Splish Splash!

Don't talk about yourself; it will be done when you leave.  ~Wilson Mizner

Photo: Glenn Tachiyama




The last three weeks have been very busy, and life has zipped by. Below are a bunch of picture as to what I have been up to since racing Old Goats....way to much fun!! Clearly you can tell I love to play outside all day on trails! 

I just realized this morning I had not even done a Lake Sonoma 50 mile race re-cap. I had a ton of fun @ the race. The weekends leading up to the race and after Old Goats were filled with tons and tons of fun running, and zero recovery. I knew I would be trashed going into the race, but I just could not resist an invite from race director John to come up and play! It was so exciting to meet and see such amazing talent at the race, and I was in such of awe of all these awesome athletes. Total rock stars! I believe two of the top three women ran there first 50 mile @ Sonoma, and just crushed it. Very cool!! Can ya' all please rub some of that off on me?? You won't even miss it I swear! The top photo above is of me splashing in the water at the race. There must have been a zillion creek and water crossings, and some were waist deep, and ice cold! What a total hoot this race was, and I would definitely like to go back next year and race a little more fresh, and maybe make it a focus race. I ran kind of smart, and hung back the first 20 miles, and I got to spend most of my race hanging and chatting with all kinds of awesome women. Even better was the weekend spent with Tyler in the town of Healdsburg. So incredibly fun. It was a little hard to travel without Jesse to the race as we really have not ever been apart longer then four days before. Also he has been to every one of my races to support, crew or pace me in some capacity. I missed him dearly, and it sucked not having him there. Fortunately he has an incredible career and job, and we are lucky for that, but hence why he could not come up with us Friday morning to the race. Some of us have to have a "real" job...LOL! Here is a quick and to the point breakdown of the race:

*Headlsburg is a great town to stay in before the race on Friday night, and if you can afford it fly into Sonoma airport on Alaska airlines. Its super close to the race start
*Parking is tight in the morning so arrive a little early
*Do not go out fast with the front pack. Thank god I sat way back for awhile. I promise you are not at the level of any of the first 40 runners. Deep as shit field with some of the most elite Ultra Runners in the sport. The first two miles are on pavement so run smart, and hold back. If you look over your shoulder and Timothy Olsen, or Darcy Africa is running next to you slow down. You are probably not as fast as them I promise. 
*Once you hit the trail be ready to run in very rugged conditions. Sloppy, muddy, slimy, and wet. Whoo-hoo!
*Your feet will be wet the entire race
*Beautiful course, and mostly single track. Runnable, fun, steep little ups and downs.
*Most of the time I was either running up or down. Just rolling constantly up or down on very runnable single track. Muddy as heck though.
*The aid stations are perfectly placed apart. You will only need one or two handhelds.
*There is a waist deep very cold creek crossing three miles from the finish. It is very difficult and steep to get out of. Seriously just move quick through here. 
*The finish line set up is incredible. Vegetarian and vegan food, beer, and tons of awesome peeps. 
*Technical rating is 2 out of 5. Climbing is 4 out of 5. 
*I give this race a 5 out of 5 for awesome sauce level


So the last three miles were a bit of a mess for me though. I took a very bad spill somewhere around mile 3.5, and thought I cracked a rib. I went down hard, and my feet just flew under me as I slipped down a steep hill on wet mud. Somehow on a course with literally zero rocks I manage to smack my rib very hard on a sharp group of rocks. I completely knocked the wind out of myself, and was a friggin mess after that. I tried to recover, and run...but I just couldn't. I was so happy when it was over, and Tuesday after an xray I was so relieved to find out I did not have a rib fracture. It still hurts so bad, but feels much better than it did on Sunday. I definitely will be taking it easy the next few days. Of course my little brother Wick couldn't wait to call me a Tard for falling. Little does he know-he is the Tard. ;P


After the race I took eight recover-eas, and actually three scoops of my NanoReds. When I woke up Sunday morning I took another eight recover-eas, and three more scoops of my reds. I without a doubt feel this helped me a ton in my recovery process. 


With Leona Divide next week I have been swimming faster than Nemo to stay above water. I am super excited though to give a sneak preview of the Leona Divide race day shirt. INKnBURN has actually sublimated one of Glenn Tachiyama's photograph's directly on the shirt, and yes each runner will get one! So excited, and the shirts look absolutely amazing. Glenn is so talented, and I am honored to have his work be a part of Leona Divide. Thank you Glenn!! They also are extremely soft and comfortable as with all INKnBURN running apparel. Race day shirt pics below....

I am also thrilled and excited to announce my amazing and new partnership with Clif Bar & Company. Love Clif products, and could not imagine ever running an ultra without my Clif shot blocks!! Totally stoked about this!! Thrilled to have them be a part of my awesome trail races in Griffith Park~

Tonight I get to have yet another date night with my Jesse. Cannot wait...love him with all my heart!! I love,love,love to cook, but sometimes it's nice to have a night off from the kitchen. 

On,on,on with life my friends......see tons of you @ Leona next weekend! Yippie!!