud, and just generally felt exhausted. I also suffered through anterior tib pain whenever I dorsiflexed or plantar-flexed, as well as a sting or bite from some exotic New Zealand insect that stung like a mother****** for a few hours—but I can deal with those things; it’s the general exhaustion and stress on my body that caused me even more stress during the race, as I thought about the consequences for our chances of conception this month. </div><div><br></div><div>Despite this psychological stress, however, the race certainly had its bright spots. It was really well-organized. Joe and I easily stepped into a bus that took us to his starting line, and I was able to cheer for him when he started. Then I easily stepped into another his that took me to my starting line. (Both races were point-to-point and ended back in Rotorua.) I also <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">got to see an impressive Maori war dance before my start.</span></div><div><br></div><img id="id_432b_b521_dc3_709f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9AQbsFYiF_M/Wn9UaHz2ByI/AAAAAAAAidE/42tce5IQ7hofxcENvBFLPRk8Sw3MqoaFACHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><div> Maori war dance we saw the day before the race</div><div><br></div><div>Passing by the roaring Tarawera Falls and several beautiful lakes were other highlights, as were the enormous redwood trees and lush ferns all around. The scenery throughout the race was spectacular. (The only drawback to the nice scenery was in the last 3-4 kilometers, when we ran through beautiful thermal areas, with smoke billowing from the ground. The smell seemed beyond the usual sulfuric nastiness you’d expect near a geyser. It smelled like sulfur mixed with rotten garbage and diarrhea. Maybe it was just because I was already a bit queasy, but I had to stop running and plug my nose. I felt like I could barely breathe and my gag reflex started up. The finish line couldn’t come soon enough!)</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_f6c_552c_d819_2a9" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M04t81Vsn_o/Wn9UeDKQTbI/AAAAAAAAidQ/fz_J0OZdNTw68H-FD__W8RFlVsla6jpIwCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br>The scenic (and smelly) thermal areas in Rotorua. </div><div><br></div><div>I had been looking forward to observing any differences between the races I’ve done in the U.S. and this, my first international race. One observation was that there was very little in the way of portable food at the aid stations. There were no gels or chews or anything packaged, and the sandwiches and brownies they had got soggy in between aid stations. (The brownies were delicious, though.) Joe accidentally took a Marmite sandwich at one aid station — a costly mistake. </div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_51b8_2c1e_42d6_a47f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vdciwJOj5yg/Wn9Ub-AWBAI/AAAAAAAAidM/p3I-wY6Y3vUc4MTvzqAF6ftznG2CQRpFQCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br>(I tried some at breakfast the other day. Blech!)</div><div><br></div><div>I also got to see Joe twice—because the 62k cuts off a bit of a loop, Joe was able to pass me twice. He looked so good. Honestly, the first time he passed me, I was a little upset that he didn’t have the decency to look as miserable as I felt. He seemed quite chipper, in fact. By the time I saw him the second time, his attitude was slightly more appropriate for a difficult 102k. Still, despite running 40k (24 or so miles) more than me, with only an hour head start, he still beat me to the finish line. </div><div><br></div><div>Joe ran me in to the finish, and I’m sure we made a funny pair—me with my limp from anterior tib pain, and him barely recovered from finishing his race strong. They announced something about each person as they finished, and ours was that we were on our honeymoon—or runningmoon, as they put it. Both race directors gave us a big hug. It was a great finish atmosphere. We walked over to a bench away from the crowds and shared our race stories with one another. I love that we can relate so well to what the other experienced, since we’re both out there in the same terrain and conditions. </div><div><br></div><div>This experience really changed my mind, from thinking that I can keep running 50ks while we’re trying to conceive, to realizing that I want to be more in control of what I’m experiencing, and I want to minimize the stress to my body at this time. So Tarawera will be the last race I do for a while. After we’re done trying, or after we have kids, then, of course, I’ll go back to destroying my body with this silly sport. (Habanero, anyone?)</div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-58712965879283315252018-01-17T17:36:00.003-08:002018-01-17T17:40:28.283-08:00Tarawera Countdown: T Minus 3.5 Weeks (and a bonus story about peeing)So, four weeks out from the Tarawera 100k, Joe and I finally decided to check out the course profile.<br />
<br />
I wouldn't have thought of it myself, but Joe started asking questions like, "Do you think it's really hilly?" and when I realized I had no clue, I relented and opened the course website. My web browser informed me that I had "Last visited" the race website on July 29 -- probably the day we bought our plane tickets, when we visited the page to check the date of the race. Yeah, we are pretty bad at preparation.<br />
<br />
It turns out the race has about 10,000 feet of elevation gain. And I think I mentioned in my last post that it was all I could do to finish 50k at Bandera a couple weeks ago. I took some comfort in the FAQ page of the Tarawera race website.<br />
<br />
Here's an excerpt:<br />
<strong style="background-color: #e0e0e0; color: #333333; font-family: Raleway, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Q: I am not sure if I can do this ..</strong><br />
<span style="background-color: #e0e0e0; color: #333333; font-family: "raleway" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">A: That’s the whole point. This is not designed to be an event that you know with certainly you can finish. It is designed to be an adventure that will push many of you to run further than you have before. If you have completed a marathon previously, you are well on track to finish any distance of the Tarawera Ultra. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"Oh good! I've completed a marathon! I'm 'well on track,' Joe!"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #e0e0e0; color: #333333; font-family: "raleway" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">If you have successfully completed an event like the Kepler Challenge, a half Ironman or Coast to Coast, the 102km ultra-distance is well within your grasp. You’ll still have to train diligently though. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Oh, wait. They say I have to train diligently."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #e0e0e0; color: #333333; font-family: "raleway" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">If you have a history of tramping in the hills and have strong legs and endurance, you should be able to complete any of the ultra distances, even with little running background.</span><br />
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"'Little running background!' Maybe I can do this!"<br />
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My hopes and doubts about finishing keep roller-coastering just like that, even when I'm not reading the helpful race website. Joe assures me I'll definitely be able to finish in under the 24-hour cutoff -- which brings on a whole new wave of fear. Being out there for 24 hours? That sounds terrible! This is our vacation. Death marches don't belong on vacations! But then again, I think I could stand not having any more DNFs in this lifetime. So there's that for motivation.<br />
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I'll leave you with a terrible story:<br />
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When we were car camping in the field at Bandera a couple weeks ago, Joe and I both had to pee before going to sleep, and we were both unwilling to walk all the way to the port-a-potties. Joe decided to wait until it was dark enough outside and then pee outside. I didn't feel like waiting, so naturally, I peed in a bag, and then put the bag outside the car where it wouldn't stink it up all night.<br />
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Of course, I was planning to throw it away the next day; I emptied it out the next morning before the race but hadn't gotten around to throwing it away . . . and then when I went to move the car later that day, to move it closer to the finish line so Joe wouldn't have to walk so far, I approached the car from the driver's side and so didn't see or think about the bag on the ground at the passenger side. I realized the next day the horror of what I had done -- I littered Hill Country State Natural Area with a pee-bag -- and someone else had to throw away my pee bag! I've been trying to restore karma ever since, by picking up any litter that I see. And I'll obviously need to keep doing this until the end of time in order to atone for my misdeed.<br />
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To make matters even worse, I had said to Joe when I realized that I left it there, "I can never tell anyone this story, because the person I tell it to might be the very person who had to pick it up and throw it away!" But then a week later, it dawned on me that the bag I used was the one Rob Goyen had given me, full of TROT swag . . . and he had written my name on the outside of the bag. So, whoever had to pick up and throw away my pee-bag knew exactly whose pee-bag they were handling! And that, my friends, is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-5908862698904467022018-01-07T13:35:00.002-08:002018-01-07T13:35:46.997-08:00New Year - New Goals<a href="http://runningasprayer.blogspot.com/2017/11/reviewing-my-running-goals-2017.html" target="_blank">Last month</a> I reviewed my 2017 running goals and ruminated on my lack of success in achieving them. My goals for 2018 are more process-oriented than performance-oriented, and are designed with my peace and happiness in mind, rather than my ultrasignup results:<div>
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1. Run with Joe at least once a week <i>when able-bodied</i>. (Joe suggested I add those last 3 words as a qualifier, so I don't miss my goal if I have an injury, etc. Very wise.)</div>
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2. Run on trails at least once a week. <i>2 mulligans</i>. (Again, Joe's suggestion, to make sure it's an achievable goal.)</div>
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3. Race a new distance/format. (e.g., 6-hour, 12-hour, last man standing)</div>
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4. Earn Cactus 500 jacket. (For reals this time.)</div>
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I'm still considering the addition of a 5th goal:</div>
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5. Get back to running one ultra per month.</div>
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I go back and forth about this one. When I ran one ultra per month (pretty much 2013-summer 2017, it ensured I had a good, long training run every month. Now that I haven't been racing regularly, I haven't been doing *any* long runs. This is bad for my conditioning, as my efforts at the Bandera 50k yesterday showed. It was hard to realize that I couldn't conceive of doing another lap out there, when I used to run the Bandera 100k and feel good doing it. I really want to get back in ultramarathon shape again.</div>
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On the flip side, it's easy to fall into the trap of racing too often, and losing consistency since every other week becomes either a taper week or a recovery week. I guess the sweet spot would be doing races but not pushing so hard that I'm unable to continue running consistently the week after. Maybe that's what I'll shoot for. So a tentative goal #5.</div>
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Speaking of Bandera, Joe had an amazing race. He earned 7th place overall in the USATF National Championship. In the last stretch of the race, he passed a runner who turned out to be John Kelly -- the guy who finished Barkley last year! We both talked to him after the race, and I had no idea who I was talking to. Other highlights of the day included seeing Mario Mendoza breeze into the finish to clinch his hard-earned victory, getting to hang out with Travis, Paul, Rob, and so many of our friends, finishing my first race since late September (yikes!), and chatting with Myke Hermsmeyer, who took this awesome photo of Joe:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fn9dU8yE3es/WlKRYrfatpI/AAAAAAAAhvg/oSonnSrLFH8Sk90PVaibiT2jGc0DPeepQCLcBGAs/s1600/Joe%2Brunning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1600" height="181" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fn9dU8yE3es/WlKRYrfatpI/AAAAAAAAhvg/oSonnSrLFH8Sk90PVaibiT2jGc0DPeepQCLcBGAs/s320/Joe%2Brunning.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PC: Myke Hermsmeyer</td></tr>
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Our next adventure together will be Tarawera 100k in February. In the meantime, I'll be working on accomplishing those first couple goals. I'm also thinking of doing the Trail Racing over Texas 54k in Tyler, TX (Run the Rose) in three weeks. I need more long runs!</div>
Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767737592075018035.post-1503994247212619232017-11-20T14:59:00.001-08:002017-11-20T14:59:15.645-08:00Reviewing my running goals: 2017It's getting to that time of year again for reviewing this year's goals and setting goals for the new year. In December 2016, Joe and I sat down and wrote out our running goals for 2017. Joe wrote 6 goals for himself . . . and went on to achieve every single one of them.<br />
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I, on the other hand . . . achieved precisely ONE out of my seven goals. That's a whopping 14.3%. In school, this would equate to an F. A very low F.<br />
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Here were my goals, along with some post-failure commentary:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Finish HURT smiling</span> <span style="color: red;">Despite my smiles, I did not finish HURT. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Finish second Hard Rock qualifier</span> <span style="color: red;">It wasn't pretty, but I did it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Sub-9 @ Wild Hare or Hells Hills</span> <span style="color: red;">Hmm. Didn't run Wild Hare; finished Hells Hills in 10:34. I'm sure I had a good excuse. :) </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Win Ultra series for Texas Trail Running Championship</span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: red;">Nerp.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Earn Cactus 500 jacket</span> <span style="color: red;">Nerp.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. Sub 24 @ Cactus</span> <span style="color: red;">DNF'd after 50 miles.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "roboto slab" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. Win 5th 60k CK series overall</span> <span style="color: red;">Only ran 2 of the 4 races this summer.</span><br />
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My most recent race was the Cactus 100. I seriously had a Forrest Gump moment early on in the first loop. This was me, minus the beard:<br />
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During the race, I flashed back to a comment from a fellow runner during the Tahoe 200 in September. He said that after Tahoe he would never do another run that didn't end during the daylight, so that he could sleep in his own bed that night. Running Cactus -- a race I've always counted among my favorites -- I suddenly realized I wanted to sleep in my own bed that night, too. I simply had no desire to keep going. I made myself run to mile 50, and then I turned in my chip, changed clothes, and went on to crew for Joe. And he's so fast that we were both home and asleep by midnight. My only regret is that I didn't sign up for the 50-mile race in the first place. If I had, not only would I not be labeled a DNF, but I would also have gotten 2nd place female and some points for the Rockhoppers in the Texas Championship Series. C'est la vie.<br />
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After Cactus, I decided I needed a break. I've kept doing race after race -- Reveille Peak Ranch, Tahoe 200, J&J, Cactus, with no real training in between. Strava shows me the grim truth -- weeks with 25-35 miles of running, because I was either recovering from an ultra, or tapering for an ultra. It's always been like that, to an extent, since I started running ultras, but this recent trend is even worse than usual. I vowed after my Cactus DNF that I would actually train for my next race, Bandera 100k. So that's what I've been doing these last few weeks -- *actually* training. Like, actually setting my alarm and waking up early to run before work, and actually doing double-digit training runs by myself. It's been ages since I've done things like that. I'm starting to kind of, sort of feel like a real runner again.<br />
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I don't know if I'll be in good enough shape to do a decent job at Bandera. But I hope that I can set goals for that race, and for all my races next year, that I'm really excited about achieving. It's too easy, clearly, to become burned out like I've done this year. One fortunate thing is that the huge life stressor -- the annulment question -- has been removed, and that constant cloud of anxiety and sadness that's been hovering over me for so long has gone away. Another fortunate thing is that, despite my lackluster performances of late, Team TROT has renewed my membership; I'm so fortunate to be part of that team of all-stars. I sure hope I can do them proud next year. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team TROT superstars . . . and me!</td></tr>
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<br />Julie Schmalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06707212186875934424noreply@blogger.com0