Even though I’ve been back in the work force for three full-time years, and am currently working part time (about 25-30 hours a week) I still find myself adjusting to the pace of the work world. I guess after 20 years of working on a part-time basis (only about 6-9 hours a week) and being a full-time stay-at-home wife and homeschooling Mom, a slower daily rhythm became ingrained in my soul.

As much as I love my new job, I miss quiet mornings at home. I like a slow start to the day, I like empty stores and streets (which are easily found around 9 am), I like getting everything done around the house by noon and having the afternoon stretch ahead of me. Now, since I have admitted to being a morning person, it should be obvious that having a work schedule that begins around 7:30 and ends around somewhere between 12:00 and 1:30 means that I am in my work world at my peak performance time. That’s a good thing. But it also means that I’m at my peak lazy time when I get home. It’s awfully easy to talk myself out of chores, or errands, or class-prep or grading or Pilates or even another run.

I know how incredibly lucky I am to be able to work part time, and I am not complaining at all. In fact, I love my job and would jump at the chance to work full time. Really, it’s more that I am a homebody at heart – I could hang around the house for days on end, with an occasional foray out to the world for food and books and visits with friends, and be very happy. I also realize that all of the things I’ve described are probably on the wish list of everyone who works full time. Maybe what I feel is a simple longing for days gone by, when the boys were little and we were all home together.

So, even though I expected to be adjusted to a new daily pace after more than three years, I find I still need quiet, slow days at home, days where I can move at my own easy tempo. I find myself building easy days into every month to keep myself centered – this weekend is one of them. I’m looking forward to it.

As I think about this, it becomes apparent to me that my running rhythm matches my natural life rhythm: slow and easy. And maybe that’s why I like small marathons – smaller, friendlier crowds. Funny, the more I think about it, the more I realize that running is an echo of my life – built in rest days each week, high mileage for a couple weeks, then a low mileage, easy week…I wonder which is a reflection of which? Life echoes running or running echoes life? It doesn’t really matter because whichever way it is, it works for me!

My favorite passage from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran:

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.”

And he said: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Every so often, this passage floats into my mind and I have to go read it again. It reminds me of an important concept, that the lives of my children are theirs to live. In fact, the only life I can live is my own. I gladly share my life with others, and they share theirs with me, but still, I can only really live mine. Tonight, I’ve been in search of thoughts about teaching, searching for something profound to share with my students. I turned to The Prophet to see what was there, and although the passage was good, I was once again drawn to the thoughts about children. My mind turned away from teaching, back to the core of my adult life, to family and parenting and children. And that lead me to my other favorite passage, another that I read and reread faithfully:

Then Almitra spoke again and said, “And what of Marriage, master?”

And he answered saying: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days. Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

Beautiful words to ponder, to live by. Words that reach deep inside me, that resonate within me. Words I will read again and again.

I ran one lap in this outfit, then I gladly stuffed it back in my bag!

We had a great run up in Bellingham yesterday. It was pretty stormy the night before, with high winds and buckets of rain, and the forecast was for showers. Instead, we got a beautiful, sunny fall day – slightly breezy, but sunny and dry. This marathon was the same course as last summer’s Wild Thing (the one where we wore dresses and performed a task at the end of each loop. This time there were no tasks, but there were costumes). It’s ten 2.6 mile loops around Lake Padden, mostly on a wide gravel trail with lots of rolling hills. I decided to experiment a little, since it was a looped course. I normally do a 4/1 run/walk at marathons. I decided to see how far I could go on my typical training pace of 9/1 run/walk. I figured it was no big deal if I burned out and had to walk, and a low-key, fun marathon was the place to give it a try.

I ran seven loops (18.2 miles) using the 9/1 pacing. By that time I was starting to get tired so I switched over to 4/1. The first 5.5 loops I ran alone, then Eric joined me for the back half of my sixth loop. Just as I was heading out of the aid station, I saw Abi coming in – she’d arrived at the marathon late and had been trying to catch up with me. I was pretty far ahead of her in terms of loops because I started an hour and 15 minutes early and she started a half hour late. She planned to run with me for my remaining loops, then finish up on her own. On our first loop together I noticed the pop machine by one of the restrooms and commented that I’d love to have a coke right then. Next time through the aid station, Abi came running out with a fistful of dollars, so we picked up a Pepsi from the machine – absolute heaven on earth. I swear, it was the best thing I ever had in my life! The sugary Pepsi revived me and gave me new energy for my last loops. I finished in 5:48 – not bad for a hilly trail type course with lots of stops at the aid station.

After the marathon, we headed to my parents for a home cooked meal and to spend the night. Eric cooked us all breakfast this morning, then while he watched half a football game with my Dad, my Mom and I laid plans for Thanksgiving and caught up on our assorted and large family. We had an easy drive home, capping off a wonderful weekend.

Eric as a “man on the run” and me after one lap in costume.

Emu by the trail. Photo by Eric.

Photo by Eric

Mt. Rainier photo by George K.

Another mountain shot by George K.

The Carbon River runs next to the trail. Photo by George K.

Walk break. Photo by George K.

Rick, Me, Jessica Photo by George K.

The Y Runners. Photo by George K.

Post-run coffee. Photo by George K.

As long as it doesn’t snow! Here is my current race plan, designed to get me to 52 combined marathons and ultras by my 52nd birthday on January 2nd.

I didn’t want to do the triple this year (three marathons in three days – did it last year and I’m calling that good), didn’t want to do a double (two marathons in two days – did that last year too, good on that one too!) Instead I’ll do two in two weeks – that’ll give my getting-older bones a chance to rest. Last year we ran the entire 26 miles of the Flatass in frozen snow, and about four miles of First Call in snow (plus we did the same at the Last Chance the day before). I have no desire to repeat those experiences, so I’m hanging on to the option to bail out on snowy courses. Though I’d like to hit 52 at 52, it’s just not that important to me. The prediction is for a warm winter, so maybe it won’t be a problem. We’ll see.

The only plan I have for after the first of the year is to run the entire 24 hours of Pac Rim. I don’t have a training plan laid out, I’ll work on that later…

I’ve been a little tired since Portland, fought off a short-lived cold and have kept up with Pilates and running and work. And, I’m back on my healthy and sane eating plan. It’s all good around here!

Joe and I at Starbucks on Saturday.

I think that’s Joe in the famous yellow singlet in the middle of the pack – start of race.

Me, start of race.

Jessica and Rob

Jessica and I, about 10K in.

Me, Margaret and Jessica, not sure where.

Abi and Rick

Jessica and Rob

Jessica, me, Margaret, about mile 21? Not really sure about that.

I rested Monday and Tuesday, then ran Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and night and today, using the marathon to boost my mileage for the week to 50.5. Gotta take advantage of the long run when I can.
Oh, I forgot to tell you about the worst moment of the marathon. Does anyone remember my porta-potty story from a couple years ago? Where I dropped my gloves in the suspicious puddle on the floor? Well, this one is worse. I went in to what had to be the single most disgusting porta-potty on the course. The kind I would normally turn around and walk right out of. But there was no line…and I hate waiting in line mid-race. So I stayed in it, setting my water bottle on top of the toilet paper dispenser, where it promptly slid off and hit the floor, spout first. I was totally grossed out and all I could think about was having to carry the nasty thing for 20 more miles. I decided I’d try to clean it by squirting the hand sanitizer all over it and rubbing it down. Once we were back on the street, I couldn’t force myself to drink from it. I squeezed some water out into my cupped palm and tried to wash it some more. Still couldn’t bring myself to drink from it. At the next water station, I grabbed a cup and poured it all over the lid. This whole time, I’m fretting about it and Jessica is laughing at me. Finally I decided I had to take the plunge – I took a big swig. I continued to drink from it for the rest of the day, warning everyone that I was likely to become deathly ill soon. So far, it’s been an entire week and I’m still healthy. Guess I’ve got a pretty sturdy immune system after all!

Finally, be sure to check out Joe’s blog for some more great pictures.

Portland Marathon 2006 was my first marathon, making last Sunday’s race my third anniversary of marathoning. Portland Marathon 2009 was marathon #37, and #47 if you add in ultras. I’m counting down to #50, and thinking about trying to hit 52 by my 52nd birthday on January 2nd. That goal flexes on a daily basis depending on how energetic I feel.

I had a fantastic marathon weekend – coffee with the running club Saturday morning, the drive down with Eric right after, visiting with friends at the expo, stopping by Bob Dolphin’s 80th birthday party (where he also celebrated the running of his 452nd marathon!) and a wonderful visit and coffee with Joe at Starbucks. We followed that busy afternoon with a quiet evening with Margaret at her Portland condo, a great home-cooked meal and a good night’s sleep.

After some debate, we decided to have Eric drive us down to the start. The bummer was we got there just after security guards were posted and Eric wasn’t allowed to enter the start corral area with us. Jenny and Sonya got there just before that happened, so they got to wait with us. Margaret and I met up with Rick, Abi, Jessica, Rob and his wife, also Jessica, plus another local friend. We chatted with several Maniacs and huddled together to stay warm.

The marathon went very well for me – cool weather and solid pacing really helps. Jessica, Margaret and I stuck together for the entire race. My only slight issue was with fueling. I didn’t manage it quite as well as I could have and started feeling the lack of energy at mile 23. I kept plugging away though and stepped across the finish at 5:37, my best time so far for 2009. I had a major drop in energy immediately following the race, but that was fixed up with a black bean burger and fries shortly after. Altogether a wonderful weekend!

On a sad note, Eric and I had to take our sweet cat, Charlotte, in for the final good-bye last Friday afternoon. She was 14 years old, a major part of our family and our boy’s childhood. Charlotte spent many a homeschooling day in special castles, nests and tents built for her by the boys, or curled up beside them while they studied, occasionally listening to read-alouds, or listening to all the secrets little boys have to tell. It was hard for us to let go, hard to say good-bye, but her kidneys were shutting down and there was no other option. It is simply the price we pay to share our lives with beloved pets. We will miss her.

Now, to end on a much happier note, I absolutely love everything about my new work with the college and Eric is just as happy with his new job. It is exciting to go into work each morning, to watch the growth and development of both my little and big students. The beginning of the quarter rush has settled down and we are all finding our rhythm. Life is really, really good!

Wednesday is the first day of fall quarter and I am submerged in prep for my new classes. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned what it is I’ll be doing this fall, so I’ll fill you in. I’ll be a part time professor in the Early Childhood Ed department, on our other campus. I’m going to be teaching the practicum course, which means working with five student teachers and 20 preschoolers in our lab school. The preschoolers will remain in class for all three quarters, the student teachers will rotate through, five each quarter. In addition I’ll teach one parenting class to the parents of the enrolled preschoolers.

Mentoring and working with adult students on lesson prep and delivery, on classroom management, planning a rich and inviting environment, observations and parent conferences, building professional portfolios, understanding the guidance and development of young children. Working with three to five year old students, helping them explore their world, experience rich and satisfying explorations in math, science, art, music, dramatic play, literacy and the big outdoors. I have landed what has to be the most rewarding and fun job imaginable – I am really, really excited and think I am going to love it!

On the running side of my world, I didn’t give myself much of a rest after the marathon. I logged 46 miles that week, and 36 last week. I felt it too – I was dragging around the house and dragging through my runs. Thankfully, it all came together again this past weekend and I was able to run ten-milers both days and feel good. With my new commute comes an even earlier morning run – I’ll see how that goes. Next up on the agenda is Portland – which will be the three year anniversary of my first-ever marathon!

And, speaking of anniversaries, tomorrow (September 22nd) is our thirty-year anniversary. Last year we celebrated with a 50K on the trails, this year it kind of crept up on us and we didn’t make any plans. I know, I know – this is a big one and we should be celebrating big. Well, we will – we’re thinking about a weekend away – both destination and date have yet to be determined. In the meantime, we’ll go out for a quiet and lovely dinner tomorrow night on the waterfront. Thirty years…it’s gone by in the blink of an eye, college, first jobs, babies, more college, new jobs, teens, young men, ups and downs, big news and small moments, empty nest, shared nest, and woven through out, an enduring love. The boy I met the summer I was sixteen has grown into an amazing man, and I am blessed to have him as my husband. Thank you, Eric, for sharing my life.

Plain is an epic run. I’ll give you the end first, in case you don’t have a lot of time to read. Eric and Rob made it to Chikamin Tie, approximately mile 77. Eric missed the cut-off by six minutes, Rob by a bit more. They both know that they gave it everything, and they are already discussing next year. Read on for the crewing story, with perhaps a bit more of the runner story woven in…

Our weekend started Friday morning about 10:30 when Steve rolled up in front of our house, trailer in tow. We quickly loaded up about half the contents of our house. Seriously, two bags for Eric, a cooler, a cook stove, a lantern, two crates of food and cooking implements, a bag for me, another bag with my road shoes and trail shoes, another bag with towels and blanket, our pillows, water and propane. In addition to the house trailer, Steve had the chairs, tables, another lantern, more food and all his gear. Once we were loaded up, we began the three hour drive to Plain. We met up with Rob and his family in Easton, where we hit our favorite Cascade Crest burger joint before continuing on. We made it to Plain about 15 minutes before the mandatory runner meeting. Steve and I dropped Eric off and found a campsite. We walked over to the meeting, listened in for a bit, then went back to unhook and set up camp. After the meeting Eric and I enjoyed the pre-race spaghetti dinner put on by the fabulous crew of Plain cooks, while Steve went off to find his Dad and grab some dinner with him.

Morning came awfully early – 3:30 am. We all got up, Eric race-prepped, and we walked over to the lodge for the pre-race breakfast. Bob (Steve’s Dad) joined us there. I think there were 34 racers signed up, and 32 people at the start. Finally, race time rolled around at 5:00 am. It’s cool to see the runners standing on the lodge steps, flashlights and headlamps beaming toward us. There was a quick countdown to start, a shouted “go” and they were off. Steve, Bob and I spent the next half-hour or so helping clean up and stack tables and chairs, then we headed off on our own adventure.

Steve had run most of the course with Eric and Rob on various training runs, so he figured out a couple of sections for us to go out on a run. We had to get RD approval though, as any support or contact with the runners would cause the runner to be disqualified. Our plan was to run on the opposite loop each day, and we got RD approval to do so. At eighty-something, Bob is still in love with running and trails, though he’s a little slower than he used to be. His plan was to go out an hour, then head back, while Steve and I were shooting for about eight miles. Steve selected a fairly smooth trail with rolling hills for us and it was gorgeous. Eastern Washington offers a different type of forest and foliage than we get on the west side, and I really enjoyed the diversity. The trails are a bit beat up from motorcyclists, with lots of whoop-te-doos (kind of like moguls in skiing), and unfortunately, kind of trenched from the bikes. Apparently we were on one of the nicest sections of trails the racers would encounter and due to the damage, the footing wasn’t easy. We were out there just as the sun was coming up – it was much colder than I expected, but the added bonus of seeing the early morning sun filtering down through the trees made every minute worth it.

We whiled away the afternoon with a visit to Leavenworth for lunch (and Starbucks), napping, reading, and prepping for the evening crewing. We wandered over to Deep Creek, approximately mile 55 on the course) around 5:00. Even though we knew it would be much, much later than that before we say the guys, we also knew it would be fun to hang out with the other crews. The crew area is just a wide spot on the road, and I’d guess there were about eight or ten of us set up there. We set up our table, the cook stoves, the lanterns and chairs, made sure the bags and food were ready, and settled in to enjoy the evening. It was really warm back at the campground, but here, at just a bit higher elevation it was cool. I had my jeans, socks, shoes and two layers on within the half hour. The first runner came in right before we arrived – on track for the new course record, and two more arrived right after we got there. After that, there were long periods of time between runners. We tried to help them all, offering grilled cheese, grabbing drop bags, anything they needed. We knew several of them, or had met them and their crews the night before, so it was a very social and fun experience.

Our friend Shawn was the only woman starter, and the first of “our” runners to come in. Steve and Karen concentrated on helping her restock her pack and care for her feet, while I cooked her a sandwich. I also had added soup to the communal pot, and had hot water for whatever was needed. There was a little confusion from the radio guys when we asked about Eric and Rob’s status – they could tell us Rob had passed the last checkpoint, but not Eric. Then Tony came in, our second runner, and said Eric had been having trouble on Signal Peak. We tended to Tony, and just as he was getting up to go, we heard the monkey call echoing down the road – that’s the signal Eric, Jenny, Steve and I use to let each other know we are on our way in. We knew it was Eric and felt some relief knowing that he was okay – it was just a miscommunication from the SAR checkpoints.

They were in right on schedule – 19 hours, as planned. Eric told us about his big bonk, changed his shirt, and said his feet were fine. We helped them restock, fed them sandwiches, soup and hot cocoa and they were gone. By this time it was after midnight, there were only two runners behind them and we were fading. We packed up our gear and headed back to camp. No worries about those two runners though – there were still people left to support them.

Next morning we slept in till eight, then headed out for trail run number two. We went up to Maverick Saddle – driving all the way up. The road was horrible – narrow, rocky, rutted, with a mountain on one side and a thousand foot drop on the other. It amazed me to realize the runners had come down that road during the night – I can’t even imagine how they kept their footing. We decided to run for an hour out, then an hour back because we wanted to get back, shower up and break camp. We enjoyed the run along a beautiful creek – though there may have been more walking than running. It was much warmer than the day before and I was much more tired. As we drove back down we talked to the SAR guy at Deep Creek (where we had crewed the night before). He told us that there were only five runners left on the course, that several had dropped at Chikamin Tie. I had a bad feeling about this news, so when we reached the paved road, I hopped out and ran the quarter mile to the lodge while Steve and Bob drove around.

I got there to find out that Eric and Rob were in – though neither were to be seen. After a bit of wandering we found Eric (he’d been there while we were here and vice-versa). We never did see Rob – they’d been back about an hour by the time we came in, and Rob had already left with his family. Eric told us about the eight hours after they had left us – Rob suffered a bonk, Eric’s feet were trashed, once Rob knew he was going to drop at Chikamin Tie, Eric decided to try and make it, missing the cut-off by six minutes. I think it was for the best though, as his feet are so bad he can hardly walk today. After his shower, I worked on the huge blisters on the balls of his feet, each the size of a half-dollar and deep under the calluses. He also had one between his toes that had ripped open, chafing around the collar of the shoe, and another blister on his heel. Plus, as soon as he stopped, his feet started to swell.

We waited to see Shawn finish (the only female this year, plus only the third or fourth woman EVER to finish Plain), and then waited for Tony. Finally, we climbed in the car and headed for home. We stopped again at our favorite burger joint in Easton, and arrived home about 8:30 last night.

I worked on Eric’s feet again today – we’ve drained, soaked in Epsom salts and hot water, smeared antibiotic ointment and re-bandaged. I anticipate more of that to come.

I am very, very proud of all the runners – the ten or so that made it to the finish line, as well as all that did not. Plain is a brutal course – over 19,000 feet of climbing, tough technical trails, no course markings, no support. Runners can’t ask for help except for from another runner. Water is carried and refilled at rivers and creeks. There are stretches where there are no water sources, so runners have a full bladder plus two bottles – a lot of weight on a big climb. Runners have one opportunity to see crew, refill their food and gather fresh supplies. Imagine heading out into the deep forest, up mountain trails, carrying all your food, water, maps, knowing that you are on your own. I can’t even think about it. We are all used to trail races where aid stations pop up every five or six miles like an oasis in the desert, where you can talk to others, carry just a bit of food and water, look for ribbons or signs marking your course, ask for clarification and help, pick up a pacer to run by your side during the night – someone fresh and awake to cheer you on, keep you moving, remind you to eat and drink. That doesn’t happen at Plain. It’s you, all alone, or maybe with another runner. We heard stories of runners lost, some for just a mile or so, a couple for two or three hours. Shawn saw a bear while all alone out there. Amazing. To even think about tackling this race is huge, to attempt it, inspiring, to finish it, unbelievable.

So, before the race I groused to Eric – “I’m tired of all this training, I’ll be glad when this is done, maybe you could just think about 50 milers next year…” After getting one look at him yesterday, I said “we’ll be back next year and I’ll be here to support you”. How could I not? He’s set himself an epic challenge…year one: 50 miles, year two: 77 miles, year three: 107 miles. He’ll do it, and I’ll be there to see it.

This is the last week of my personal six week challenge. Here’s how it shook out:

• Pilates 3X week: accomplished for five weeks, this week, the sixth, I only got in two.
• Running 40-50 miles/week, one cut-back week: done
• Eating well: so-so. Ate more pretzels, ice-cream and cookies, plus a couple sets of veggie-burgers and fries than I planned on. (They were all awfully good though!)

Not too bad. I intend to keep the Pilates up, because I really do love it and it makes a difference in how I feel. When I wasn’t doing it much my low back was constantly stiff and occasionally sore. That was gone within a week of getting back in the groove of Pilates. That alone makes it worth it! I’m missing my third work out this week because we are leaving for the weekend in the next few minutes – and my third workout would have been today or tomorrow. So unless I do it in the middle of the campsite, it just isn’t going to happen. That’s okay though, I have come to realize that there will be the occasional week where I just can’t squeeze it out. And as long as it’s because of scheduling or travelling, and not because of sheer laziness, then I’m okay with it.

And now, for part two: we are off to the Plain 100! (Check out the rules page.) This is Eric’s epic goal race for the year. Steve and I are going to support Eric and Rob, though the only support we can give is at mile 55. This is an unmarked course, no race support, no pacers, no crew, no drop bags and it’s actually closer to 107 miles. Water comes from streams. Racers can restock and get support at the 55 mile mark, but that is it. We can cheer them on at the start and the finish though, and we will! Steve and I plan to hit a few trails on our own, plus wander into Leavenworth and just generally hang out. Should be a fun weekend.

Send all your positive vibes and good luck thoughts to Eric and Rob for a successful completion of this huge challenge!