Rumblings

Pre-Race

Strong finish

Words of wisdom from Ultra Grand Slammer Drew Meyer:

If you're being chased by a sweaty crew
So that you could become trail stew
And your pace is too fast
To let them get past
Just stop to tie either shoe

Thanksgiving with Friends

Have I mentioned that I have the most amazing friends in the world? Nancy had the incredible idea of getting everyone together for a Thanksgiving potluck. She bought a 20 lb. turkey and made the best Thanksgiving bird I've ever had. The rest of us brought side dishes or desserts.

There was also a dress code. Nancy gave us the option: either we could dress classy (aka. the guys couldn't wear basketball shorts) or we had to come dressed up as pilgrims and Indians.

Here is Amy, our wonderful hostess, with my beautiful roommate, Diana.

After dinner, we headed up to the roof of Amy's town home and had a dance party! We did everything from the Cuban Shuffle to cha-cha and salsa to two-stepping. For me, it was a much needed break from school.

Rumble Report

I had a good race today!

After getting to bed a little past midnight, my morning started at a strikingly early 5:30am. I fumbled my way around the apartment, thankful that I had laid everything out the night before.

I decided to drop down from the 30K to the 15K, which turned out to be a good thing. I knew the course would be long (trail runs are always longer than what is marked), but the 18.6 mi/30K was actually 21.2 mi! Needless to say, I was happy with my 9.3 mi/15K (which was actually 9.9 mi).

We had absolutely beautiful running weather and the trails were in perfect condition despite yesterday's rain. I started the race off in the front of the pack for some reason. By the time we got into the woods, I realized I was leading a group of about 20 people. My dad had given me the challenge of running negative splits (run the second half faster than the first), but I had to push the pace with 20 people on my heels. I thought it was pretty funny when I nearly ate it, tripping over a covert tree stump. Around mile 2, about 12 of them passed me; shortly after, I "stopped to tie my shoe" so that I could have the trail to myself.

When I woke up this morning, I had a protein shake and 1/2 of a balance bar. These didn't go down too well and I had a stitch in my side most of the first half. I had to walk several times, but by the turnaround I had found my rhythm. They refilled my water bottle at the aid station and then I was just cruising!

I got lost in the woods - metaphysically speaking. Every now and then I would pass or be passed, but during the second half I simply reveled in the delight of trail running. I kept a steady pace and only walked up a few steep hills. It warmed up by the end, so I managed to take off my long-sleeve shirt and transfer my race number to my base layer, which took quite a bit of concentration at that point.

The Rumble's race finish consists of climbing up a set of steep stairs. The race is a tribute to America's veterans, so the stairs were lined with U.S. flags and patriotic signs. "No matter what," I thought, "I have to finish strong and run up those stairs." Thankfully, by the end I still had the energy to do so. What made it even better was that my dad was the one on the mic who announced my finish. "And here is #379, Katie Ryan, finishing her first Rumble!"


What a great run. I finished with even splits (right at 2hrs), ate Pam's red beans & rice afterward, and didn't even have to see Brian Blenden puke on the trail (sorry, inside joke)!

Success.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

I'm getting psyched up for the Rumble this Saturday. I did Yasso 800s on Friday and am planning to do it again before the run. I'm not doing a marathon, but Yasso 800s are supposedly a good predictor of your marathon time.

Basically, you run 800m several times with 400m cool downs in between. You then convert your average minute:second time into hours:minutes in order to predict your marathon time. For example, I averaged 4 min 10 seconds for the 800s, so theoretically my marathon time would be 4 hours 10 minutes. I would be stoked to do that well. I'm hoping to break 4 hours this Sat for 19 miles, so we'll see...

Here's a throwback to the '90s. That's right - Jock Jams. You remember how awesome it is.