Orcas Island fun!!

This post is a little bit tardy for my post race report of Orcas Island 50k, but been so busy I finally have found sometime to get it up. I had the time of my life running Orcas Island 50k, and hands down this was the most beautiful and breathtaking course I have ever stepped foot on. No joke, no exaggerating. There were times when I was running, and I would just stop, look around, and take it all in. Big huge climbs, and extremely fun downhill single track! Most of this course I was running in deep forest. Honestly I have never ever in my life seen anything so gorgeous! When I got to the mile 22 aid station I probably stopped for four minutes or so to look at the views. Views of the ocean, the San Juan Islands, and snow capped mountains. At one point one of the aid station volunteers said, "go on girl get yourself outta here"! Ha! I didn't even care. No way was I gonna race this one, and miss out on stuff I have never seen in my life. I was all about smelling the roses, and just taking the entire day in. Every minute, every mile. There will be plenty of time to race this year, and I was absolutely overwhelmed by the beauty this course had. I had a great day, and felt so good the entire day. It was a perfect way to start my 2012. I went into the race with logging about 80 miles that week, and then I followed the race week up with logging about 100 miles after the race. Little by little I am feeling like Keira again. Loving the direction Jimmy Dean Freeman has taken me with my running, and slowly he is changing my mentality that every race has to be "raced". He has encouraged me to have A & B races, and I like that. It's entirely new territory for me, and it just does not matter what my Ultra signup percentage is. It's about coming back strong, and sticking to my goal for 2012 and racing well at the big mountain 100s. Ok so here is a breakdown of why you HAVE to put this on your racing bucket list. HAVE TO!!! General overall course tips to:
 * Extremely well organized. Wow do the peeps @ Rain Shadow Running do an A++ job.
 * Great vacation destination. Orcas Island is beautiful, and has incredible restaurants, and is just epic.
 * Stay at the Rasario Resort. Beautiful, classy, and very inexpensive.
 * Get to the Island Friday afternoon
 * Be ready to climb. Seriously. TWO BIG ASS CLIMBS. Hands on knees, grunting and really digging deep kinds of climbs
 * On a technical rating I would only give this course about a six outta 10. Just wasn't that technical.
 * It will be the most beautiful place you have ever ran..so unless you are Pam Smith and don't know how to run slow enjoy this course, and take it all in. ;o)
 * Tons of very fast downhill single track from like mile 13ish to 19ish...so fun!!
 * Aid stations are a little far apart so two hand held's or pack is a must
 * Great feast and after party post race. Give these guys a 10 out of 10 for that
 * Stay until Monday if you can. The island is just so rad. Jesse and I are gonna retire there. I promise.
So how would I rate this Ultra overall for all things considered? Gonna give Orcas Island a 9 outta 10. Can't go higher than 9 cause I just don't really consider 50k's Ultra's. They are like fun little training runs that are supported. Kind of Ultra's...but not really. Heard these guys put on a 50 miler and 100k in the Fall,  but my schedule is all filled up for 2012 already. Definitely putting some more of the Rain Shadow races on the calender for 2013. Maybe Jesse and I can get Prizzle and Elissa to go with us...or Jimmy and Kate, Pam & T, Wick & Faye, Annie and Lighting Sauce.. ha! To much fun we have!! Below are some fun pics of the trip. Jesse had to drop due to some itband issues from Bandera, but he is well on his way to recovery! My poor baby!

Photo: Glenn Tachiyama

I have been running like crazy in the new INKnBURN Women's Running Skirts, and I am just blown away by how perfect they are! This morning I spent four hours running in my skirt, and never once was I pulling the shorts down underneath. Never once was I tugging at it because it never rode up, and to be perfectly honest it was like I was running and it wasn't even there. I have run in every type of running skirts. LuLu Lemon are one of the worst offenders of making the most uncomfortable running skirts on the planet. Every running skirt out there has gotten it wrong. We haven't though. Why is that? Because our skirts have been ran into the ground by real runners. Runners who run for hours, and know what real women need. They are so soft and comfy, and just fit perfectly to a woman's body NO MATTER WHAT SIZE YOU ARE. I am honored to be apart of such a rad company making the best running apparel on the planet, and amped as we will be launching more and more designs soon!  Here are some pics girls of some of the cutest running skirts you will ever run in......and I even added a picture of myself running in our sunflower camisole that goes with the sunflower running skirt.

So the coolest news of all that I got in the hours following Orcas Island 50K? That I got into Wasatch 100 mile!!! So my 2012 goes as follows:

Old Goats 50 mile

Zane Grey 50 mile

Angeles Crest 100 Mile

Wasatch 100 mile

Mountain Masochist 50 mile(hopefully!!)

So excited for everything...Jesse and I have some cool stuff to announce here pretty soon...but we will do that when we are ready. Life is just so rad right now, and I cannot wait for Ray Miller in less than two weeks!  I love my life. I love that I am living it exactly how I want to be. I have blinked, and I am exactly where I always dreamed I could be. Make shit happen people. Do not live your life to please others. I have taken many risks. I knew I was taking them. Things have been said about me, and not everyone is my biggest fan. I am 100% ok with that. I have worked diligently to build my life the exact way I want to live it, and I do not need everyone's approval. I am not a people pleaser, and I have never been. You simply cannot please all the people all the time, and if you are trying to do that I am pretty sure you are pretty darn unhappy. Take risks, and go after what you want. Go live life to the fullest, and keep on keeping on my friends!! 

Also wanted to give a quick shout out to a really cool review on some Rudy Project's. Seriously if you are running in any other sunglasses you are a *Tard*. They are so rad, and all the cool kids are wearing them. I promise. LINK: 

 http://trailrunnernation.com/2012/02/rudy-project-rydon-sunglasses-review/

WORD!