Running with Tonks

The Valkyrie Trail Race offered lots of different distances utilizing various loops in Cheyenne Mountain State Park.  It has been on my Race Bucket List for years but the elevation gain always intimidated me.  Well after I finished the Rattler 50k in April, I thought why not?! So, I signed up for the Valkyrie 50k on May 20th.  I also signed up because there was a chance I would get a puppy after school got out and I would be off of distance running for a while.  Why not squeeze in one more challenge before summer vacation? The 50k course was big loop, little loop (soon to be known as the mud loop), big loop, little loop and little loop again.  They were very smart with their aide station placements because where they put the aide station in the big loop actually allowed runners to see it twice while out there.  Runners then ran to the aide station near the start/finish line and headed out on the little loop.             ...

The Rattler 50k is located at Palmer Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  The race website states, “Even though the course does not have much vertical gain, it will test runners with its technical trails.” This description I find incredibly subjective. It's like meeting up with a new run friend for the first time and they say I'm so sorry I'm so slow right now: I am only running about ** minute miles… when in reality that's your Tempo pace and you panic a little wondering if you will be able to keep up.  “Not much vertical gain” …sheesh!!! The Rattler covers 3838 feet of gain in 31 miles. Yes, I have done other races similar and I have even completed Bears Ears 50k which had almost 7000 ft of gain. The problem is, I like to tell people that I am “emotionally allergic” to climbing.  Often I will break out in cries about make-believe hives while going uphill.  Well December Erica, who we will now refer to as BERICA, decided it would be a good idea to tackle climbing th...

  Ok before I get into actual race day, a bit of background info: 1. This school year is....hmmm, what's the best word suitable for the internet?  Challenging.  Since going back to in-person school in January, I have not run during the week.  My training consisted of my weekend long runs and my Monday strength class. 😳 2.  After my last big event, I bought new shoes.  I run in Hokas, Stintson for trail and Arahi for road.  I saw how much cushion there was in the Bondi so I switched back to them for the road. (I had run in Bondis about 2 years back.) During February and March my Achilles started bothering me more and more.  I typically battle Achilles tendinitis off and on and they usually are angry the day after 15+ miles.  However by late March, my Achilles were bothering me DURING runs.  I finally made the connection to the shoes. Maaaybe it was the shoes.  So I didn't wear them for two weeks while resting the Achilles. Then I t...

Bringing up the rear. Lucky Last. DFL. The Red Lantern Award. However you put it, I was the last person to cross the finish line on Saturday.  This was my first time  being chased by cutoffs and to be honest, it is NOT a good feeling.  What WAS a good feeling?  Crossing that finish line was pretty f***ing fantastic. Bears Ears Ultra 54k by Mad Moose Events. Like most industries, COVID has not been kind to the running world.  COVID reared its ugly head at the start of our usual season shutting down all of our events.  When I saw the post that Utah gave MadMoose permission (with many restrictions) to put on the inaugural Bears Ears 54k and 30k, I got super excited.  I was desperate for a real, in-person event.  I signed up almost immediately. I usually choose my big events meticulously by making comparison charts and taking my time with the decision.  Now here is the funny part.  If you know me, you know I like trail running ...